Gifts from Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
Gifts from your IRA (Qualified Charitable Distributions)
If you are 70 ½ years or older and have a traditional IRA, you are eligible to make a tax-free donation directly from your IRA to the American Heart Association called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). Generally speaking, these gifts are tax-free and can be a smarter way to support American Heart Association this year.
For those aged 73 and older, Qualified Charitable Distributions can count towards your required minimum distribution, allowing you to use your IRA to support heart healthy lives today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
Thanks to the Legacy IRA Act, the annual qualified charitable distribution (QCD) limit of $108,000* is now indexed for direct gifts to charity. Individuals age 70½ or older are permitted to make distributions from their IRA directly to charity and avoid reporting of the income.
The American Heart Association works with FreeWill, making it easy for you to donate from your IRA.
Benefits
- It’s a tax-efficient way to make an impact. Because the distribution isn’t taxable income, it’s effectively a charitable deduction.
- You can direct your gift to a specific fund or purpose within the American Heart Association.
- The distribution can count towards your annual required minimum distribution (RMD) for those 73 and older.
- It’s a special opportunity for individuals aged 70½ and older to give up to $108,000* annually.
*Indexed for inflation
How It Works
- Notify your IRA custodian to make a direct transfer of the gift amount from your IRA to the American Heart Association. Or simply make your gift quickly and securely using our online platform.
- Obtain a written acknowledgement from the American Heart Association (different from a tax deduction receipt) to benefit from the tax-free treatment.
Ready to get started?
Make a QCD Gift Online
Make your QCD gift quickly and hassle-free by beginning your forms online.
Make a QCD Gift by Phone or Mail
Answer a few questions to download the forms needed to complete your gift by mail or transact over the phone with your financial custodian.
Already made a QCD gift and need a tax acknowledgment letter?
If you’ve already made a QCD gift to the American Heart Association, we thank you for your support! If you have not yet received your tax acknowledgement letter, please report your gift details so that we can verify your gift and provide you with your letter.
Resources to Help You Make Your Gift
Learn more about Qualified Gift Distributions and why they are a great way to give.
Donor Spotlight: Charles and Debbie Earl
11 years ago, Charles and Debbie Earl became proud grandparents of twin baby girls, Abby and Emmy. Abby was born healthy. Emmy was born with a hole in her thumb-sized heart. Just days old, she underwent her first heart surgery. Five months later, she needed another one. “We knew the road ahead of her was going to be a rough one,” said Debbie. That’s when the Earls, who had been making occasional donations to the American Heart Association since Charles had his own experience with heart disease and suffered a heart attack a few years prior, decided to make a more significant financial commitment to benefit people with heart disease.
Among other gifts, the Earls began making annual contributions through their retirement accounts. These annual qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) are tax-efficient, count towards their annual required minimum distribution. And because a QCD can be directed to a specific fund or purpose, it’s allowed the Earls to know their money is supporting research that could one day benefit Emmy and others with her condition. “We wanted to provide Emmy the best chance for survival, and in our mind, the best way to do that was to give to the American Heart Association for research specifically dedicated to pediatric cardiovascular health so she and others could benefit from it.”
Additional Information
Transferring Your Gift
Please notify the American Heart Association before you transfer your gift so we can identify it when it’s received and send you the proper acknowledgment that’s required to count your gift toward your RMD.
Checks – please have checks for Qualified Charitable Distributions mailed to: American Heart Association, Attn: Revenue Department, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231
Cash Transfers – Please call 888-227-5242 to be connected to a representative.
Stock or mutual fund transfer from your IRA as a qualified charitable distribution – visit heart.org/stockgifts and select Stock or Mutual Funds (as applicable) to receive full transfer instructions to make your gift.
Online Forms – you can begin your forms online at freewill.com/QCD/Heart. You may also print blank forms to complete by hand or use to handle by phone with your financial custodian.
The Legacy IRA Act
The Legacy IRA Act, as part of the SECURE Act 2.0 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act which passed in December 2023, created new charitable gift planning opportunities for donors starting at age 70 ½. Individuals who meet the age requirements can now make qualified charitable distributions up to $108,000 per year from one or more traditional IRAs outright to charity. The Legacy IRA Act also expanded the definition of qualified charitable distributions to allow IRA owners to make a one-time distribution of up to $54,000 for a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust.
For Any Age
No matter your age, you can name the American Heart Association as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime.
For More Information
If you have any further questions about the benefits of IRA giving, please email [email protected] or call 888-227-5242.