Qualified charitable contributions from your IRA can save you taxes (and maybe Medicare premiums) while helping Wesley Freedom too. The contribution must go directly from your IRA plan sponsor (such as Merrill Lynch, Schwab, T Rowe Price, etc.) to the charity. The check cannot be written out to you. By taking a qualified chartable deduction, you do not pay any taxes on that money because it is not included in your adjusted gross income. (Please let your tax accountant know that the distribution was a QCD.) You may contribute up to $105,000 each year via a qualified charitable donation from your IRA regardless of whether this amount exceeds your required minimum distribution.

Would you consider using your distribution, or just a portion, to donate to Wesley Freedom Endowment fund or to the church for ongoing ministries? The Endowment Fund is designed to help fund various ministries that aren’t fully funded through Wesley Freedom’s operating budget. Only the earnings on the investments in the fund are used to fund these programs, so your Endowment gift will continue to serve Wesley Freedom UMC for generations.

While you are thinking about your IRA, you may want to note that naming Wesley Freedom as one of your beneficiaries of your IRA is easier and cheaper than modifying your will to make a bequest!

If you have questions, please email Donald Kropfelder at dkrop1313@gmail.com to talk with a member of the Finance team.