President Bush today signed the $700 billion economic bailout bill (H.R. 1424, The Financial Rescue Package), which includes a two-year extension of the IRA Rollover provision.

The provision will be made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008, and will apply to gifts made from that date through Dec. 31, 2009.

The provision exempts from taxable income any funds transferred (“rolled over”) from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable organization. The following limitations apply:

• The donor must be age 70½ or older.
• The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000.
• The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts).

The provision expired at the end of 2007, and one of AFP’s chief legislative goals has been to reinstate the provision and make it permanent.

“This is a huge victory for the fundraising community,” said Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, CAE, president and CEO of AFP. “A critical part of this success has been all of the letters, phone calls and emails that AFP members have sent to Congress and the White House. I thank every member who got involved over the past year. Your work has paid off!”

AFP will publish more information about the rollover and other giving incentives included in the economic bailout bill in Monday’s eWire newsletter. AFP also will continue to push for changes to the rollover provision in 2009, including lowering the age for donors, increasing the cap on gifts and making the provision permanent.