Dearly loved Friends,

Please kindly share the following information, where appropriate, with the members of your community.

The Office of the Treasurer wants to make you aware of the recent “American Taxpayer Relief Act” of 2012, which extends an opportunity for individuals age 70 ½ and older to request a distribution of an amount up to $100,000 from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a public charity such as the National Spiritual Assembly, as a non-taxable event. This opportunity is available through December 31, 2013. Individuals who meet the qualifications detailed below, and wish to consider this opportunity to give to the Fund via a “Charitable IRA Rollover” should contact their IRA plan administrator with instructions for donating to the National Spiritual Assembly. Please read the information below for clarification of the requirements:

The "American Taxpayer Relief Act" extends the Charitable IRA Rollover through December 31, 2013. This means that donors age 70 ½ or older can ask their IRA custodian to transfer up to $100,000 in 2013 to a public charity. The transfer will be a totally tax-free transfer to the public charity and thus equivalent to a 100% charitable deduction which is not subject to the normal charitable giving limit of 50% of adjusted gross income. There is, of course, no separate charitable deduction for the tax-free transfer to the public charity.

In addition, there is also a special opportunity in January of 2013 to make a 2012 Charitable IRA Rollover gift if you received an IRA distribution in December of 2012.  This means that if you received an IRA mandatory distribution or other distribution during December of 2012 you may choose to make a charitable gift in January of 2013 (before February 1, 2013) to a qualified charity such as the National Spiritual Assembly, and it will be treated as a 2012 Charitable IRA Rollover gift. The normal rules apply: the donor must be 70 ½ and the amount must be $100,000 or a lesser amount and the gift must be made to a public charity.

As in all cases, consult your own advisors to determine if this is a feasible choice in your circumstances.

For additional information please contact Planned Giving Coordinator, Beverly Abercrombie at 847-733-3495 or babercrombie@usbnc.org

Loving Baha'i regards,

Office of the Treasurer