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How to Make a QCD: Step-by-Step Qualified Charitable Distribution Instructions

Josh Rendler, CFP®

Creator of Motion Retirement

Updated 2026-10-12 · Tax year 2026 · Figures checked October 10, 2026 · How this is checked

How do I make a QCD from my IRA?

You ask your IRA custodian (the bank or brokerage that holds your IRA) to send money from your IRA straight to an eligible charity, usually a public charity (a charity like a church, school or hospital that gets the best tax treatment for gifts). That's a QCD (money sent straight from your IRA to a charity at 70½ or older, not taxed as income, up to a yearly limit). You must be 70½ or older that day, and the money must leave by December 31. For a gift of $250 or more, you also need a charity receipt (the written receipt a charity gives you for a large gift, needed before you file). Each IRA firm sets its own forms, payment methods and cutoffs.

  • Your IRA firm must pay the charity directly. If the money comes to you first and you give it away, it's taxed.
  • In my experience, most IRA firms only process QCDs as cash, sent by a check they issue or by wire. The law itself is broader.
  • A traditional, rollover or inherited IRA (an IRA you get from someone who died) can make a QCD. A donor-advised fund (a giving account at a charity that holds your gifts until you pick where they go), a supporting organization (a charity set up to help one or more specific public charities) and most private foundations (a charity funded mostly by one person, family or company, not a public charity) can't receive one.
  • The 2026 limit is $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 in 2025. You can split it among as many charities as you like.
  • The legal deadline is December 31, but many IRA firms stop taking requests earlier in December. No federal tax is held back from a QCD.
Jump to a question

You make a QCD by asking your IRA firm to send money from your IRA straight to a charity.

The firm that holds your IRA must pay the charity directly.12 Money paid to you first and then given away is not a QCD.1 A check your IRA firm issues to the charity still counts if you deliver it yourself.3 The IRS hasn’t said whether a check you write on an IRA checkbook counts.3

The law is short. Most QCD problems come from the process. Who writes the check? When does the money leave? Is the paperwork there at tax time?

For who and what qualifies, use the QCD eligibility checker or the eligibility rules.

How do you set up a QCD, step by step?

You check that you and the charity qualify. You ask your IRA firm for a QCD and have it pay the charity by December 31. Then you keep the charity’s receipt for your tax return.

Step What to do Why it matters
1 Check your age on the day the money leaves your IRA 70½ or older on the day the money leaves the IRA.4
2 Check that the money sits in an eligible IRA A traditional or inherited IRA, or a SEP or SIMPLE IRA with no employer contribution that year.56
3 Check that each charity can receive a QCD A public charity, not a donor-advised fund, supporting organization or most private foundations.78
4 Add up your gifts for the year and compare them to the limit $111,000 per IRA owner in 2026 ($108,000 in 2025).91011
5 Check whether automatic RMD payments go out before the QCD Earlier withdrawals use up the RMD first, so pausing them is worth a look
6 Send your firm’s QCD form, and ask which payment methods it reports as a QCD Paid by the IRA firm straight to the charity, never to you first.213
7 Tell the charity the gift is coming and ask for a written receipt A written charity receipt for gifts of $250 or more, in hand by the day you file.121314
8 Check your IRA statement to see that the money left by December 31 Counts in the year the IRA firm pays it.15
9 Give your tax preparer the firm’s confirmation and the charity’s receipt You claim the QCD on your return, not your IRA firm (see the reporting section below)

Step 1: Ask your IRA firm

Your IRA firm sends a QCD when you fill out its request. That’s usually a QCD form or an online request. Some firms call it a “charitable distribution” or a “direct charitable gift.”

Here’s what you’ll usually be asked for:

  • Your IRA account number.
  • The charity’s legal name and mailing address.
  • The charity’s tax ID number, called an EIN.
  • The amount.
  • How to send the payment. The choices depend on the firm.
  • Tax withholding. None is held back from a QCD (see below).

Each firm sets its own signature rules. If more than one person has to sign, or you’ll travel in December, plan for that early.

It’s worth asking the firm to include your name and address with the payment. Some put it in the check memo. Charities get many IRA checks in December. Without your name, the charity may not be able to tell who sent the gift. That can delay or stop your receipt.

What should the request say?

