Are IRAs and Charities the Perfect Match?Are IRAs and Charities the Perfect Match?

Steven E. Trytten

You own individual retirement account and non-IRA assets. You want a certain amount of your estate to pass to charity, and you want the charitable gift to be as tax efficient as possible to maximize the balance that will pass to your children (or other young heirs). You may have heard that your IRA is the “perfect match” for charitable giving because the pre-income tax dollars in the IRA can pass to charity with little or no income tax cost. You may also have heard that your IRA could be quite valuable if left to your younger heirs with “stretched-out” distribution planning under the minimum required distribution (MRD) rules. And lately, you've probably heard that Roth IRA conversions are all the rage. Which approach is ...