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Scoop: Mills flew to California fundraisers while ICE raided Maine AxiosPortland, Maine, Feels Like a Small Town — And ICE Isn't Welcome The New York TimesMaine's Gov. Mills speaks out against 'secret arrests' as sheriff says ICE arrested recruit NBC News'We're being terrorized.' What Mainers are seeing as ICE launches operation in the state PBSICE arrests 100 people three days into Maine immigration crackdown, DHS says The
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Plenty of retirees like to give back to their communities through charitable donations, but questions often arise over the best way to do that.
What approach is efficient, provides the tax benefits you're after, and also is advantageous for the charity that's on the receiving end?
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One possibility is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), a tax-savvy way to reduce your taxable income and maximize your donations whether you itemize deductions on your tax return or not. An added bonus is that the benefits can be large for both the donor and the charity.
Here's How QCDs Work
A QCD is a distribution from an IRA that is paid directly from that retirement account to a qualified charity. QCDs lower your adjusted gross income (AGI) and therefore lower your tax bill. They can also offset required minimum distributions (RMDs), those withdrawals you must take from your IRA each year once you reach age 72. An RMD adds to your income, raising the amount of taxes you pay, but a QCD is excluded from your income. So, for example, if you withdrew $50,000 from your IRA as an RMD, you would pay taxes on that money. But if that same $50,000 was used as a QCD instead, you avoid the taxes while helping a charity at the same time.
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Taxpayers can benefit from QCDs even when they take the standard deduction and do not itemize their deductions. Meanwhile, even though a QCD doesn't count as an itemized deduction, tax
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Many farmers are facing a critical retirement decision. The traditions of yesterday are often changing, and their children may no longer want to follow in their parents' footsteps. The challenges are many. However, there are options available.
In 1971, I began my farming career at the tender age of 9 in the Skagit Valley, 60 miles north of Seattle. Crop farming was my gig; rouging spinach, sorting tulips, picking strawberries, raspberries and cucumbers alongside the migrant workers from Mexico. When I was old enough, I was driving picking machines with a dozen kids lying on boards over a conveyor belt, or driving an open tractor pulling a green pea combine while traveling about 1 mile in four hours.
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Today, at the age of 59, I realize that I've been preparing this article for 50 years. During 12-hour shifts on the open tractor, it rained, often. My family could not afford proper rain gear, so a plastic lawn bag with holes punched out for my head and arms provided quite well. Working six of these shifts every seven days gives a teenager time to reflect. That's when I decided farming was very hard and I wanted an easy office job someday!
Challenges for Farmers Today
A huge debt of gratitude is owed to the men and women who feed the world. You face unprecedented challenges:
Mother NatureInconsistent commodity prices
Lack of access to labor
Global competition with lower costs of operations
Lack of resources to compete with larger corporate farming technology
Next-generation (family) choosing a different career path
You are at an age where you need to slow down or retire completely
Potential income tax law changes
Inheritance and estat
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