Your IRA firm’s own form comes first. If it asks for a letter instead, here’s the kind of thing it might say:

Please send a qualified charitable distribution from my IRA, account ending 1234, for $5,000. Make the check payable to Hometown Food Bank, EIN 12-3456789, 100 Main Street, Anytown. Please include my name and address with the payment. Please don’t withhold federal income tax. I am over 70½.

The names, numbers and amount above are made up. Your firm can tell you what else it needs.

Do I need to withhold tax on a QCD?

No.

A QCD has no federal income tax withheld.16 Asking for a QCD counts as choosing no withholding.16

Your IRA firm can rely on what you tell it about the gift qualifying. 16

If you take the rest of your required minimum distribution (the least you must take out of a regular IRA each year once you reach a set age) as a normal withdrawal, withholding on that part is a separate choice.

Step 2: Make sure the IRA pays the charity directly

The firm that holds your IRA must pay the charity directly.12 Money paid to you first and then given away is not a QCD.1 A check your IRA firm issues to the charity still counts if you deliver it yourself.3 The IRS hasn’t said whether a check you write on an IRA checkbook counts.3

The law doesn’t name a payment method. Everything past that is up to the IRA firm. Each firm decides which methods it will send and report as QCDs. Those rules differ from firm to firm and can change from year to year.

In my experience, most IRA firms only process QCDs as cash. They send it by a check they issue or by wire. That’s how I generally handle QCDs. If the IRA holds investments, I generally have what’s needed sold inside the IRA first. No tax is due on a sale inside an IRA. Then the firm sends the cash to the charity.

The table shows where the law is broader than what IRA firms will do.

Method Is it a QCD? What IRA firms do
The firm mails a check made out to the charity Yes Widely offered
The firm issues a check made out to the charity and sends it to you to deliver Yes Widely offered
Wire or electronic transfer from the IRA to the charity Yes, no method is ruled out Some firms take wires but not other electronic transfers, because those may not show who the gift is from
A check you write yourself from an IRA checkbook Not settled At least one large firm has said it will stop treating these as QCDs
A check made out to you, signed over to the charity No, the payment went to you first (not a QCD)
Money sent to your bank, then you give it No, and it’s taxed (not a QCD)

Before you ask for a QCD, it’s worth checking which of these your firm will report as a QCD.

Can I write QCD checks myself from an IRA checkbook?

The law doesn’t settle it. At least one large IRA firm has said it won’t treat checkbook checks as QCDs after 2026. So it’s worth checking your firm’s current rule before writing one.

For CPAs and attorneysWhy the checkbook question is open

Section 408(d)(8)(B)(i) requires a distribution “made directly by the trustee” to a 170(b)(1)(A) organization. Notice 2007-7, Q&A-41, deems a check “from an IRA” payable to the charity and delivered by the owner to be a direct trustee payment. The Q&A is silent on whether the owner or the custodian issues the check, and neither Pub. 590-B nor the 1099-R instructions address checkbooks. A custodian that declines to code a checkbook check as a QCD still pays the charity from the IRA, so the taxpayer’s position would rest on A-41 and the return, without custodian reporting support.

Can I send a QCD by wire or electronic transfer?

The law allows any payment the IRA makes straight to the charity. Whether your firm will send a wire or other electronic transfer as a QCD is its own rule.

Some firms take wires and their own checks but turn down other electronic transfers. Those transfers may not tell the charity who the gift is from. Your firm can tell you which methods it reports as QCDs.

Can I give shares instead of cash as a QCD?

The law doesn’t require cash. In tax rules, shares count as property (anything you own other than cash, such as stock or a fund, not just a house) rather than cash.

No QCD rule says the gift must be cash.17 Tax-form instructions even have a code for a QCD of IRA assets with no easy market value.17

IRA firms are another matter. In my experience, most only process QCDs as cash. At least one large firm has said it will report a gift of shares from an IRA as a normal withdrawal. That holds even if the shares go to the charity’s own account at that firm. Then your Form 1099-R (the tax form that reports money paid out of an IRA or an annuity) shows a taxable withdrawal. Claiming it as a QCD anyway would be a choice to work through with your CPA.

So if your IRA holds shares, the common approach is to sell them inside the IRA first. Then send the cash as the QCD. It’s worth checking with your firm before you ask for the gift.

What if my money is in a 401(k)?

You’d move it into an IRA first, if your plan lets you take it out.

