The Internal Revenue Service today issued guidance designating the earthquake that occurred in Chile in February 2010 as a qualified disaster for federal tax purposes. The guidance allows individuals who receive qualified disaster relief payments from any person to exclude those payments from income on their tax returns. Also, the guidance allows employer-sponsored private foundations to assist employee-victims in areas affected by this earthquake without affecting their tax-exempt status.   MORE »

House Ways and Means Committee acting Chair Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., and Ways and Means ranking minority member Dave Camp, R-Mich., have introduced a bill that would accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Chile, and extend the period from which such contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti may be accelerated.  MORE »

The IRS has announced the February 27 earthquake in Chile is a qualified disaster for section 139 purposes. Accordingly, employer-sponsored private foundations may provide disaster relief to employee victims of the earthquake and recipients may exclude relief payments from their income.  MORE »

The Smithsonian Institution in a two-sentence statement has declined accepting the suit worn by O.J. Simpson on the day he was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.  MORE »

In response to congressional inaction regarding the estate tax prior to the end of 2009, Conrad Teitell has written Senate Finance Committee leaders urging them to retroactively repeal another component of EGTRA, which imposes carryover basis rules on inheritances during 2010.  MORE »

If you missed last week's live webinar presentation on gifts and uses of life insurance in planned giving and how the charitable and professional advisory communities can come together as a team to offer best practices in this area, the program has been recorded and is available.  MORE »

The IRS has ruled privately that a university's issuance of units from charitable remainder trusts for which it serves as trustee, the making or receipt of payments with respect to the units, and the holding or redemption of the units, will not generate unrelated business taxable income to the university.  MORE »

For purposes of determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest, Revenue Ruling 2010-08 indicates the applicable federal rate under section 7520 for March 2010 is 3.2%; down 0.2% from the February rate of 3.4% and up 0.2% from the January rate of 3.0%.  MORE »

Writing for The Chronicle on Philanthropy, Holly Hall reports, "Fund raisers who solicit large gifts need to become knowledgeable about the charitable aspects of a law that allows people to covert their regular individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs this year, says Robert F. Sharpe, a Memphis planned-giving consultant."  MORE »

Charitable giving is under great stress. Donations are down; endowments are down; government grants are down; yet the social needs are greater than ever.

On Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT, Trusts & Estates and Registered Rep magazines will bring together experts from the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), the American College, and the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP) to address the use of life insurance in charitable giving. Attendence is free.

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Writing on his own behalf and for Martin Hall of Ropes and Gray, LLP, Boston, attorney Lawrence P. Katzenstein of Thompson Coburn LLP, St. Louis, has asked the service to address the gift tax consequences of Notice 2010-19 on transfers to charitable remainder trusts.  MORE »

According to a Live Discussion hosted by the Chronicle on Philanthropy, "Now that charities are required to fill out a new version of the Form 990 -- the informational tax return that organizations file each year with the Internal Revenue Service -- some organizations are beginning to get a better understanding of its new requirements. Yet too many charity trustees have not grasped that the new 990 makes substantial new demands on them, experts say."  MORE »

In "Navigating the Shifting Tax Landscape" from the February 17, 2010 issue of The New York Times, writer David Cay Johnston discusses charitable giving from Roth IRAs and the effect of the Obama administration's proposal to limit the tax benefit from charitable gifts and other itemized deductions.  MORE »

Writing for Trusts & Estates, attorney David Thayne Leibell of Wiggin and Dana LLP discusses two recent court cases that might shut down the Internal Revenue Service's attack on "charitable lids" and suggests that wealthy families’ facing an estate tax in 2010 should place them at the top of their to-do lists.  MORE »

Writing on behalf of the American Counsel on Gift Annuities, Conrad Teitell has responded to Notice 2010-19 in which he explains potential unintended and adverse gift tax consequences on transfers to charitable remainder trusts and asks the IRS to immediately issue a corrective notice.  MORE »

According to a February 1 article in The Chronicle on Philanthropy, Suzanne Perry reports that President Obama's budget proposals for fiscal 2011 "would limit to 28 percent the tax break couples earning $250,000 (or individuals earning $200,000) could get for their itemized deductions, including gifts to charity." A similar proposal failed Congressional endorsement last year.  MORE »

Find helpful links to 990 resources and tools tailored to meet the specialized needs of exempt organizations, tax professionals, the general public and contributors, and researchers (including the media) on IRS.gov.  MORE »

The IRS has issued guidance explaining how exempt organizations required to file certain returns electronically may obtain a waiver of those requirements. The Notice also includes guidance on the timely filing of an electronically filed return that is rejected.  MORE »