A new federal law will allow people who have to take money out of Individual Retirement Accounts in the next 15 months to get a tax break by giving that mandatory withdrawal to charity.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 lets people taking money out of traditional and Roth IRAs get the equivalent of a 100 percent income tax charitable contribution deduction on their federal income tax for donations up to $100,000.

“They only made this effective for a charitable gift from an IRA,” said John Flanagan, regional resource development director for the Salvation Army.

But it's a limited-time offer - expiring at the end of 2007 - and charities are working to inform investment advisers and tax consultants of the deal, he said.

At age 701/2, people with IRAs have to take some money out of the accounts. That's usually 5 percent to 6 percent of the IRA's total value, Flanagan said.

“What this will do is give some relief to those who have to make that mandatory withdrawal,” he said.

Federal taxes on that money are deferred while it's tied up in the IRA, but the withdrawal amount is normally added to the taxpayer's annual income for tax purposes.

This makes giving the withdrawn money to charity an especially good deal for those who are already in a higher tax bracket - and who would have to pay a tax rate as high as 36 or 38 percent, Flanagan said.

“This is a great benefit, for people and for charitable organizations,” he said.