A traditional or inherited IRA, or a SEP or SIMPLE IRA with no employer contribution that year.56

While you still work there, a 401(k) may hold back money you put in from your pay. The law lets it wait until you leave the job, among other events. 18 Reaching 59½ is one of those events in a profit-sharing or stock bonus plan. 18 By my reading, the law sets the earliest date, so the plan’s own terms still decide what it offers. 18

If you have an RMD that year, the plan’s RMD has to come out first. It can’t be moved to the IRA. 15 Moving money takes time, so start early if you want a QCD the same year. Eligibility has more.

Step 3: Check that the charity can take a QCD

A QCD must go to a public charity or one of a few special kinds of foundation.7 It can’t go to a donor-advised fund, a supporting organization, or most private foundations.7 The charity generally has to be organized in the United States or a U.S. possession.8 Being organized under U.S., state or D.C. law also counts.8

The IRS has a free Tax Exempt Organization Search tool on irs.gov. You can look up a charity by name or EIN. It shows whether the group can get tax-deductible gifts.

That’s a good first check. But it doesn’t always show whether the group is a supporting organization or private foundation. For a charity you don’t know well, you can ask it directly. Is it a public charity, and not a supporting organization or donor-advised fund? Most gift offices can answer the same day. The eligibility page lists the recipients that count.

If a donor-advised fund appeals to you, see donor-advised funds versus QCDs.

What’s the actual deadline for a QCD?

The legal deadline is December 31.

A QCD counts in the year the IRA firm pays it.15 The first dollars out of your IRA each year count toward your RMD.15 By my reading, a taxable withdrawal taken earlier in the year can’t be turned into a QCD later.15

A QCD counts toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.19 Taking out more than your RMD doesn’t earn credit toward a later year’s RMD.20

In practice the deadline is earlier. IRA firms are busiest in the last weeks of the year. Some stop taking QCD requests in early or mid-December. Signatures are also harder to get over the holidays. And because the first dollars out count toward your RMD, automatic payments can use it up before a QCD can. See QCDs and RMDs.

I treat December 1 as the real target for QCDs, not December 31. It leaves room for a backlog at the IRA firm, a missing signature, or a charity with a new address.

If your income is near the edge of a tax bracket or a Medicare price line, there’s one more thing to weigh. Mutual funds often post their year-end capital gain estimates in late November.

Capital gain payouts from a mutual fund are taxed as long-term gains in the year you get them.21 That’s true however long you’ve owned the fund’s shares.21

Some retirees wait for those estimates before they settle the size of a QCD or a Roth conversion.

Does the charity have to cash the check by December 31?

No IRS guidance I’ve found answers this. A QCD counts in the year the IRA makes it. But no text says whether a check mailed in December and cashed in January counts in December or January.

Step 4: Get the charity’s written receipt

For a gift of $25022 or more, yes, you need one, and there’s a deadline for having it. The wording below gives what the receipt must say and by when you need it in hand. Smaller gifts still need a record of their own. Every money gift, at any size, needs a bank record or a written note from the charity. It has to show the charity’s name, the date and the amount.23 A QCD has to clear the same gift rules a deduction does, so this record reaches it too. 22 By my reading, your IRA firm’s confirmation can serve as the bank-record part for a small gift. It does not replace the charity’s own receipt for a gift of $25022 or more. Here the receipt and any benefit matter. Your AGI (your total income minus a few set subtractions, the number many tax rules start from) caps don’t.

A QCD must be a gift you could fully deduct if it weren’t a QCD.22 By my reading, a benefit you get back, like a dinner, can stop it from counting.22 A small token item doesn’t count. That holds if the charity correctly decides it isn’t worth much and says the gift is fully deductible.24 The AGI caps on deductions don’t count for this test.25 For a QCD of $25022 or more, you need the same charity receipt a deduction needs.22

A gift of $25022 or more needs a written receipt from the charity.13 It must give the cash amount, or describe any property, and say whether you got anything back.1312 If you did, it must describe it and estimate its value.13 You must have it by the day you file, or your return’s due date plus any extension you got, whichever comes first.1412

Say the charity offers a dinner, tickets or a gift for your QCD. The safe move is to turn it down. Paying for it separately with non-IRA money is sometimes suggested. I haven’t found IRS text confirming that keeps the QCD whole, so check with your CPA.

Keep a running log

A simple log, kept as each gift goes out, makes tax time easier. For each QCD, write down:

  • The charity’s name, address and EIN.
  • Which IRA it came from.
  • The date and the amount.
  • Your running total for the year.

