Tax-Free IRA Distributions

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (2012 Taxpayer Relief Act) extends through 2013 the provision which allows individuals who are at least 70½ by the end of the year to exclude from gross income qualified charitable distributions up to $100,000 from a traditional or Roth IRA that would otherwise be included in income. Married individuals filing a joint return are allowed to exclude a maximum of $200,000 for these distributions ($100,000 per individual IRA owner).

A review of your tax return indicates that you may be eligible to take advantage of these opportunities. As you may know, IRA owners must either withdraw the entire balance or start receiving periodic distributions from their traditional IRAs by April 1 of the year following the year in which they reach age 70-1/2. The distribution that is required each year is computed by dividing the IRA account balance as of the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year by the applicable life expectancy. An IRA owner who does not make the required withdrawals may be subject to a 50-percent excise tax on the amount not withdrawn.

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