A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends money straight from your IRA to a charity. None of it counts as taxable income. You can start at 70½, and the 2026 limit is $111,000 per person.
Once required minimum distributions begin, a QCD can cover part or all of each year’s withdrawal. It works with the standard deduction, which makes it a useful retirement tax planning tool for people who don’t itemize.
Maybe you give to a church or favorite cause each December. A QCD can turn that habit into a lower tax bill.
What Is a Qualified Charitable Distribution?
A qualified charitable distribution moves money from your IRA straight to an eligible charity once you’re 70½. The money goes from your IRA custodian to the charity without passing through your hands. Under IRS Publication 590-B, it stays out of your income up to an annual limit.
Traditional and inherited IRAs can make QCDs. SEP and SIMPLE IRAs can too, as long as your employer isn’t still contributing to them. A Roth IRA can make one, but Roth withdrawals are often tax-free already, so there’s little to gain.
401(k) and 403(b) plans can’t make QCDs. If most of your savings sit in a workplace plan, you’d need to roll money into an IRA first.
What Is the QCD Limit for 2026?
The QCD limit for 2026 is $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 in 2025. The SECURE 2.0 Act tied the limit to inflation, so it has risen every year since 2024.
Each spouse gets a separate limit. If you’re both 70½ and each has an IRA, together you can give up to $222,000 in 2026. Each spouse’s QCD has to come from their own IRA.
Annual QCD Limit by Year
| Year | QCD limit per person | Combined limit for a married couple |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $100,000 | $200,000 |
| 2024 | $105,000 | $210,000 |
| 2025 | $108,000 | $216,000 |
| 2026 | $111,000 | $222,000 |
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, 2024 and 2025 editions, for 2024 to 2026; IRS news release IR-2023-215 for 2023. The couple figure assumes both spouses are 70½ or older and each owns an IRA.
A one-time QCD can also fund a split-interest entity, such as a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust. The cap for that gift is $55,000 in 2026, and it counts toward the annual limit. Because these limits are tied to inflation, the IRS is expected to announce the updated figures for 2027 in late October or November.
Who Can Make a QCD?
You can make a QCD if you’re at least 70½ on the day the money leaves your IRA. That’s earlier than RMDs start. Per the IRS, RMDs begin at 73 for most retirees and at 75 for people born in 1960 or later.
That gap gives you a few years to give from your IRA before RMDs begin. QCDs in those years also shrink your IRA balance, which lowers the RMDs that come later.
Can You Make a QCD From an Inherited IRA?
Yes, as long as you’re at least 70½ when the money goes out. IRS Notice 2007-7 says the beneficiary’s age is the one that counts. A QCD from an inherited IRA can also cover the withdrawals some heirs must take under the inherited IRA rules.
Which Charities Qualify for a QCD?
Most public charities qualify, including churches and other houses of worship. Under the same IRS notice, donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, and most private foundations can’t receive a QCD.
If you’d rather spread gifts over several years through a donor-advised fund, you’d fund it with other money. Keep the charity’s written acknowledgment for every QCD. The IRS requires the same receipt you’d need for a deductible gift.
How Does a QCD Count Toward Your RMD?
A QCD counts toward your required minimum distribution dollar for dollar. If your RMD is $20,000 and you send $8,000 to charity as a QCD, you need to withdraw $12,000 more. Only that $12,000 is taxable.
Order matters. Make the QCD before you take the rest of your RMD, early in the year if you can. Once you’ve withdrawn your full RMD, a later QCD can’t make that withdrawal tax-free. The QCD itself still stays out of your income.
Is a QCD Better Than a Charitable Deduction?
A QCD often saves more than withdrawing IRA money and deducting the gift. It keeps the money out of your adjusted gross income altogether. A lower AGI can reduce how much of your Social Security is taxable. It can also keep you below the IRMAA surcharges on Medicare premiums, which look back two years.
A deduction helps only if you itemize, and few people do. About 10% of taxpayers were expected to itemize on 2024 returns. That’s the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate cited by the Congressional Research Service.
From 2026, non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to qualifying charities, per IRS Topic 506. The cap is $2,000 on a joint return. A QCD has a much higher ceiling and doesn’t depend on itemizing. The CRS also notes that QCDs can help some people keep the new $6,000 deduction for those 65 and older. That deduction phases out as income rises.