Tracking down a charity’s EIN or receipt after year-end is a common delay. The log, your IRA firm’s confirmations and your December statement are what your preparer needs.

Step 5: Report the QCD on your tax return

You and your preparer claim the QCD on Form 1040 lines 4a, 4b and 4c (the lines on your tax return where IRA withdrawals and QCDs are reported). Your preparer may also need Form 8606 (the tax form that tracks money in an IRA you already paid tax on).

Your IRA firm reports a QCD on Form 1099-R as an ordinary IRA payout.26 It uses code 7 from your own IRA, or code 4 from an inherited IRA.26 For 2026 it may add code Y, but it doesn’t have to.27 Code Y pairs only with codes 4, 7 or K, and none of those is a Roth IRA code.28 On the 2025 Form 1040, put the whole payout on line 4a.29 Put only the part that isn’t a QCD on line 4b, and check box 2 on line 4c.2926 If you ever made nondeductible IRA contributions, Form 8606 figures line 4b.30

That’s how the IRS knows you made a QCD. How to report a QCD has the full steps.

Can I split a QCD among more than one charity?

Yes. There’s no limit on the number of charities. The yearly limit applies to your total QCDs, not to each gift.

$111,000 per IRA owner in 2026 ($108,000 in 2025).91011

Each gift must be paid straight to an eligible charity, and each one of $25022 or more needs its own receipt.

Worked example · tax year 2026Spreading a QCD across four charities
Assumptions
  • Hypothetical IRA owner, age 74, owns two traditional IRAs with no nondeductible basis.
  • Combined 2026 RMD across both IRAs is $26,000 (figured by the custodians).
  • The owner plans gifts of $8,000 to a church, $5,000 to a university, $2,000 to a food bank, and $1,500 to a hospital foundation that confirms it is a public charity, not a supporting organization.
  • No withdrawals have been taken yet in 2026.
  • This example only splits one QCD among four charities and the RMD, not taxable income.

Step 1: Add up the gifts and check the limit.

Charity QCD amount
Church $8,000
University $5,000
Food bank $2,000
Hospital foundation $1,500
Total QCDs $16,500

The $16,500 total is well under the 2026 limit of $111,0009.

Step 2: Apply the QCDs to the RMD. 19

Item Amount
Combined RMD $26,000
Less QCDs made first $16,500
RMD left to withdraw ($26,000 − $16,500) $9,500

Step 3: Taxable IRA income for the year.

Item Amount
Total taken out ($16,500 + $9,500) $26,000
Left out of income as QCDs $16,500
Taxable IRA income $9,500

This owner would need four receipts, one from each charity. Each should state the amount and that nothing was given back.

What are common QCD mistakes to avoid?

Most QCD mistakes are process mistakes. The money passes through your hands, or the charity is the wrong type. Or the timing is off, or the tax return doesn’t claim it.

Mistake Why it fails
Taking the money yourself first Paid by the IRA firm straight to the charity, never to you first.213
Assuming every payment method counts The law doesn’t pick between check and wire, as long as the IRA pays the charity directly, but IRA firms limit the methods (step 2)
Giving to the wrong kind of group A public charity, not a donor-advised fund, supporting organization or most private foundations.78
Giving before 70½ 70½ or older on the day the money leaves the IRA.4
Using a 401(k) or 403(b) A traditional or inherited IRA, or a SEP or SIMPLE IRA with no employer contribution that year.56
Letting automatic RMD payments go out first Those first dollars count toward the RMD before a QCD can
Taking a benefit back, like gala tickets or a dinner It can stop the gift from counting (step 4)
Missing December 31 Counts in the year the IRA firm pays it.15
Deducting the QCD too Left out of income before AGI, so it can't also be deducted.3132
Not telling your tax preparer The 1099-R often shows a normal withdrawal, so you claim the QCD (step 5)

One more trap catches people who still put money into an IRA.

Deducted IRA contributions for years ending once you’re 70½ or older shrink the QCD you can leave out of income.33 It shrinks dollar for dollar, minus amounts that already shrank earlier QCDs.33

Sources (33)

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  1. A QCD is a distribution from an IRA made directly by the IRA trustee to an eligible charity. The statute and IRS guidance say nothing about the payment method (check, wire, electronic transfer) beyond that the trustee must make it directly to the charity. Money paid to the owner first is not paid directly to the charity.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)(i)means any distribution from an individual retirement plan (other than a plan described in subsection (k) or (p))— (i) which is made directly by the trustee to an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A) Checked 2026-10-10.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)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. Checked 2026-10-10.

