Use Your Individual Retirement Account to Support PETA and Receive Tax Benefits

There are two easy ways you can use your individual retirement account (IRA) to both meet your financial goals and support animals.

1. Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)

If you are 70½ or older and have an IRA, you can transfer any amount up to $105,000 directly from your IRA to PETA as a qualified charity, and make a big difference in the lives of animals. A QCD does not count as taxable income, and therefore can lower your US income taxes, and can be used to meet Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) requirements.

Benefits of Making a QCD From Your IRA

Transferring funds from an IRA to PETA through a QCD is a simple yet effective way to make a powerful difference for animals right now. These are some of the benefits:

• Your donation can help you save on taxes. When you take funds from your IRA, it counts as taxable income. But QCDs are excluded from taxable income, making them an attractive, tax-efficient way to make a charitable gift, particularly if you claim the standard deduction on your US tax return.

• Your gift can help you fulfill your Required Minimum Distribution. After a certain age, you must withdraw funds annually from your IRA or you may be penalized. Your QCD can help fulfill your RMD while making a world of difference for animals.

• You can now use a QCD of up to $53,000 to create a charitable gift annuity that will pay you income for life.

How to Make a QCD Gift From Your IRA

Thanks to our partnership with FreeWill, you can make your QCD gift quickly and hassle-free through our online forms. You can also choose to print out and complete blank forms by hand or to make the gift by phone directly through your financial custodian.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Tim Enstice
Vice President of Legacy Gifts
757-962-8213
[email protected]

2. Name PETA as a Beneficiary of Your IRA Account

Did you know that you can also name PETA as a beneficiary of your IRA account so that the remaining assets (or a portion that you designate) can be distributed to support our vital work for animals for years to come? Leaving these assets to loved ones may result in money being lost to income and estate taxes, but because PETA is a charity, it will receive 100% of your gift. To learn more or to notify us of your gift, please contact Tim Enstice at [email protected].

Learn about other ways you can leave a legacy for animals and request free resources.

“PETA is in the forefront of putting an end to cruelty to animals, which is why I chose to support PETA through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from my IRA. The process is easy, and donating helps me meet my minimum distribution requirements. I also appreciate the tax benefits. The fight to end animal cruelty is far from over and to make sure that I help in the continuation of this fight I have also stipulated that part of my estate be distributed to PETA after I am gone. I am truly dedicated to the elimination of animal cruelty in the present as well as the future.”

—Al Smith, PETA Augustus Club and Vanguard Society member