QCD vs. Deducting a Charitable Gift
| Feature | Qualified charitable distribution | Withdraw and deduct the gift |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | IRA owners and heirs 70½ or older | Itemizers; non-itemizers up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) from 2026 |
| Lowers adjusted gross income | Yes | No |
| Counts toward your RMD tax-free | Yes | No |
| Annual cap | $111,000 per person in 2026 | Up to 60% of AGI for most cash gifts |
| Can go to a donor-advised fund | No | Yes |
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, IRS Topic 506, IRS Notice 2007-7, IRS Publication 526 (60% AGI limit), and Congressional Research Service report IF11377.
You can’t claim both. A QCD isn’t deductible, because it was excluded from your income from the start.
How Do You Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution?
You make a QCD by asking your IRA custodian to send money straight to the charity. Ask your custodian for its QCD request form or process, then work through these steps:
- Confirm you’ll be at least 70½ on the date of the distribution.
- Look up the charity in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Confirm it isn’t a donor-advised fund or private foundation.
- Ask your custodian to pay the charity straight from your IRA before you take the rest of that year’s RMD.
- Get a written acknowledgment from the charity.
- Leave time before Dec. 31. A QCD counts in the year the money leaves your IRA.
How Do You Report a QCD on Your Tax Return?
Your IRA custodian reports the QCD on Form 1099-R. Starting with 2026 forms, custodians may mark a QCD with code Y in box 7a. The IRS doesn’t require it yet, per the Form 1099-R instructions. Either way, you show the QCD on your return, following the Form 1040 instructions:
- Enter the total distribution on line 4a.
- Enter zero on line 4b if all of it was a QCD, or only the part that wasn’t.
- Check box 2 on line 4c.
Give your tax preparer the QCD amount and the charity’s acknowledgment. In TurboTax, you enter the 1099-R, pick its box 7 code, and confirm the donated amount when prompted. One catch: deductible IRA contributions you made after 70½ reduce how much of a QCD stays tax-free. Publication 590-B has a worksheet for that.
How Do You Model QCDs in the Boldin Planner?
You model QCDs in the Boldin Planner as deductible one-time expenses dated January of each year you plan to give. January entries reduce that year’s RMD, and the Planner takes any remaining RMD in December.
- Go to My Plan > Expenses and Healthcare > One-time Expenses.
- Add a one-time expense for the gift.
- Set January of the giving year as both the start and end date.
- Mark it deductible and save.
Run your plan with and without the QCDs, then compare your lifetime taxes and IRMAA exposure. PlannerPlus members can also ask Boldin AI to set up a year-by-year QCD schedule.
If charitable giving is already part of your retirement plan, a QCD lets the same gift do more. Start with this year’s RMD and the causes you care about, and see how far your giving can go.
Frequently Asked Questions About Qualified Charitable Distributions
Is a qualified charitable distribution tax deductible?
No. A qualified charitable distribution can’t be claimed as a charitable deduction. The IRS leaves the amount out of your taxable income instead. That exclusion can do more than a deduction would. A lower adjusted gross income can also reduce taxes on Social Security benefits and Medicare premium surcharges.
Can you do a QCD from an inherited IRA?
Yes. A beneficiary who is at least 70½ can make a qualified charitable distribution from an inherited IRA. What matters is the beneficiary’s age when the money leaves the account, whatever age the original owner was. The gift can also satisfy withdrawals the beneficiary is required to take from that IRA during the year.
Can you make a QCD from a 401(k)?
Workplace plans such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s can’t send qualified charitable distributions. To give this way, you’d need to move those savings to an IRA through a rollover. The gift can then come from the IRA once you’re 70½. A rollover takes time, so start the process well before the year-end deadline.
Can a QCD go to a donor-advised fund?
No. A donor-advised fund can’t receive a qualified charitable distribution, and neither can supporting organizations or most private foundations. A donor-advised fund can still take cash or appreciated investments, which you can deduct if you itemize. That gift won’t count toward a required minimum distribution from your IRA, though.
Do churches qualify for QCDs?
Yes. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other congregations are public charities, so they can receive qualified charitable distributions. Confirm the congregation’s tax-exempt status and have the IRA administrator make the payment out to the church. Keep the written acknowledgment with your tax records.
What is the deadline for a QCD?
A qualified charitable distribution counts toward the tax year the IRA pays it out. The practical deadline is Dec. 31. Custodians need time to process requests, so submitting yours by early December gives you room. To reduce a required minimum distribution, the QCD has to come before you finish that year’s withdrawal.
