QCDs: giving from your IRA after 70½

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a direct transfer from your IRA to a charity. If you're 70½ or older, the amount — up to about $108,000 a year, as the limit now adjusts for inflation — is excluded from your taxable income entirely.

Why it beats a normal donation

• No itemizing needed. The exclusion works even if you take the standard deduction, which most retirees do.
• It can satisfy your RMD. From age 73, required minimum distributions are taxable income whether you need the money or not; a QCD routes them to charity untaxed.
• Lower AGIcan mean lower Medicare premiums and less of your Social Security taxed — benefits an itemized deduction can't deliver.

The rules that trip people up

• The transfer must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity.
• The recipient must be a public charity — donor-advised funds and private foundations don't qualify.
• You can't also deduct the gift; the exclusion is the benefit.

Your custodian will ask for the charity's legal name and EIN — both are at the top of every CharityIndex profile, next to the deductible-status badge that confirms the organization qualifies.

This is general information, not tax advice — the age thresholds and dollar limits shift with legislation and inflation, so confirm the current rules with a tax professional before directing a QCD.