What age do you have to be to make a QCD?

70½ or older on the day the IRA makes the payment. That is earlier than required minimum distributions, which generally begin the year you reach 73.

Can a QCD go to a donor-advised fund?

No. The statute lists the charities that qualify, generally public charities, and names donor-advised funds and supporting organizations as not eligible. The IRA's trustee must pay the charity directly.

Taxes

The QCD limit for 2026.

A qualified charitable distribution sends money from your IRA straight to a charity, and that money is not counted as your income, up to the QCD limit for 2026. A gift counts only if it meets the rules on your age, the account and the charity.

By Joshua Mangoubi, CFA, MBAPublished November 20264 min read

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The short answer

The QCD limit for 2026 is $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 for 2025. A qualified charitable distribution, a QCD, is a payment made directly from your IRA to a public charity when you are 70½ or older. It is left out of your income and counts toward your required minimum distribution. It must be made by December 31, and it cannot come from a 401(k) or go to a donor-advised fund.

On this page

Many people have causes they care about: the hospital that saved their child, the school that helped them succeed, the place of worship that supported them when they needed it most, the research charity looking for a cure for the illness that took someone in their family. If you give to causes like these and you are 70½ or older, your IRA can send the gifts for you. This is called a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD. The money goes straight from your IRA to the charity, and it is not counted as your income, up to the QCD limit of $111,000 per person for 2026.¹²

A QCD makes sense only if you already give to charity. A gift counts as a QCD only if it meets the rules on your age, the account and the charity. This page goes through them. The statute and the form lines are in the detailed version below.

What is the QCD limit for 2026?

For 2026 the limit is $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 for 2025.¹ It is the most you can leave out of your income through QCDs in one year. If you give more than that from your IRA, the extra is included in your income like any other IRA withdrawal.³

If you are married, each of you has a separate limit, from your own IRAs.³

What is a QCD, and what are the rules?

An ordinary QCD is a payment from your IRA to a charity that meets every one of these rules.

The QCD rules for 2026

Your age: 70½ or older on the day of the payment
The limit: $111,000 per person for 2026
The account: An IRA. Not a 401(k), and not a SEP or SIMPLE IRA that is still receiving contributions
Who pays: The IRA's trustee pays the charity directly
Who receives: A charity the statute lists, generally a public charity. Not a donor-advised fund or a supporting organization
What you get back: Nothing, for an ordinary QCD. The whole gift has to be one you could otherwise have deducted
The deadline: The payment is made by December 31 of the year

The limit is the 2026 figure. The other rules are in the statute and do not change from year to year. Source: note 1, note 2, note 3.

You can make a QCD starting at 70½. That is earlier than 73, the age when required distributions generally begin.²⁵

Does a QCD count toward your RMD?

Yes. Once required distributions begin, your IRA pays you money every year whether you need it or not, and you pay tax on it. A QCD lets part of that money go to a cause you care about without adding to your income. If your required minimum distribution for the year is $10,000 and you make a $5,000 QCD, you have $5,000 left to take.⁴

A QCD keeps only the dollars it sends to the charity out of your income. If you have already taken this year's required distribution as cash, that cash stays taxable, and a QCD made later in the year does not change that.²

Can you make a QCD from an inherited IRA or a 401(k)?

You cannot make a QCD from a 401(k). The rule covers IRAs only, so money in a workplace plan does not qualify.²

You can make a QCD from an IRA you inherited if you are 70½ or older yourself. The age test applies to the person the IRA is maintained for, and for an inherited IRA that person is you.²

A QCD covers only money that would otherwise have been taxed.² So it generally does little from a Roth IRA whose withdrawals are already tax-free.

How do you report a QCD on your tax return?

Your IRA custodian reports the payment on Form 1099-R for the year it is made. On your return, you enter the full amount on the line for IRA distributions and only the taxable part, often zero, on the line beside it, marked as a QCD.⁴

Keep the charity's written acknowledgment. It is the same kind you would need to claim a deduction.³ You do not also deduct a QCD, because the money was never in your income.²

If you deducted contributions to an IRA for a year in which you were 70½ or older, those deductions reduce the amount of QCDs you can leave out of your income.²

What goes wrong with a QCD?