  2. The IRA trustee must pay the charity directly; a distribution paid to the owner and then donated is not a QCD. (Whether a check the owner writes from an IRA checkbook counts is not addressed by this source — see rw-qb-check-from-ira-a41.)

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)(i)which is made directly by the trustee to an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A) Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-41will be considered a direct payment by the IRA trustee to the charitable organization for purposes of § 408(d)(8)(B)(i). Checked 2026-10-09.

  3. IRS Notice 2007-7 treats a check from an IRA, made payable to an eligible charity and delivered by the IRA owner, as a direct payment by the IRA trustee. The notice does not say whether this covers a check the owner writes personally on an IRA checkbook, and no fetched IRS text addresses owner-written IRA checkbook checks.

    • IRS Notice 2007-7, Q-41/A-41If a check from an IRA is made payable to a charitable organization described in § 408(d)(8) and delivered by the IRA owner to the charitable organization, the payment to the charitable organization will be considered a direct payment by the IRA trustee to the charitable organization for purposes of § 408(d)(8)(B)(i). Checked 2026-10-10.

  4. The IRA owner (or beneficiary) must be at least age 70½ on the date the distribution is made. This age was not changed when the RMD starting age rose to 73 (and later 75); QCD eligibility can begin years before RMDs are required.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)(ii)which is made on or after the date that the individual for whose benefit the plan is maintained has attained age 70½ Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)You must be at least age 70½ when the distribution is made. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 1, Required beginning date FAQYou must begin receiving required minimum distributions by April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 73. Checked 2026-10-09.

  5. QCDs may come from a traditional IRA, an inherited IRA if the beneficiary is 70½. Only an amount that would otherwise be includible in gross income can be a QCD (§ 408(d)(8)(B)), so a qualified (tax-free) Roth IRA distribution cannot be one. A SEP or SIMPLE IRA is eligible only if it is not "ongoing" — i.e., no employer contribution for the plan year ending with or within the tax year. 401(k), 403(b) and other employer plans are not IRAs and cannot make QCDs.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)means any distribution from an individual retirement plan (other than a plan described in subsection (k) or (p)) Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-36that is neither an ongoing SEP IRA described in § 408(k) nor an ongoing SIMPLE IRA described in § 408(p). Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-37is available for distributions from an IRA maintained for the benefit of a beneficiary after the death of the IRA owner if the beneficiary has attained age 70½ Checked 2026-10-09.
    • Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (current online version, covers 2026), Box 7a, Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)Code 4 for a QCD from an inherited (death distribution) IRA Checked 2026-10-09.

  6. A SEP or SIMPLE IRA is 'ongoing' (and cannot make a QCD) if an employer contribution is made for the plan year ending with or within the owner's tax year. SIMPLE salary-reduction deferrals are made as elective employer contributions, so money deferred from your own pay into a SIMPLE IRA makes it ongoing.

    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-36a SEP IRA or a SIMPLE IRA is treated as ongoing if it is maintained under an employer arrangement under which an employer contribution is made for the plan year ending with or within the IRA owner's taxable year in which the charitable contributions would be made. Checked 2026-10-10.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(p)(2)(A)(i)as elective employer contributions to a simple retirement account on behalf of the employee Checked 2026-10-10.

  7. The recipient must be a § 170(b)(1)(A) organization. Donor-advised funds and § 509(a)(3) supporting organizations are excluded by statute. Private non-operating foundations are excluded because they are not § 170(b)(1)(A) organizations (only foundations described in § 170(b)(1)(F) — operating, pass-through, and pooled-fund — are listed).

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)(i)(other than any organization described in section 509(a)(3) or any fund or account described in section 4966(d)(2)) Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-35other than supporting organizations described in § 509(a)(3) or donor advised funds that are described in § 4966(d)(2). Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(b)(1)(A)(vii)(vii) a private foundation described in subparagraph (F), Checked 2026-10-09.

  8. A 'charitable contribution' under § 170(c)(2) must go to an organization created or organized in the United States or a possession, or under US, state or DC law. Because a QCD must be one for which a deduction for the entire distribution would be allowable under § 170, a gift paid directly to a foreign organization generally cannot be a QCD.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(c)(2)(A)(A) created or organized in the United States or in any possession thereof, or under the law of the United States Checked 2026-10-10.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(C)only if a deduction for the entire distribution would be allowable under section 170 Checked 2026-10-10.

