If You’re 70½ and You Give to Charity, There’s a Smarter Way.

If you write a check to your church every month, or you tithe through the offering plate, or you give a yearly gift to a cause that matters to you — this is for you.

There’s a rule in the tax code most people over 70 have never heard of. And the people who have heard of it usually first learned about it from their CPA in March — after they’d already done their giving the regular way for the year.

It’s called a Qualified Charitable Distribution. QCD for short.

The plain-English version: if you’re 70½ or older and you have money in a traditional IRA, you can send some of it straight to a charity without it ever showing up as income on your tax return.

Why That Matters

Most people give to charity out of their checking account. It feels generous, because it is. They write the check, get a receipt, and try to deduct it on their taxes.

But here’s the catch: a lot of retirees don’t actually get to deduct charitable giving anymore. The standard deduction is high enough now that itemizing doesn’t pay off for most people. So they’re giving — which is good — but they’re not getting any tax benefit for it.

A QCD changes that math.

When you send money straight from your IRA to a charity, the amount you send never counts as income. It’s not “deducted” — it’s excluded. The IRS treats it like it never landed in your wallet. And because your taxable income is lower, a chain of other things get better too: less of your Social Security may be taxed, your Medicare premium tier may stay the same instead of jumping, and your overall tax bracket can stay where you want it.

How It Actually Works

Three pieces have to be true.

1. You have to be 70½ or older.

Not 70. Not “the year you turn 70.” Actually 70½. The IRS counts the days.

2. The money has to come straight from your IRA to the charity.

You can’t withdraw it first, put it in your checking account, and then write a check. The custodian has to send it directly. Most IRA custodians know how to do this — you call, you tell them the charity, the amount, and the address, and they handle it.

3. The charity has to be a qualified one (501(c)(3)).

Most churches, synagogues, mosques, and well-known nonprofits qualify. Donor-advised funds and private foundations do not count for QCD purposes — that’s a common surprise. If you’re not sure about an organization, ask before you send.

There’s an annual limit on how much you can give this way. The IRS adjusts the limit each year for inflation. For 2026 it’s well over $100,000 per person — more than most people will ever need to use. Your CPA or advisor can tell you the exact figure for the year you’re giving in.

The Quiet Win: Your Required Minimum Distribution

Here’s the part that makes QCDs especially useful once you turn 73.

Starting at 73, the IRS makes you take money out of your IRA every year. It’s called a Required Minimum Distribution, or RMD. Whether you need the money or not, you have to take it — and whatever you take is taxed as income.

If you’re already giving to charity anyway, a QCD lets you satisfy part or all of your RMD with the gift itself. The money leaves the IRA the way it has to, but it goes to the charity instead of to your checking account — and it never gets taxed.

You were going to give. You had to take the RMD. Now they’re the same move.

What to Gather Before You Call

If you think this might fit you, here’s what to have ready before you call your CPA, your advisor, or your IRA custodian:

The name and mailing address of the charity. Their tax ID number (EIN) if you have it — the charity will send it if you ask. How much you want to give. The IRA account you want it to come from. And a sense of whether you want this to count toward your RMD this year.

That’s the whole intake. Five things. One phone call.

One More Thing

The reason this rule isn’t more famous is that it benefits regular people quietly. It’s not flashy. There’s no headline. There’s no big firm pushing it because no one earns a commission on a QCD.

But for someone giving $500 a month to their parish, or $5,000 a year to the food bank, or $20,000 to the alma mater every spring — this can move the needle on what they actually keep at the end of the year.

If you’ve already written this year’s checks the old way, that’s fine. There’s still half a year left to do the rest of your giving the QCD way.