As we enter the holiday season and the end of 2016, Turkish Philanthropy Funds is poised to assist you with your year-end giving and grant making with the best possible service. Please keep these important dates in mind to ensure your year-end gifts qualify for a charitable income tax deduction in the 2016 tax year:
- Checks sent via the U.S. Postal Service to TPF office must be postmarked on or before December 31, 2016.
- Checks sent via FedEx, DHL, UPS or a similar service must be physically received at TPF office on or before December 31, 2016.
- Gifts of appreciated securities and wire transfers should be made by Wednesday, December 28, 2016. Early notification of these gifts will help ensure a smooth transfer. Contact Senay Ataselim-Yilmaz at [email protected] or call 646.530.8988 for assistance with stock gifts and wire transfers. Kindly note that early notification of these gifts will help ensure a smooth transfer.
- Real estate gifts must have title transferred on or before Thursday, December 29, 2016.
- Credit card gifts should be made by 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2016, to ensure timely posting by the credit card company.
Year-end grant recommendations
Donor advised fund holders may wish to recommend grants as part of year-end campaigns or as holiday contributions. In order for nonprofit recipients to receive grants in 2016, recommendations should be made by Thursday, December 15 as long as the non-profit is a TPF partner in Turkey or a tax-exempt organization in the United States. Donor advised grant recommendations could be made by using this form via email to [email protected], or via fax to 646.880.9347. Please note that the timing of donor advised grants has no effect on your 2016 charitable income tax deductions since, for tax purposes, your charitable contribution was deemed completed at the time it was contributed to your donor advised fund.
Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRA
On December 18, 2015 the President signed the PATH Act permitting individuals to roll over up to $100,000 from an individual retirement account (IRA) directly to a qualifying charity without recognizing the assets transferred to the qualifying charity as income. The law uses the term “qualified charitable distribution” to describe an IRA charitable rollover. A qualified charitable distribution is money that individuals who are 70½ or older may direct from their traditional IRA to eligible charitable organizations. The provision has a cap of $100,000 for charitable distributions from individual IRAs each year. Individuals may exclude the amount distributed directly to an eligible charity from their gross income. Please note that a distribution to a donor advised fund will not qualify for this special treatment. You can read an analysis of what this might mean for you if you are 70½ or older and thinking of a charitable distribution from your IRA here. Please call Senay Ataselim-Yilmaz at 646.530.8978 if you’d like to contribute IRA assets.
