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Charitable giving · Taxes

Giving to Charity Straight from Your IRA

If you're 70½ or older and give to charity anyway, a qualified charitable distribution can be one of the simplest tax-smart ways to do it.

In one minute

  • A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends money directly from your IRA to a charity.1
  • You must be at least 70½ on the day of the gift.1
  • For 2026 you can give up to $111,000 this way, per person.2
  • The amount isn't added to your taxable income, and it can count toward your required minimum distribution.1
Part 1

How a QCD works

Normally, money you take from a traditional IRA is taxable income. With a QCD, your IRA custodian sends the money straight to a qualified charity. Because it never passes through your hands, the amount is generally excluded from your income.1

70½Minimum age on the day of the distribution1
$111,0002026 limit per IRA owner. A married couple can each give up to this from their own IRAs2
73Age when required minimum distributions generally begin for people born 1951 to 19593
Part 2

Why people use it

  • No itemizing needed. Many retirees take the standard deduction, so a regular cash gift brings no tax benefit. A QCD lowers income whether or not you itemize.
  • It can satisfy your RMD. Once required distributions start, a QCD can count toward them.1
  • Lower income can have ripple effects. Adjusted gross income affects how much of your Social Security is taxed and Medicare premium surcharges.
Part 3

The rules that trip people up

Not every charity qualifies

Gifts to donor-advised funds and private foundations don't count as QCDs.1

It must go directly to the charity

If the IRA pays you and you then write a check, it's a taxable distribution, not a QCD.

IRAs only

QCDs come from IRAs. Money in a 401(k) generally has to be rolled to an IRA first.

Get a receipt, and tell your preparer

You need the charity's written acknowledgment. Your 1099-R won't flag the QCD, so your tax preparer must report it correctly.1

Part 4

Step by step

  1. Confirm you're 70½ or olderOn the date the money leaves your IRA.
  2. Pick qualified charitiesPublic charities, not donor-advised funds or private foundations.
  3. Ask your IRA custodian for a QCD formThe check is made payable to the charity.
  4. Allow time before December 31The charity must receive it in the tax year you intend.
  5. Keep the acknowledgment and tell your preparerSo the distribution is reported as a QCD.

More year-end ideas: Year-End Planning Checklist for 2026.

Wondering if a QCD fits your giving?

A short conversation can show how charitable giving fits with your required distributions and the rest of your plan, so you know what to confirm with your tax preparer.

Book a time with Kevin Educational only. Kevin is not a tax preparer. Confirm tax treatment with a qualified tax professional.

Sources

  1. IRS, Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs (qualified charitable distributions) and Publication 590-B. Accessed November 10, 2026.
  2. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments (qualified charitable distribution limit). Accessed November 10, 2026.
  3. IRS, Required Minimum Distributions FAQs (required beginning age under SECURE 2.0). Accessed November 10, 2026.

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