Tax Playbook · Giving, strategically
Donate your RMD (QCDs)
Once you're 70½, you can send up to $111,000 a year straight from your IRA to a charity. The money is never taxed, and it still counts toward your required minimum distribution. For example, if your RMD is $20,000 and you send that $20,000 to a charity, you've met your RMD and owe zero tax on it. The money must go straight from your IRA to the charity — not to you first, and not into a donor-advised fund.
Good for: Anyone 70½ or older with an IRA who gives to charity.
Learn the basics
Recent articles & guides
- Morningstar: Clearing up confusion on QCD rules (2026)
- Fort Vancouver IM: Giving from your IRA — QCDs (2026)
- DepositAccounts: How a QCD from your IRA works
On this site
Related strategies
Donor-advised funds & bunchingInstead of giving a little to charity every year, give several years' worth all at once into a donor-advised f…Donate appreciated stockOwn stock that shot up? Give the shares themselves to charity instead of selling first. You get to deduct what…Charitable remainder trustsPut investments that grew a lot into a special trust. The trust pays you income for the rest of your life, you…Charitable lead trustsA charitable lead trust is the flip of a charitable remainder trust. You put assets in, and the charity gets y…Gifting to kids (kiddie tax)You can give investments to your kids through a UTMA or UGMA custodial account, but there's a catch called the…Charitable gift annuitiesYou give cash or stock to a charity, and it pays you a fixed amount every year for life (or for two lives). Yo…
Browse all 97 strategies in the interactive playbook
Educational summary, not tax advice. Limits and rules change — confirm current law with your tax adviser.