Tax Break for Donations Could Get Extended

April 6, 2010, Wall Street Journal — Congress is moving closer to extending the life of a popular tax break that has encouraged many older investors to donate to charity in recent years.

This provision, which expired at the end of last year, generally allowed taxpayers age 70 1/2 or older to transfer as much as $100,000 a year from their individual retirement accounts directly to their favorite charities, without having those transfers counted as taxable income. Charities say this law helped increase giving.