Donating to Charity

With the standard deduction being so high, making a cash donation to your favorite charity often has no tax benefits. 

However, if you’re 70 ½ or older there is a strategy worth considering called a Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD for short. 

You donate pre-tax funds from your IRA to a qualified charity and owe no tax on the donated funds. 

QCDs satisfy your RMD requirement.

The QCD must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity.

You must let your tax preparer know that you made a QCD otherwise you will be taxed on the distribution as there is no QCD box to check on the 1099R. 

The maximum QCD for 2025 is $108,000 per person.