Tax Update The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH)

Act of 2015 Passes Tax-Free Gifts from IRA accounts for 70+
IRA Owners
December 2015

Congress has been promising action on a number of tax provisions that expired at the end of 2014.
After much delay, on December 18th, Congress approved The Protecting Americans from Tax
Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015.
This reauthorizes the IRA charitable rollover and makes it permanent. IRA owners age 70 1/2 and
older may transfer up to $100,000 from their IRA to a qualified public charity. The transfer will be
made free of federal income tax and the gift qualifies for the donor's 2015 required minimum
distribution (RMD).
IRA owners that are over age 70 and want to make a gift from their IRA accounts in 2015 have a few
days left to take advantage of this provision, and from now on, this privilege and planning strategy will
be available every year.

IRAs and the PATH Act of 2015

Charitable gifts made directly from an IRA account may be used to;
* Satisfy Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) requirements
* Can be an income tax planning tool
* Might reduce Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
* Are an efficient way to make charitable gifts
Many of our clients have used this provision to generously support churches, community groups and
other charities that are doing charitable work that is important to them. You may want to consult with
your CPA or a qualified advisor to see if this might make sense in your personal situation.

Tax Update Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes PATH Act of 2015
December 2015
Gevers Wealth Management, LLC
Page 2

PATH Act of 2015 has other Planning Opportunities

The PATH Act is long and a laborious read, but buried inside the copious pages of legal jargon lie a
few more tax planning opportunities for us. For example, some legal analysts have already pointed out
that PATH makes gifts of land for conservation purposes more attractive. We have worked with a
number of families that have made conservation gifts, a donation that may provide wonderful financial
benefits and powerful and long lasting conservation and environmental impact also. Please call us if
you would like to know more about this strategy. There may be more opportunities to save taxes and to
take advantage of this new legislation. We will continue to study the PATH Act for our clients
benefit.
(By the way, for all of you legislative buffs and CSPAN enthusiasts, you might be interested to know
that the PATH Act was released in the form of a House amendment to a Senate amendment to an
unrelated spending bill. You can read the bill in its glorious, spellbinding 233 page entirety here:
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/4235d015cb1fe489de617cf9c/files/121515_250_xml.pdf )

To editorialize for a moment it is extremely frustrating that Congress waited until this late in the year
to pass this bill. In fact this is the third time in the last few years that they have procrastinated until the
week before Christmas to pass a major tax bill.
Many families have been waiting and delaying decisions on their RMDs for 2015 in hopes that this
bill might pass. I give our legislators a C- grade for their lack of timeliness and for creating what will
certainly be a last minute stampede to take advantage of the charitable provision.
All complaining aside we will do all we can to help our clients implement any charitable gifts they
might want to make from their IRA accounts before the year-end deadline. If we have not already
discussed this, and you are over 70, we would be happy to review this strategy with you.
And, undoubtedly, many charities are delighted that this provision has passed as it may lead to a surge
in last-minute giving. There are many great groups doing outstanding and vital work to make our
communities better, and it is gratifying to see money go to many of these deserving causes. As
financial advisors, we feel privileged to play a small part in helping facilitate these important gifts.

Tax Update Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes PATH Act of 2015
December 2015
Gevers Wealth Management, LLC
Page 3

Request from Clients

On a complete non-sequitur, a few clients have asked me for a picture of my family maybe because
the family pictures of my children in my office date back to when they were all little tikes. The kids are
no longer little, but still as adorable as ever to my wife and I. The three oldest have all done stints in
our offices doing admin work, and many have you have met them before. Here is a recent family
picture from this summer.

Merry Christmas from the Gevers family and from our firm to you & your families!
Warm regards,

William R. Gevers
Financial Advisor

Tax Update Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes PATH Act of 2015
December 2015
Gevers Wealth Management, LLC
Page 4

PS: We have been repeatedly asked by clients if they could share these e-mail notes with their friends
or neighbors. Please feel free to forward this with the stipulation that it may only be forwarded if done
so in its entirety with no portions omitted. We would be delighted to share our comments and opinions
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Copyright 2015 William R. Gevers. All rights reserved.

Gevers Wealth Management, LLC

5825 221st Place SE
Suite 102
Issaquah, WA98027
Office: 425.902.4840
Fax: 425.902.4841
Email: wgevers@geverswealth.com
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