Charitable donation with an IRA distribution

A year-end gift from an individual retirement account (IRA) or another retirement asset can help give kids with cancer a chance to live their best lives. End-of-year donations from an IRA to charity may provide tax benefits as well.

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St. Jude patient Adriana holds her mother's hand as they pass through a hospital hallway decorated with colorful murals.

St. Jude patient Adriana with her mom

 
 

Why donate from an IRA?

Donating from an IRA to a charity has benefits for both you and nonprofits.

Is donating from an IRA to charity tax deductible?

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) to eligible charities up to $105,000 avoid being subject to federal income taxes. You can make IRA-qualified charitable distributions from traditional IRAs, inactive Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans, and inactive Saving Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA. 

If you are age 70½ or above, you can make QCDs directly from your IRA to St. Jude or another eligible charitable organization. This distribution may be excluded from your federal taxable income and potentially provide other benefits.

You should consult a tax advisor or other professional for additional information regarding your specific situation.

How does a qualified charitable distribution work, and what qualifies as a charitable IRA rollover?

If you are over age 70 ½, you may give a gift from your IRA as a tax-free distribution to a qualified charity. This means an amount (up to $105,000 annually) transferred from your IRA directly to a charity like St. Jude can count toward your required minimum distribution without being considered taxable income for you. The deduction then lowers your adjusted gross income (AGI). The distribution, also known as an IRA Charitable Rollover, is authorized by Section 408(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code.

As a qualified charitable IRA rollover, the gift must be transferred from a traditional IRA directly to a qualified public charity like St. Jude and must be completed during the applicable tax year.

St Jude must receive your gift by Dec. 31 for your IRA charitable distribution to qualify for that tax year. 

ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice.  This material is prepared and made available to you for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide or be relied upon for tax, legal or accounting advice.  You should always consult a tax professional to determine your particular tax benefits that may result from any particular type of gift to charity.

 
 

We thought the IRA was a good way to contribute a little more and go in the direction we wanted to go with our support of St. Jude.

- Bruce and Mary Jane Munsell, who choose to give to St. Jude through an IRA to maximize their impact and honor St. Jude cancer survivors like their great niece.

Read Bruce and Mary Jane's Story

 

St. Jude supporters Bruce and Mary Jane Munsell

 
 
St. Jude supporters Bruce and Mary Jane Munsell smile for an outdoor portrait.

Can an IRA donation to charity count toward my required minimum distribution (RMD)?

If you’re age 70 ½ or older and you need to take a required minimum distribution (RMD – the withdrawals you’re legally required to make), you may be eligible to have a qualified charitable distribution to St. Jude count toward your RMD up to $105,000. In this way, you can support the children at St. Jude while also potentially satisfying your RMD in the year of your gift.

You should consult a tax advisor or other professional for additional information regarding your specific situation. Download a sample Letter of Instruction to get started gifting to St. Jude.

 
St. Jude patient Kenadie poses for a studio portrait

St. Jude patient Kenadie

 
 

Can a charity be the beneficiary of my IRA?

Yes, you can choose for St. Jude to be the beneficiary and receive the benefits of your retirement account or IRA. Supporting a charitable organization, like St. Jude, with your IRA account is an excellent way to give back in a meaningful way.

Learn About Legacy Giving

 
 

Please use the following legal name and tax identification:

 

ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
501 St. Jude Place
Memphis, TN 38105

 
 

Tax ID Number:
62-0646012

We are a tax-exempt, charitable institution listed in the Federal Internal Revenue Service Publication #78, "Cumulative List of Organizations," revised IRS Code 501(c)(3).

View the IRS Determination Letter.

 
 

Why donate to St. Jude?

No bill icon
 

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.

 
 
Twenty to eighty icon
 

When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered largely incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and we won't stop until no child dies from cancer.

 
 
Children icon
 

Every child deserves a chance to live their best life and celebrate every moment. When you support St. Jude, you can help make cures possible for kids with cancer. Together, we can save more lives.

 
 
 
 

We're here to help

Our Gift Planning department has a representative in your area who can provide further information or help you prepare the right questions to ask your financial advisor to determine what type of planned gift may be right for you.

If you have made St. Jude part of your legacy through a bequest or will, please let us know so that we can honor your generosity and better plan for the future.

Email IRA@stjude.org, call (800) 395-1087, or fill out the form below, and a St. Jude representative will contact you. 

Are you a financial advisor, estate planner or attorney? Call (800) 837-2757, email advisor@alsac.stjude.org or fill out this Advisors form instead.

 
Fill out my online form.
 
 

Have you left St. Jude in your will or estate plan? 

As an acknowledgment of your generosity when you give a gift to St. Jude through your will or estate plan, you become a member of the Danny Thomas – St. Jude Society, and we recognize your commitment to the mission of St. Jude in a variety of ways.

Learn How We Honor Your Generosity Explore More Planned Giving Options

 
St. Jude patient Aspen makes a heart symbol with her hands
 

St. Jude patient Aspen

 

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With love, from an aunt and uncle

Retired teachers use IRA gifts to honor great niece – a St. Jude cancer survivor.

By Yolanda Jones
Published in Inspire Magazine, Fall 2023 edition

Bruce and Mary Jane Munsell smile in their garden.

Bruce and Mary Jane Munsell celebrated and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for years before cancer hit close to home — their great-niece became a patient. 

“It was more than 20 years ago when she was diagnosed, and at that time they gave her a 25 percent survival chance,” Mary Jane recalled. 

“She was in a clinical trial and she and one other child survived. It was a miracle at St. Jude.” 

The diagnosis was for acute myeloid leukemia, a difficult-to-treat blood cancer that St. Jude has made a priority in its research. In fact, the five-year survival rate for children diagnosed with AML has risen to around 70 percent, thanks to advances in AML treatment St. Jude helped introduce. 

Their great-niece is now in her late 20s and the mother of a toddler, and the Munsells continue to support children diagnosed with diseases like AML by making an annual contribution to St. Jude through a charitable IRA gift. 

“We thought the IRA was a good way to contribute a little more and go in the direction we wanted to go with our support of St. Jude,” Bruce said.

Retired high school teachers in their 70s living in Illinois, Mary Jane and Bruce celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in 2023. They love spending time with their puppy, Bernie — a Bernedoodle (a cross between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Poodle).

Giving to St. Jude through their IRA provides the couple a way to pay it forward and helps ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live. 

For donors over 70 ½, funds transferred from an IRA account to a qualified charity may count toward the required minimum distribution and offer potential tax benefits to supporters.

“We channel our giving through our IRA because it is a great way to maximize the amount we give and the tax benefits, but most importantly our support helps children like my great-niece and so many others,” Mary Jane said. 

Both Mary Jane and Bruce have visited St. Jude and were impressed by the research and the care put into every detail to provide comfort and healing for the children and their families.

The image of children being pulled by families in red wagons is a memory that has stayed with Bruce, along with the check-in process that is tailored to include the young patients.

“St. Jude recognizes who is most important and it is the children at the hospital,” Bruce recalled. “This is why we support St. Jude. They help all these families every day, like they did our great-niece, and we remain grateful.”

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