  9. The annual QCD exclusion was $100,000 through 2023 and is inflation-indexed for tax years beginning after 2023 (SECURE 2.0 § 307), rounded to the nearest $1,000: $105,000 for 2024, $108,000 for 2025, $111,000 for 2026.

  10. The limit applies per IRA owner. On a joint return each spouse may exclude up to the limit, but only from IRAs that spouse owns; one spouse cannot use the other's unused limit.

    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDsIf you file a joint return, your spouse can also have a QCD and exclude up to $108,000. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-34For married individuals filing a joint return, the limit is $100,000 per individual IRA owner. Checked 2026-10-09.

  11. The QCD exclusion cap applies to the aggregate amount of qualified charitable distributions with respect to a taxpayer during a taxable year, not per account.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(A)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. Checked 2026-10-09.

  12. A contemporaneous written acknowledgment must state the amount of cash contributed, whether the charity provided any goods or services in return, and a description and good-faith estimate of the value of any such goods or services (or a statement that they consisted solely of intangible religious benefits). It is contemporaneous if obtained by the earlier of the date the return is filed or the return's due date including extensions.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(B)(i) The amount of cash and a description (but not value) of any property other than cash contributed. (ii) Whether the donee organization provided any goods or services in consideration, in whole or in part, for any property described in clause (i). (iii) A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services referred to in clause (ii) Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(C)an acknowledgment shall be considered to be contemporaneous if the taxpayer obtains the acknowledgment on or before the earlier of— (i) the date on which the taxpayer files a return for the taxable year in which the contribution was made, or (ii) the due date (including extensions) for filing such return. Checked 2026-10-09.

  13. The contemporaneous written acknowledgment for a gift of $250 or more must state the cash amount or describe (not value) property, say whether the charity provided goods or services in return, and estimate their value. It is contemporaneous if obtained by the earlier of the filing date or the extended due date.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(B)(i)The amount of cash and a description (but not value) of any property other than cash contributed. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(B)(ii)Whether the donee organization provided any goods or services in consideration, in whole or in part, for any property described in clause (i). Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(B)(iii)A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services referred to in clause (ii) Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(C)an acknowledgment shall be considered to be contemporaneous if the taxpayer obtains the acknowledgment on or before the earlier of— (i) the date on which the taxpayer files a return for the taxable year in which the contribution was made, or (ii) the due date (including extensions) for filing such return. Checked 2026-10-09.

  14. A charity receipt (contemporaneous written acknowledgment) counts only if obtained by the earlier of the date the return is filed or the return's due date, including extensions.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(C)an acknowledgment shall be considered to be contemporaneous if the taxpayer obtains the acknowledgment on or before the earlier of— (i) the date on which the taxpayer files a return for the taxable year in which the contribution was made, or (ii) the due date (including extensions) for filing such return. Checked 2026-10-10.

  15. QCDs count for the calendar year in which the trustee makes the distribution (exclusion is per taxable year). Under the RMD rules, the first amounts distributed in a year are treated as the RMD, so a taxable withdrawal taken earlier in the year satisfies the RMD and cannot be converted into a QCD by a later charitable distribution.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(A)made during any taxable year which does not exceed Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 CFR § 1.402(c)-2 (LII), § 1.402(c)-2(f)(2)(i) examplethe first $5,000 distributed will be treated as the required minimum distribution and will not be an eligible rollover distribution Checked 2026-10-09.

  16. A QCD is not subject to federal income tax withholding: an IRA owner who requests a QCD is deemed to have elected out of withholding. The IRA trustee may rely on the owner's reasonable representations that the distribution qualifies.

    • IRS Notice 2007-7, Q-40/A-40A qualified charitable distribution is not subject to withholding under § 3405 because an IRA owner that requests such a distribution is deemed to have elected out of withholding under § 3405(a)(2). Checked 2026-10-10.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, Q-40/A-40the IRA trustee, custodian, or issuer may rely upon reasonable representations made by the IRA owner. Checked 2026-10-10.

