Charitable Giving From an IRA: Qualified Charitable Distributions Explained

Most retirees who give to charity do it the expensive way. They take money from an IRA, pay tax on it, write a check to the charity and then, because the standard deduction is large, receive little or no tax benefit for the gift. A qualified charitable distribution reverses that. The money goes straight from the IRA to the charity and never touches your tax return. For a retiree who is already giving, it is close to free money, and it is one of the first things we check for clients past 70.

How a QCD works

You instruct your IRA custodian to send a payment directly to a qualified public charity. The custodian either mails a check to the charity or issues a check payable to the charity that you deliver. The amount is reported on your Form 1099-R as a distribution, and you note on your tax return that it was a QCD. It is excluded from your gross income entirely. You do not itemize to get the benefit; it simply never counts as income.

The requirements are specific.

• You must be 70½ or older on the date of the distribution, not just during the year.
• The gift must come from an IRA: traditional, inherited, inactive SEP or SIMPLE. It cannot come from a 401(k) or other employer plan without first rolling to an IRA.
• The recipient must be a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donor-advised funds, private foundations and supporting organizations do not qualify.
• You cannot receive anything of value in return. A gala ticket or a benefit dinner disqualifies the portion that pays for it.
• The limit is per person, not per couple. For 2026 it is $111,000, indexed for inflation each year.

Why it beats a normal donation

Three reasons, in order of how often they matter.

It satisfies your RMD. From the year you turn 73 (or 75 for younger retirees), you must take required minimum distributions. A QCD counts toward that amount. If your RMD is $30,000 and you give $10,000 by QCD, you take $20,000 as a taxable distribution and the other $10,000 goes to charity untaxed. Our article on the 2026 RMD rules covers the rest of that calculation. Note that you can begin QCDs at 70½, before RMDs start, which reduces the balance future RMDs are based on.

It lowers adjusted gross income, not just taxable income. A standard charitable deduction reduces taxable income only if you itemize. A QCD reduces AGI, which drives a long list of other calculations: how much of your Social Security is taxed, whether you cross a Medicare premium threshold, whether you qualify for Utah’s Social Security tax credit, and whether net investment income tax applies. For a retiree near any of those lines, a QCD can save more than the income tax on the gift itself.

It works even if you take the standard deduction. Most retirees do. A QCD gives the full tax benefit of the gift regardless.

Mistakes that disqualify a QCD

• Taking the money yourself first. If the distribution is paid to you and you then donate it, it is a normal taxable distribution followed by a normal donation. The check must be payable to the charity.
• Giving to a donor-advised fund. These are popular and useful for other gifts, but they do not qualify for QCDs.
• Timing after an RMD is already taken. The first dollars out of an IRA each year count toward the RMD. If you take your full RMD in January and do a QCD in November, the QCD still excludes the gift from income, but it did not reduce the taxable RMD. Do the QCD first.
• Deducting it too. A QCD cannot also be claimed as an itemized charitable deduction.
• Making deductible IRA contributions after 70½. These reduce the amount you can treat as a QCD. Working retirees who contribute to an IRA should check this rule.
• Not telling your tax preparer. The 1099-R does not distinguish a QCD from a taxable distribution. You or your preparer must mark it on the return.

A note on the one-time split-interest option

Since 2023 you may make a one-time QCD of up to $55,000 (the 2026 figure) to a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust that pays you income. It is a narrow option with specific rules, and it counts against your annual QCD limit. It can fit a retiree who wants both a gift and lifetime income, and it is worth a conversation rather than a decision from an article.

Where this fits in your plan

Charitable giving is a values decision first, and it usually comes up early, when we ask clients what their money is for. The QCD is simply the most efficient way to carry out a decision you have already made. It sits alongside the rest of your estate plan: beneficiary designations that name charities on retirement accounts, gifts of appreciated stock from taxable accounts for those under 70½, and the plan for what passes to children. Our estate planning page describes how we coordinate these with your attorney and CPA.

Frequently asked questions

Written by Trevor Hanson, Founder | President | Author | Wealth Advisor, RJFS. Last reviewed: October 28, 2026.