These are the mistakes we see most often.

People take their required distribution in January and decide to give in December. By then the cash they took is already taxable for the year.

The check is made out to the person and not to the charity. If the IRA pays you and you then write your own check, you have made an ordinary taxable withdrawal and then a gift.² If you receive something in return, such as a dinner, the gift may not qualify.²

People try to send a QCD to their donor-advised fund and learn afterward that it does not count. A donor-advised fund is held by a charity, so it is natural to expect that it would. The QCD rule excludes donor-advised funds specifically, so the payment has to go straight to an eligible charity.²⁷

The tax preparer is never told about the QCD, so the full withdrawal is reported as income anyway.

People start too late in December, and the money does not leave the IRA by the 31st.

In each case the gift is still made, but you can end up paying tax on money you meant to give away.

Is a QCD better than writing a check?

A QCD works when you already give to charity, but it does not save you money if you do not. You avoid the tax on the gift, and you give the whole gift away.

A QCD works when you already give to charity, but it does not save you money if you do not.

If you do give, whether a QCD beats a check depends on your return: your other income, your Social Security, and whether you itemize. To compare the two on your own numbers, use our QCD or cash gift calculator.

Gift to charity this year

The amount you plan to give this year. Either way, the money comes out of your IRA.

Other income for the year

Pensions, IRA withdrawals, interest, and dividends. Include the withdrawal that would pay for a check.

Social Security for the year

The total benefit for the year, box 5 of your SSA-1099.

Filing status

Married filing jointlySingle

This assumes everyone on the return is 65 or older and on Medicare. It also assumes the person giving is at least 70½, the age at which a gift straight from an IRA is allowed.

Saved this year by giving straight from the IRA

$1,200

Sending the gift straight from your IRA to the charity, which the law calls a qualified charitable distribution, cuts your federal tax from $7,076 to $5,876. A check paid for by an IRA withdrawal counts that withdrawal as income first, while a direct gift never does. The charity receives $10,000 either way.

Social Security kept out of taxable income: $0; The taxable part of your benefit falls from $30,600 to $30,600
Saving as a share of the gift: 12.0%; The check route taxes your last dollar at 12%
Medicare premium tier two years from now: Tier 0; The same either way

A check is paid with money that was taxed when it left the IRA. If you take the standard deduction, the check is not deducted at all. A gift sent straight from the IRA never counts as income. So it is not taxed, it does not make more of your Social Security taxable, it does not shrink the extra deduction for people 65 and older, and it does not push you into a higher Medicare premium tier. It also counts toward the year's required minimum withdrawal from the IRA.

This uses the 2026 federal brackets, the standard deduction, the extra deductions for people 65 and older, the Social Security taxation rules, the Medicare premium tiers, and the $111,000 yearly limit on gifts straight from an IRA set in Notice 2025-67. It assumes you take the standard deduction, that all income is ordinary income, and that there is no state tax. If you itemize and deduct the check, the gap narrows. Donor-advised funds and private foundations cannot receive a gift straight from an IRA. Educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

2026 figures, reviewed September 5, 2026. Full methodology and sources.

The federal tax and Medicare premiums on the same gift made two ways, under 2026 law. A hypothetical illustration, not your tax return. Source: note 6.

Whether a QCD fits your giving, and which IRA it should come from, are questions for your CPA.

Where we fit in. We integrate tax considerations into your investment strategy and collaborate with estate attorneys and CPAs to ensure your plan is coordinated. We are not a law firm or accounting firm, so we do not provide legal or tax advice. Everything in this material is for educational purposes, based on primary sources. Before taking any action, please consult the appropriate professionals to apply these ideas to your situation.

The places you give to receive the same gift whether it comes from your IRA or from your checkbook. A QCD changes only how the gift is taxed on your return. If giving is part of your year, it is worth knowing both ways before December 31. If you would like to look at your giving and your IRA together with someone, we are glad to have that conversation.

