Wisconsin allows tax-free IRA distributions to charities

In March 2017, Nick Krueger, a member at St. Mark’s, Watertown, Wis., and staff member of Representative Terry Katsma of the Wisconsin State Assembly, invited fellow St. Mark’s member, WELS director of Christian Giving Kurt Lueneburg, to testify in front of a legislative committee on a proposed bill that would apply the federal government’s treatment of qualified charitable distributions from an IRA to Wisconsin’s tax code (pictured). That bill was adopted into Wisconsin’s budget law as of 2018, meaning Wisconsin residents 70.5 or older can make charitable distributions of up to $100,000 from their IRAs tax-free at the federal and state levels. Lueneburg shares, “Since 2007, members of our church body who live in Wisconsin have made over $1.8 million in qualified charitable distributions to support our church body’s gospel ministry. Year over year giving since 2007 shows a trend of growing interest. We’ve heard donors mention it would be nice if Wisconsin allowed tax-free distributions as well. Thus, this bill has the potential to increase donor satisfaction and the positive impact on Christ’s work.”