FundSvcs Community

I know the rules for personal check IRAs and postmarks, but I want to make sure I'm understanding the rules regarding postmark dates and bank-issued IRAs. For bank-issued IRAs, do we follow the same postmark rules that we use for "regular" checks? (check postmarked 2024 but cashed in 2025 is allowed a 2024 receipt). In past years, I've heard that even with bank-issued IRAs, it depends on when the funds actually leave the donor's account and not the postmark.

I'm sure this has been discussed many times, but I wasn't able to find any particular post that addresses it directly. If I've overlooked it, I'm sorry for the repeat thread.

Thank you and Happy New Year! 

We follow our internal Date of Gift policy and use the postmark as the determining factor, per John's advice. However, I've noticed growing concerns from donors who seem to believe that their check must be deposited by our office by 12/31 for it to count in the tax year. While we prioritize depositing these checks as quickly as possible to ensure timely processing, this isn't always feasible for checks received after that date.

I've heard a specific concern regarding IRA checkbooks where donors can write checks directly from their IRA accounts. In these cases, the funds technically remain in their account until the check is deposited into ours, potentially causing confusion about the gift's effective date. That may be where this stems from. 

I have yet to receive confirmation from an IRA custodian. So I'm also curious if anything is confirmed in this regard.