President Bush has signed into law the $700 billion economic bailout bill (H.R. 1424, Financial Rescue Package), which includes a two-year extension of the IRA Rollover provision as well as other charitable giving provisions.

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).