Over 70½? Your IRA Can Help Animals and Lower Your Tax Bill

Let’s talk about a giving option many of our longtime supporters qualify for but don’t always know about: the qualified charitable distribution, or QCD. If you’re 70½ or older and have a traditional IRA, you can give to PAWS Atlanta straight from that account. With the end of the year coming up fast, the timing couldn’t be better. We’re working toward $1 million this year to keep our shelter running and our pet food bank stocked, and a QCD is one of the smartest ways to help us get there.

Here’s why it’s worth a closer look. A QCD goes directly from your IRA to PAWS Atlanta, so it never counts as taxable income for you. If you’re 73 or older, it also counts toward your required minimum distribution. That means money you’d have to withdraw anyway can go to animals instead of adding to your tax bill. You get that benefit whether or not you itemize, and you can give up to $111,000 this year. The only catch is timing. The transfer has to come directly from your IRA custodian to us, and it needs to be completed by December 31 to count for 2026.

Every dollar you give through a QCD goes straight to shelter animals who need food and medical care, to our pet food bank keeping struggling families and their pets together, and to spay/neuter and basic vet care for the animals who come through our doors every day. It also gets us closer to that $1 million mark, which is what it takes to keep every part of this operation running at the level our animals and our community need.

Getting started is simple. Contact your IRA custodian, ask to make a qualified charitable distribution, and give them our details: PAWS Atlanta, EIN 58-6074088, 5287 Covington Highway, Decatur, GA 30035. Then give a quick heads up to our Development Coordinator, Kirsten, at klucas@pawsatlanta.org because custodian checks sometimes arrive without the donor’s name, and we want to thank you properly and send your acknowledgment letter. As always, check with your tax advisor about what makes sense for you. A few minutes on the phone with your custodian can turn a required withdrawal into a meal, a vaccine, or a second chance for an animal who needs it.