The issue really isn't so much IRS requirements as what level of customer service you want to provide.
When he Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) established these Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), it included a bunch of additional restrictions that don't apply to tax-deductible charitable contributions-the donor has to have reached age 70½, the QCD maximum for the year to all recipients is $100,000, the money has to go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity (and not pass through the donor's hands, for example), only certain types of charities qualify (not donor-advised funds, for example), the donor cannot receive any goods or services in return for the distribution, etc.
The donor, if audited, would need to substantiate that all those requirement were met. Some are pretty easy; the donor should know how old they are, for example, and the total amount of such distributions that they authorized.
Other requirements, though, are less straightforward for the donor to substantiate. How can the donor, for example, substantiate that the distribution passed directly from the IRA trustee/administrator to the charity? How does the donor determine that the organization that received the distribution is organization is "an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A) (other than any organization described in section 509(a)(3) or any fund or account described in section 4966(d)(2))"? On the other hand, substantiating those points is pretty straightforward for the charity that receives the QCDs. We know how the funds were received. We know, presumably, our status under the tax code, and know whether we qualify to receive these gifts. We know whether we provided any goods or services.
Language such as you cite just ticks off those requirements for the donor: the charity receive the funds directly from the trustee, the recipient belongs to the category of charities that can receive QCDs, no goods or services were provided, etc. Its intent is to provide the donor great customer service, so there is never a question whether the QCD met these additional requirements peculiar to a QCD.
Ultimately, the decision is up to you. The one thing that you shouldn't do, though, is to refer to the QCD as tax-deductible. The whole point is that they aren't tax-deductible, but rather excluded from taxable income, which is a different thing.
My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.
Good luck!
Alan
Alan S. Hejnal
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Smithsonian Institution - Office of Advancement
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From: Advancement Services Discussion List <
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> On Behalf Of Jenny Ziegler
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 11:54 AM
To:
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG
Subject: [FUNDSVCS] IRA legally required acknowledgement text
Hello!
There is interest in revising our IRA acknowledgment text, but I'm looking for a resource that states what is legally required to be included for these types of gifts. Following is what has been proposed, but some feel that it is too technical and cold (particularly the second paragraph). I need to assess if the language here is necessary, and if so, is it sufficient. If any of it is unnecessary, it would be nice to remove it. I've searched through the archives and the IRS website and am not finding what I'm looking for-I find samples of what others use, but not a description of what is legally required to be included.
Thank you for any help you can provide!
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Jenny
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Jenny Ziegler, CFRE
Director of Development Analytics
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Lawrence University
Appleton, WI
920-832-6885
jenny.ziegler@lawrence.edu<mailto:
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