Congress Approves One Year Extension of Expired Tax Benefits; IRA Charitable Rollover and Tuition Deduction Renewed for 2014 Only

Prior to adjourning for the year, the House and Senate agreed to renew a set of tax benefits that expired on December 31, 2013. Included in the package were one-year retroactive extensions of the IRA Charitable Rollover and the above-the-line Tuition Deduction. These benefits will expire, however, on December 31, 2014.

In a surprise move, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) introduced a separate bill, H.R. 5806, that would have made permanent three charitable giving benefits, including the IRA Rollover. The bill had the bipartisan support of House Leadership, and Senate Leaders indicated they would push for its passage as well. Unfortunately, President Obama announced he would veto the charitable bill, diminishing the measure’s support among Democrats in the House. It failed to gain a two-thirds majority in the House that would have been needed to override any potential veto.

The charitable giving package introduced by Rep. Camp would have traveled alongside the one-year extension, and been quickly considered before Congress adjourned for the year. Members of Congress recognized the difficulty in utilizing charitable giving benefits in a cycle of annual expirations and late renewals, and the harm and confusion it was causing among donors and nonprofits. In announcing the planned veto, the President indicated he was only willing to sign a one-year extension of all of the expired benefits. White House officials indicated that the President wants to try to address the status of the expiring provisions as part of ongoing tax reform efforts expected to resume next year.

For more information, please contact:
Karin Johns