The detailed version

The statute and the formsFor CPAs and anyone who wants the citations: 26 U.S.C. § 408(d)(8), the 2026 amounts, the one-time split-interest election, and the return lines.Show

Statutory basis

Section 408(d)(8)(A) excludes from gross income the aggregate amount of qualified charitable distributions for the taxable year that does not exceed a stated dollar amount.² For 2026 that amount is $111,000.¹

A qualified charitable distribution is a distribution from an individual retirement plan, other than a plan described in § 408(k) or (p), that is made directly by the trustee to an organization described in § 170(b)(1)(A), other than an organization described in § 509(a)(3) or a fund or account described in § 4966(d)(2), on or after the date the individual for whose benefit the plan is maintained has attained age 70½.² Publication 590-B describes the excluded plans as an ongoing SEP or SIMPLE IRA.³

Three limits apply inside the definition.²

Only the part of a distribution that would otherwise be includible in gross income is a qualified charitable distribution. Under § 408(d)(8)(D) the distribution is treated as coming first from the amounts that would be includible, across all of the individual's IRAs.
Under § 408(d)(8)(C), a deduction for the entire distribution must be allowable under § 170, determined without the percentage limits of § 170(b).
Under § 408(d)(8)(E), an excluded distribution is not taken into account in determining the § 170 deduction.

The offset for deducted contributions

The excludable amount for a year is reduced, not below zero, by the excess of all § 219 deductions for taxable years ending on or after the date the taxpayer attained age 70½ over the reductions already applied in earlier years.² Publication 590-B provides a worksheet.³

The one-time split-interest election

Once, for one taxable year, a taxpayer may elect to treat a distribution made directly by the trustee to a split-interest entity as a qualified charitable distribution.² For 2026 the limit on that election is $55,000.¹ A split-interest entity is a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust, or a charitable gift annuity, in each case funded exclusively by qualified charitable distributions. A gift annuity must begin fixed payments of 5% or greater within one year of funding. Only the account owner, the owner's spouse, or both may hold an income interest.²

Required minimum distributions

A qualified charitable distribution counts toward the required minimum distribution for the year.³⁴

Return lines

Publication 590-B for 2025 returns: the total distribution is entered on line 4a of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, the taxable amount on line 4b, and the QCD box is checked on line 4c. A one-time split-interest election is reported with box 3 on line 4c and an attached statement.³ Form 8606 is also required when the distribution is from a traditional IRA with basis and another distribution was received from that IRA in the same year, or when the distribution is from a Roth IRA.⁴

Not covered here

State income tax treatment. The substantiation rules of Publication 526. The comparison with a cash gift, which depends on the whole return.

Sources & notes (7)

