by Craig M. Johnson, CPA, Fargo

The 2007 and 2011 North Dakota Legislatures have passed legislation which allows a significant income tax credit for certain gifts to “permanent, irrevocable” endowment funds of qualified North Dakota charitable organizations (including religious organizations). This legislation pertains to certain “business” gifts made in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2006 and also to certain gifts made by individuals and “businesses” made in taxable years beginning after 2010. Qualified donors will likely find that well over 50% of their gifts will be “subsidized” through State and Federal tax incentives!

The purpose of an endowment fund is to provide ongoing financial support in furtherance of the mission of your congregation. The operating policies of a qualified endowment fund allow for only very limited distributions from the donors’ gift contributions (principal). The income and net appreciation (and a portion of principal in certain situations) from the fund’s invested assets may be used to support the mission of the charitable organization. Since many congregations have endowment funds which allow for major invasions of principal through a congregational vote, such existing funds would not be qualified for purposes of this tax credit. In such case, another special fund would have to be established to be in compliance with the legislation.

Eligible “Business” Donors

Gifts from the following entities may benefit from this tax legislation:

1. “C” corporations (pay tax at the corporate level)
2. “Pass-through” entities (tax credit usually claimed by owners)
   1. Subchapter “S” corporations
   2. Partnerships
   3. Limited liability companies
3. Estates (if file income tax return)
4. Trusts

The tax credit for gifts from estates and trusts will be allocated between these entities and their beneficiaries based on the portion of income which is distributed to those beneficiaries.

How the Tax Credit Works for “Business Gifts”

An income tax credit is far more valuable than a deduction since a credit offsets the computed income tax. This particular tax credit is claimed on the North Dakota income tax return. The amount of the credit is 40% of the value of a gift made to a qualified (permanent, irrevocable) endowment fund of a ND nonprofit organization, provided that the gift is deductible for Federal tax purposes. The tax credit allowed in any one year may not exceed the current year tax liability; unused credits may be carried forward for up to three additional tax years.

The annual limitation on this tax credit is $10,000, determined at the entity level. Therefore, eligible gifts totaling up to $25,000 per year will bring about the maximum annual credit.

Big News – Tax Credit Now Applies to Individual Donors

The 2011 legislation allows a 40% tax credit for gifts by individuals to a qualified endowment fund held by a qualifying North Dakota non-profit organization (including religious organizations). If an individual makes a
gift(s) to such an endowment fund, the aggregate of the year’s gifts to a particular fund must be $5,000 or more. The maximum credits that may be claimed under this subsection are $10,000 ($25,000 in gifts) for an individual or $20,000 ($50,000 in gifts) for married individuals filing jointly.

Example of Tax Benefit to Individual Taxpayer

Mrs. Smith, a North Dakota resident, donates $20,000 in cash to a qualified endowment fund. She receives an $8,000 tax credit (40%) on her ND return. If she is in the 28% Federal tax bracket, her Federal tax savings are $3,360 (28% of $12,000; $12,000 is the difference between the $20,000 charitable deduction offset by an $8,000 reduction in the state income tax deduction). The “cost” of her $20,000 gift is offset by $11,360 in tax savings (56.8% of the gift amount).

Call to Action for Eastern North Dakota Congregations, Donors and Advisors

It is important to realize that the 40% tax credit is a direct reduction of the previously – computed tax. Therefore, the tax benefit in North Dakota is usually far in excess of the Federal tax savings! Because of this unprecedented tax “subsidy”, congregations should seriously consider establishing a qualified endowment fund(s). The Eastern ND Synod has established such a fund as we work to sustain rural ministries and quality pastoral leadership. Several congregations in our Synod have also established the above-described qualified endowment fund.

If there is a decision to move forward, I suggest that congregations work with professional counsel to prepare appropriate documents so that your fund’s governing documents allow it to qualify as a “permanent, irrevocable fund” as required by this law. It is critical that your fund is operated as a “true endowment” rather than a “quasi endowment” fund in order that the favorable tax benefits can be achieved.

Once the fund has been properly established, donor benefits should be communicated through personal contacts, brochures, web sites, seminars and the like.

» Download: Congregational Endowment Funds and Tax Credits (download .pdf file)

The author of this article is a charitable giving consultant residing in Fargo. Craig is “of counsel” to our Synod. For questions regarding this article and the steps for moving forward, he can be reached at: 701-799- 1108 or by e-mail at: cmjohnson@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: The above article is intended to provide information of a general nature only. It should not be construed as legal, tax and/ financial advice. Readers are urged to consult their own professional advisors for their specific situations.

What topics will be covered?

1. Stewardship as responsible management of accumulated resources.
2. Tax laws affecting estates.
3. What happens if a person does not have a will?
4. Importance of choosing guardians, personal representatives, trustees.
5. What are trusts, who are they for, and how do they work?
6. Ownership of property and its effect on estates.
7. Ways to plan gifts to your heirs that share your values and meet their needs.
8. Ways to consider giving gifts to favorite ministries.

How do we organize the program?

