This just in from Wall Street Journal:

"Congress has reauthorized tax breaks for charitable transfers from individual retirement accounts for 2014, but eligible tax payers must move quickly if they want to make such gifts: The provision expiries again as of Jan. 1, as do several other breaks Congress extended last week.

The popular provision's passage means that IRA owners have eonly 10 days to make donations of their IRA assets--unless they've already made them this year hoping that Congress would act in their favor. The provision is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014.

The provision allows IRA owners who are 70 1/2 and older to give up to $100,000 in IRA assets directly to charity each year. There's no deduction for the gift, but it doesn't count as income--which can have benefits such as helping lower Medicare premiums. The donation can count toward the owner's required annual withdrawal."