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Smart Giving to HPPR through Your IRA

There are three ways you can use your IRA to support public radio on the High Plains, depending on your age and circumstances.

  • If you are 70½ years old or older and usually take a required minimum distribution from your IRA account, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit High Plains Public Radio and receive tax benefits in return. You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as HPPR without having to pay income taxes on the money. This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD).
  • If you’re at least 59½ years old, you can take a distribution and then make a gift from your IRA without penalty. If you itemize your deductions, you can take a charitable deduction for the amount of your gift.
  • At any age, you can designate HPPR as the beneficiary of a percentage or all of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. It's simple, just requiring that you contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website.

Benefits of giving through a distribution from your IRA

  • You pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.
  • If you reached the age of 70½ on or before Dec. 31, 2019, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year. (Note that the RMD requirement has been waived for 2020, per the CARES Act signed into law on March 27, 2020. However, you can still receive the tax benefits by taking a distribution as a gift to HPPR).
  • Since the gift doesn’t count as income, it can reduce your annual income level. This may help lower your Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.
  • Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making.

Important information for making a gift through your IRA

To be tax-free, your gift through the IRA distribution needs to be made directly from your IRA account to the Kanza Society, Inc. (HPPR's legal entity), either by writing a check from your IRA account or by having your IRA administrator issue a payment.  Here’s the information you or they will need:

  • Legal name to use: Kanza Society, Inc., dba High Plains Public Radio
  • Mailing address: 210 N. 7th Street, Garden City, KS 67846
  • Federal tax ID number: 48-0859735

If you need any further information from HPPR, please contact Marva Clark, HPPR Business Manager at 800-678-7444 or mclark@hppr.org. And if you have made such a gift, please contact her as well so we can credit your gift in a timely and accurate manner and provide you with a receipt of your gift.

HPPR cannot offer financial or tax advice for your particular situation, so contact your IRA plan administrator or tax advisor to discuss if an IRA gift is right for you. And if you are considering making an IRA charitable rollover distribution for the current calendar year-end, plan to contact your IRA administrator as soon as possible, as some administrators may place a deadline on requesting transfers.

Thank you for considering make such a gift to HPPR.  Your wise planning for your financial future can now help secure the future of public radio service in your community and across the High Plains.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can my gift be used as my required minimum distribution under the law?  Yes, absolutely. If you have not yet taken your required minimum distribution, the IRA charitable rollover gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement.  (Note that the RMD requirement has been waived for 2020, per the CARES Act signed into law on March 27, 2020. However, you can still receive the tax benefits by taking a distribution as a gift to HPPR).
  • I have inherited an IRA.  Can I use it to make an IRA charitable rollover contribution?  Yes, if the person you inherited the IRA from would be 70½ years old or older now, if still living.
  • By when do I need to make my gift?  We must receive your gift by Dec. 31 for your donation to qualify this year.
  • I'm turning age 70½ in a few months. Can I make this gift now?  No. The legislation requires you to reach age 70½ by the date you make the gift.
  • My spouse and I would like to give more than $100,000. How can we do that?  If you have a spouse (as defined by the IRS) who is 70½ or older and has an IRA, he or she can also give up to $100,000 from his or her IRA.
  • I have several retirement accounts—some are pensions and some are IRAs. Does it matter which retirement account I use?  Yes. Direct rollovers to a qualified charity can be made only from an IRA. Under certain circumstances, however, you may be able to roll assets from a pension, profit sharing, 401(k) or 403(b) plan into an IRA and then make the transfer from the IRA directly to the Kanza Society, Inc. (dba High Plains Public Radio). To determine if a rollover to an IRA is available for your plan, speak with your plan administrator.
  • Do I need to give my entire IRA to be eligible for the tax benefits?  No. You can give any amount under this provision, as long as it is $100,000 or less this year.
  • I've already named High Plains Public Radio as the beneficiary of my IRA. What are the benefits if I make a gift now instead of after my lifetime?  By making a gift this year of up to $100,000 from your IRA, you can see your philanthropic dollars at work. You are jump-starting the legacy you would like to leave and giving yourself the joy of watching your philanthropy take shape.