1. Have the church council approve a “Wills, Estates and Gift Planning Seminar” for your congregation. Make clear that this program opens up a new avenue to your members to give support for the ministries of the church.
2. Appoint a chairperson who firmly believes in the value of this program. This person then enlists 3 to 4 persons to work with them.
3. The committee, with the pastor, implements the program promotion and arrangements as called for in the publicity packet provided by the Planned Giving Partnership for the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the ELCA. This process can take 2-4 months.

What are the first steps I should take?

Contact Julie Johnson, Coordinator for the Planned Giving Partnership at the Eastern North Dakota Synod office for the ELCA for answers to any questions you may have about the format or scheduling of the seminar. Samples of printed materials are included in the Publicity Packet.

» Download: 3 Reasons to Host a “Wills, Estates, and Gift Planning” Seminar (download .pdf file)

The two main stories on the title page of the DVD convey the mission of the Synod and that of the greater ELCA. There are 12 chapter story videos detailing some of the ministries of the Eastern North Dakota Synod. Enjoy viewing them. We want you to know the ‘Synod Stories’ to feel good about enthusiastically supporting our work together. Each congregational president has received a copy of this DVD for use in their local congregation.

Watch online…
How to use the EaND “Us” DVD (Download .pdf file)

Video Chapters

• EaND “Us” :: Overview
• EaND “Us” :: Bible Camp
• EaND “Us” :: Call Process
• EaND “Us” :: Campus Ministry
• EaND “Us” :: Central African Republic
• EaND “Us” :: Dacotah O’yate
• EaND “Us” :: Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
• EaND “Us” :: Lutheran Social Services
• EaND “Us” :: Planned Giving Partnership
• EaND “Us” :: the Project F-M
• EaND “Us” :: Resource Center
• EaND “Us” :: Seminarians
• EaND “Us” :: Synod Endowment
• EaND “Us” :: ELCA Churchwide
• EaND “Us” :: Bishop’s Thank You

The information in this article may be of great interest to you if you are over 70 1/2 years old and have one or more Individual Retirement Accounts. The information shared below may be pertinent to charitable gifts made to a variety of organizations, including annual church offerings, gifts to church endowment funds or capital campaigns, as well as gifts to the Eastern ND Synod Endowment Fund, ELCA social ministry organizations and ELCA churchwide initiatives (external link).

Overview

Many individuals have been interested in giving IRA assets to their favorite charities.  However, until the year 2006, their ability to use IRA assets to make gifts had been discouraged because such gifts were includable in income (even though there has been an offsetting charitable deduction).

Legislation passed in August, 2006 allowed certain tax-free IRA rollovers to charity through December 31, 2007.  Fortunately, the “Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008″ (part of H.R. 1424), which became law in October, 2008, has extended this favorable tax incentive for the tax years 2008 and 2009. Although IRA account owners over age 70 1/2 are not required to take mandatory distributions during calendar year 2009, this incentive will still be valuable to many generous taxpayers.

Previous Problems

Prior to this favorable legislation, funding charitable gifts through IRA withdrawals had created many tax problems, including:

1. The charitable income tax deduction for cash gifts is limited to 50% of one’s “adjusted gross income” in the year of the gift.  Fortunately, unused deductions may be carried forward for up to five years. If the taxpayer was already subject to this limitation, additional gifts funded by IRA withdrawals received an unfavorable tax result.
2. For some smaller IRA gifts, there was no offsetting charitable deduction if the taxpayer(s) did not itemize deductions.  [Since the majority of Americans are unable to itemize deductions (and use the standard deduction instead), IRA rollover gifts are a wonderful opportunity for millions of Americans.]
3. The inclusion of IRA gifts in income may have increased the percentage of Social Security benefits that were taxable.
4. The inclusion of IRA gifts in income may have caused a reduction in such items as deductible medical expenses, overall itemized deductions and personal exemptions.

The Present Opportunity

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (extended recently through 2009) allows some  individuals to make distributions to public charities directly from their IRA accounts without including the distribution in income.  This rule pertains to IRA owners over age 70 1/2 and is limited to charitable IRA “rollovers” of up to $100,000 per year, per person, through December 31, 2009

Pertinent Questions

Why is this new provision helpful?

Since qualified charitable distributions from IRAs are now not included in income, the “previous problems” listed above are eliminated.

What contributions qualify under this provision?

The contributions must be made directly from the IRA to “public charities” such as your own congregation.  For instance, gifts to private foundations, donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities do not qualify.

How do I make a qualifying IRA “rollover”?

You should contact your IRA custodian to make the contribution directly from your IRA to the organization(s) you choose to favor.

How will this IRA “rollover” to charity affect my tax return?

It is essentially a “non-event” if it does not exceed the $100,000 annual limitation.  It is not reported as income, nor is it deductible as a charitable contribution.

In Summary

If you have an Individual Retirement Account, are over age 70 1/2 and want to make tax-favored gifts, you should strongly consider this new opportunity.  As noted above, you can utilize this planning during the rest of tax year 2008 and throughout 2009.

For more information or questions, please contact Julie Johnson, Lutheran Planned Giving Partnership Coordinator at: 701-232-1480 or 701-388-4781 or by e-mail at: jandcjohnson@cableone.net

Disclaimer: The above article is intended to provide information of a general nature only. It should not be construed as legal, tax and/or financial advice. Readers are urged to consult their own professional advisers for their specific situations.

Download a .pdf of this article (Download .pdf file)