'Tis the Season for Giving

The IRS used the Pension Reform Act to strengthen the requirements for charitable giving, even as it was making it easier for seniors to make charitable contributions directly from their Individual Retirement Accounts.

That giving opportunity is available only for 2006 and 2007, and only for those 70-1/2 years old or older. These seniors can exclude up to $100,000 of otherwise taxable distributions, including mandatory distributions, from an IRA -- as long as the money is paid directly to a qualified charity.

A final thought: Although the IRS does not allow you to deduct the value of services or time you give to a charity, Judith McGee points out that these nonmonetary contributions also express our need for relevance and impact the communities in which we live, two important factors to consider.

Says McGee: "Money or stocks have no use or energy, until you send them on a mission. Do that while you're alive -- or one day your heirs will spend it, or the government will do it for you!"

And that's The Savage Truth.

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