On June 30, 2026, the NC House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill (S.675) that would address a variety of challenges to accessing charitable donations made through bequests from individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Examples of these challenges, which typically result from policies of some financial institutions that hold IRAs, include:
Forced Account Creation. Instead of simply closing the IRA and issuing a check, some institutions require nonprofits to open an “Inherited IRA account” and become new customers of the financial institution.
Invasive Personal Data Requirements. To open these accounts, nonprofits are often asked to provide personal information about an officer, including Social Security number, home address, and driver’s license—exposing staff to identity theft and data breaches, despite already providing proof of their tax-exempt status as an organization.
Unnecessary Delays and Denials. If a nonprofit declines to provide this personal data, the institution may refuse to distribute the donation—contradicting the donor’s intent.
The bill would address these issues by:
Defining acceptable (and reasonable) documentation that nonprofits could provide to financial institutions to verify their eligibility;
Prohibiting financial institutions from requiring personal information of nonprofit staff and board members to process charitable distributions; and
Requiring financial institutions to deliver charitable bequests to nonprofits within 60 days of receiving documentation.
The Senate still needs to vote on the bill one more time before it goes to Governor Stein for his consideration. The Senate could vote on it when the General Assembly returns to Raleigh later this summer.
The Center has worked with the North Carolina Council of Charitable Gift Planners in advocating for the General Assembly to take up this bill. We are appreciative of Representative Celeste Cairns (R-Carteret) for her leadership in getting the House to consider this important nonprofit legislation.
