Qualified Charitable Distributions: The Best Charity Move After 70½

By Tom, CPA · Updated October 27, 2026

Part of: Tax Planning

TL;DR: From age 70½, you can send up to $111,000 in 2026 directly from an IRA to charity. The money is excluded from income instead of deducted, so it lowers AGI, counts toward required distributions and works even if you take the standard deduction.

Educational only, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are illustrations, not predictions. Rules and limits change; verify current figures and talk to a qualified professional about your situation.

For IRA owners who give to charity, the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is usually the best charitable tool in the code. Instead of taking an IRA withdrawal, paying tax on it and then hoping to deduct the gift, you send the money straight from the IRA to the charity. The distribution never shows up in taxable income.

That matters more since the standard deduction got big and 2026 added a 0.5% of AGI floor on itemized charitable deductions. A QCD sidesteps both. This guide covers eligibility, the 2026 limit, how QCDs satisfy RMDs, reporting and common mistakes. See also charitable giving in early retirement, the QCD quick checklist and the tax planning guide.

CPA Warning Label: A QCD is the tax code's way of saying: if you were going to give it away anyway, do not make us count it first.

Eligibility age

You must be at least 70½ on the date of the distribution. Not the year: the actual date. If you turn 70½ in September, a QCD in June does not qualify.

Note the gap with RMD age

QCD eligibility stayed at 70½ even though the SECURE Acts pushed required minimum distributions to age 73 (and to 75 for people born in 1960 or later). That means there are a few years when you can make QCDs before you have any RMD. Those QCDs still reduce your pre-tax IRA balance and therefore future RMDs.

Eligible accounts

• Traditional IRAs and inherited IRAs (if the beneficiary is 70½).
• Roth IRAs technically, but rarely useful because qualified Roth withdrawals are already tax-free.
• SEP and SIMPLE IRAs only if they are not "ongoing," meaning no employer contribution is made for the plan year.
• Not 401(k)s or 403(b)s. Roll the money to an IRA first if you want to make QCDs.

Eligible charities

Most public charities qualify. Donor-advised funds, supporting organizations and most private foundations do not. You also cannot receive any benefit in return, such as gala dinner tickets; if you do, the distribution does not qualify.

Annual limit

The QCD limit is indexed for inflation starting in 2024. For 2026 it is $111,000 per person (up from $108,000 in 2025). A married couple with IRAs in each spouse's name can each give up to $111,000 from their own IRAs, for $222,000 combined.

One-time split-interest gift

The SECURE 2.0 Act allows a one-time QCD to a charitable remainder trust or charitable gift annuity. For 2026 the limit for that election is $55,000. The rules are strict: the trust or annuity must be funded only by QCDs, and payments must go to you or your spouse.

The IRA contribution offset

If you make deductible traditional IRA contributions after age 70½, the amount that can be excluded as a QCD is reduced by those contributions (cumulatively). This anti-abuse rule mostly affects people who are still working and contributing. Roth IRA contributions do not trigger it.

Satisfies RMD

A QCD counts toward your required minimum distribution for the year. If your RMD is $20,000 and you make a $12,000 QCD, you need only $8,000 more as a taxable withdrawal.

Order matters

The first dollars out of an IRA in a year count toward the RMD. If you take your full RMD as a cash withdrawal in January, a QCD later that year still counts as a QCD (and is excluded from income), but it no longer reduces the taxable RMD you already took. To use a QCD against your RMD, do the QCD first or before you have withdrawn the full RMD.

Why excluding beats deducting

• Works with the standard deduction. You get the full tax benefit without itemizing.
• Avoids the 2026 0.5% floor and the 35% cap that apply to itemized charitable deductions.
• Lowers AGI. Lower AGI can reduce the taxable part of Social Security, help you stay under Medicare IRMAA tiers (see IRMAA planning), keep you under the $250,000 or $200,000 NIIT thresholds and reduce state income tax in states that start with federal AGI.
• Preserves the senior deduction. The 2025-2028 senior deduction of $6,000 phases out based on MAGI; a QCD can keep you under the threshold.

Reporting on 1040

Your IRA custodian reports the distribution on Form 1099-R as a normal distribution. There is no special code for QCDs. You must report it correctly:

1. Enter the total distribution on Form 1040, line 4a.
2. Enter the taxable amount (total minus the QCD) on line 4b.
3. Write "QCD" next to line 4b.
4. Keep a written acknowledgment from the charity that says you received no goods or services in exchange.

Tax software asks about QCDs when you enter a 1099-R; answer the question. If you skip it, the software will treat the entire distribution as taxable.

Mechanics

The check must be payable directly to the charity. Many custodians let you order QCD checks or a checkbook. For a December QCD, start early: custodians and charities treat late-year checks differently, and a check that is not cashed until January can create a year-of-distribution headache, so ask your custodian about its cutoff. A check cashed by the charity in January can create confusion, so give early.

Mistakes

• Withdrawing first and then donating. If the money lands in your bank account first, it is a taxable distribution, not a QCD. You can still deduct the gift only if you itemize.
• Sending to a DAF. Not allowed.
• Making it from a 401(k). Not allowed; roll to an IRA first.
• Giving before age 70½. The date matters.
• Taking the RMD first. The QCD will not reduce an RMD already taken.
• Getting a benefit. Event tickets or dinners disqualify the QCD.
• Missing the 1040 notation. Report it as a QCD or you may pay tax on it.
• Also deducting it. A QCD is excluded from income; you cannot also take a charitable deduction for the same money.

Illustration: QCD vs withdrawal and deduction

Marion, 74, single, has a $30,000 RMD, $40,000 of Social Security and gives $10,000 a year to charity. Marion takes the standard deduction ($16,100 plus the $2,050 extra for age 65+, plus the $6,000 senior deduction).

• Without a QCD: she withdraws $30,000, then gives $10,000 cash. As a non-itemizer, she can deduct only $1,000 of it under the 2026 non-itemizer rule. AGI includes the full $30,000 plus taxable Social Security.
• With a QCD: she sends $10,000 from the IRA to charity and withdraws $20,000. AGI falls by $10,000, which also reduces the amount of Social Security that is taxable. In the 12% bracket and the Social Security torpedo zone, the $9,000 extra reduction in taxable income (compared with the $1,000 non-itemizer deduction) can save well over $1,500 in federal tax.

Pairing QCDs with gifts of appreciated stock is also smart: use QCDs for cash-style gifts and stock for larger gifts; see giving appreciated stock. For itemizers, compare with the new charitable deduction rules.

Should you make QCDs before RMDs start?

Between 70½ and your RMD age, QCDs are optional but often still smart. Each QCD shrinks the pre-tax IRA, which lowers future RMDs and the taxable income they create. If you would give anyway, a QCD at 71 is usually better than writing a check from your bank account and getting no deduction because you take the standard deduction. The exception: if you are doing Roth conversions in those years, converting and giving appreciated stock may be the better combination, since a QCD and a conversion both draw from the same IRA.

QCDs and heirs

For people who plan to leave money to charity at death, naming a charity as beneficiary of a traditional IRA is often better than leaving it Roth money or taxable assets. Charities pay no income tax on inherited IRAs, while human heirs pay ordinary income tax on them, often over a compressed 10-year window. During life, QCDs accomplish a similar thing: they move pre-tax IRA money, the most heavily taxed asset you own, to the people who will never pay tax on it. Leave the stepped-up taxable assets and Roth accounts to family. Coordinate the plan with qualified dividends and other income sources; see qualified vs ordinary dividends.