Expand

1.For 2026, "The aggregate amount of qualified charitable distributions that are not includible in gross income under section 408(d)(8)(A) is increased from $108,000 to $111,000. The amount of qualified charitable distributions made directly to a split-interest entity that are not includible in gross income under section 408(d)(8)(F)(i)(II) pursuant to a one-time election is increased from $54,000 to $55,000." IRS Notice 2025-67, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf. ↩
2.26 U.S.C. § 408(d)(8): "So much of the aggregate amount of qualified charitable distributions with respect to a taxpayer made during any taxable year which does not exceed $100,000 shall not be includible in gross income of such taxpayer for such taxable year," an amount adjusted each year for inflation (see note 1) and reduced by deductions "allowed to the taxpayer under section 219 for all taxable years ending on or after the date the taxpayer attains age 70½." A qualified charitable distribution is "any distribution from an individual retirement plan (other than a plan described in subsection (k) or (p))" that "is made directly by the trustee to an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A) (other than any organization described in section 509(a)(3) or any fund or account described in section 4966(d)(2))" and "is made on or after the date that the individual for whose benefit the plan is maintained has attained age 70½." "A distribution shall be treated as a qualified charitable distribution only to the extent that the distribution would be includible in gross income," and "only if a deduction for the entire distribution would be allowable under section 170." Excluded distributions "shall not be taken into account in determining the deduction under section 170." Subparagraph (F) allows the one-time election for a distribution "made directly by the trustee to a split-interest entity." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408. ↩
3."If you file a joint return, your spouse can also have a QCD and exclude up to $108,000" (the 2025 amount). "Any QCD in excess of the $108,000 exclusion limit is included in income as any other distribution." "A QCD is generally a nontaxable distribution made directly by the trustee of your IRA (other than an ongoing SEP or SIMPLE IRA) to an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. You must be at least age 70½ when the distribution is made. Also, you must have the same type of acknowledgment of your contribution that you would need to claim a deduction for a charitable contribution." "A QCD will count towards your required minimum distribution." IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b. ↩
4."Yes, your qualified charitable distributions can satisfy all or part the amount of your required minimum distribution from your IRA." "Charitable distributions are reported on Form 1099-R for the calendar year the distribution is made." "To report a qualified charitable distribution on your Form 1040 tax return, you generally report the full amount of the charitable distribution on the line for IRA distributions. On the line for the taxable amount, enter zero if the full amount was a qualified charitable distribution." Form 8606 is also required if the distribution was from a traditional IRA with basis and another distribution was received in the same year, or "was made from a Roth IRA." IRS, "Retirement plans FAQs regarding IRAs distributions (withdrawals)," https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-iras-distributions-withdrawals. ↩
5.Required minimum distributions "are minimum amounts that IRA and retirement plan account owners generally must withdraw annually starting with the year they reach age 73." IRS, "Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs," https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plan-and-ira-required-minimum-distributions-faqs. ↩
6.Comparison computed with our QCD or cash gift calculator, /tools/qcd-or-cash-gift, which figures the federal income tax and Medicare premiums on the same gift made from an IRA withdrawal and a check, and made directly from the IRA, under 2026 law. It assumes the standard deduction unless told otherwise; actual returns differ. This is a hypothetical illustration for educational purposes only; it is not advice, and it does not predict any particular return. ↩
7.26 U.S.C. § 4966(d)(2) defines a "donor advised fund" as "a fund or account" "which is separately identified by reference to contributions of a donor or donors," "which is owned and controlled by a sponsoring organization," and over which a donor has "advisory privileges with respect to the distribution or investment of amounts held in such fund or account." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/4966. The IRS describes it as "a separately identified fund or account that is maintained and operated by a section 501(c)(3) organization, which is called a sponsoring organization." https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/donor-advised-funds. Section 408(d)(8)(B)(i), quoted in note 2, excludes "any fund or account described in section 4966(d)(2)" from the organizations a qualified charitable distribution may be paid to. ↩

Questions people ask

What is the QCD limit for 2026?: $111,000 per person for 2026, up from $108,000 for 2025. It is the most you can leave out of your income through qualified charitable distributions in one year. A married couple each has a separate limit, from each spouse's own IRAs. Anything over the limit is included in income like any other IRA withdrawal.
What age do you have to be to make a QCD?: 70½ or older on the day the IRA makes the payment. That is earlier than required minimum distributions, which generally begin the year you reach 73.
Can you make a QCD from an inherited IRA or a 401(k)?: The rule covers IRAs, not 401(k)s or other workplace plans. Its age test is about the person the IRA is maintained for. For an inherited IRA that person is the beneficiary, so the beneficiary must be 70½ or older.
Does a QCD count toward your RMD?: Yes. A qualified charitable distribution can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution for the year. It keeps only the dollars it sends to the charity out of your income, so a required distribution you already took as cash stays taxable.
Can a QCD go to a donor-advised fund?: No. The statute lists the charities that qualify, generally public charities, and names donor-advised funds and supporting organizations as not eligible. The IRA's trustee must pay the charity directly.

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The QCD limit for 2026.

What is the QCD limit for 2026?

What is a QCD, and what are the rules?

Does a QCD count toward your RMD?

Can you make a QCD from an inherited IRA or a 401(k)?

How do you report a QCD on your tax return?

What goes wrong with a QCD?

Is a QCD better than writing a check?

Statutory basis

The offset for deducted contributions

The one-time split-interest election

Required minimum distributions

Return lines

Not covered here

Questions and answers

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