When President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 late Thursday, he extension of the IRA charitable rollover through Dec. 31, 2013, said Kristine Meyer, president of the Community Foundation of Dickinson County.

“The good news is that the new law simply extends the charitable rollover and, other than some modifications regarding timing for 2012 distributions, did not make substantive changes to the operations of the provision,” Meyer said.

“It is significant to note that the modifications regarding timing allow donors the option to contribute in two different ways in January 2013 and have IRA distributions up to $100,000 count as a 2012 IRA charitable rollover. Our local philanthropists should note that the 2012 distribution is time sensitive; it must be done before Feb. 1.”

The extension allows individuals who received an IRA distribution in December 2012 to elect to count that distribution (or a portion thereof) as a 2012 IRA charitable rollover if the individual transfers the amount in cash before Feb. 1, to the Community Foundation or an eligible charity.

Additionally, the extension allows donors to make distributions directly to eligible charities before Feb. 1, and elect to have such distributions treated as qualified charitable distributions in 2012. Recognizing that the extension of the IRA charitable rollover provision occurred in 2013, this change may be a particular benefit to donors who would like to take advantage of the rollover in both 2012 and 2013.

The IRA charitable rollover allows individuals 70-1/2 or older to make tax-neutral contributions to the Community Foundation. For more information, contact Meyer at 785-263-1863 or kmeyer@communityfoundation.us.

The Community Foundation currently stewards over $5 million in charitable assets — the result of contributions from families, individuals and businesses that care about our community. Established in 1999, the Foundation makes charitable giving easy, flexible and effective.