  17. Neither the QCD statute nor fetched IRS guidance limits a QCD to cash; the statute covers 'any distribution' from an IRA that meets the conditions. The Form 1099-R instructions provide a code combination (Y with K) for a QCD of traditional IRA assets that do not have a readily available fair market value, so the IRS reporting rules contemplate non-cash QCDs.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B)means any distribution from an individual retirement plan Checked 2026-10-10.
    • Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2026), Box 7a, Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)Code K for a QCD reporting distributions of traditional IRA assets not having a readily available FMV that are either from non-inherited or inherited IRAs. Checked 2026-10-10.

  18. A 401(k) plan may not distribute amounts attributable to an employee's elective deferrals earlier than certain events, including severance from employment, death, disability, attainment of age 59½ (profit-sharing or stock bonus plan), or hardship. So money in a 401(k) can't always be moved to an IRA while the employee still works there.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 401 (LII), § 401(k)(2)(B)(i)may not be distributable to participants or other beneficiaries earlier than— (I) severance from employment, death, or disability, (II) an event described in paragraph (10), (III) in the case of a profit-sharing or stock bonus plan, the attainment of age 59½, (IV) subject to the provisions of paragraph (14), upon hardship of the employee Checked 2026-10-10.

  19. A QCD counts toward the IRA owner's (or beneficiary's) required minimum distribution for the year.

    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 1, Required minimum distributions noteA qualified charitable distribution will count towards your required minimum distribution. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-42The amount distributed in a qualified charitable distribution is an amount distributed from the IRA for purposes of §§ 408(a)(6), 408(b)(3), and 408A(c)(5). Checked 2026-10-09.

  20. Distributing more than the RMD in one year (including through a QCD larger than the RMD) does not create a credit toward future years' RMDs.

    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 1, Miscellaneous Rules for Required Minimum Distributions, More than minimum receivedIf, in any year, you receive more than the required minimum amount for that year, you won't receive credit for the additional amount when determining the minimum required amounts for future years. Checked 2026-10-09.

  21. Mutual fund capital gain distributions are reported on Form 1099-DIV and are taxed as long-term capital gains for the year received, regardless of how long the fund shares were held, so they add to that year's income.

    • IRS Publication 550, Ch. 1, Capital Gain DistributionsReport capital gain distributions as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you owned your shares in the mutual fund or REIT. Checked 2026-10-10.

  22. The QCD must satisfy § 170 deductibility rules (other than percentage limits), including the contemporaneous written acknowledgment requirement for gifts of $250 or more. Any benefit received (e.g., a gala dinner) can disqualify the QCD because the entire distribution must be deductible.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(C)only if a deduction for the entire distribution would be allowable under section 170 Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Notice 2007-7, A-39including the substantiation requirements under § 170(f)(8). Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(8)(A)No deduction shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any contribution of $250 or more unless the taxpayer substantiates the contribution by a contemporaneous written acknowledgment Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDsyou must have the same type of acknowledgment of your contribution that you would need to claim a deduction for a charitable contribution. Checked 2026-10-09.

  23. No deduction is allowed for a contribution of cash, a check, or other monetary gift unless the donor keeps a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing the charity's name, the date of the contribution, and the amount. This applies to cash gifts of any size, including those under the $250 contemporaneous written acknowledgment threshold.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 170 (LII), § 170(f)(17)No deduction shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any contribution of a cash, check, or other monetary gift unless the donor maintains as a record of such contribution a bank record or a written communication from the donee showing the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. Checked 2026-10-11.

  24. A donor need not reduce a contribution for a benefit of only token value when the charity correctly determines the value isn't substantial and tells the donor the payment is fully deductible. So such a token item does not stop a gift from being fully deductible.

    • IRS Publication 526 (2025), Contributions From Which You Benefit, Token itemsYou don’t have to reduce your contribution by the value of any benefit you receive if both of the following are true. You receive only a small item or other benefit of token value. The qualified organization correctly determines that the value of the item or benefit you received isn’t substantial and informs you that you can deduct your payment in full. Checked 2026-10-10.

  25. For the QCD test that the entire distribution be deductible under § 170, the § 170(b) percentage-of-AGI limits are disregarded, so a large QCD does not fail because a deduction of that size would exceed those limits.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(C)only if a deduction for the entire distribution would be allowable under section 170 (determined without regard to subsection (b) thereof and this paragraph). Checked 2026-10-10.

  26. The custodian reports the QCD as an ordinary IRA distribution on Form 1099-R (code 7 for an owner, code 4 for an inherited IRA); there is no QCD-specific code on 2025 forms. For 2026, the new code Y may optionally be added. On Form 1040 (2025), the taxpayer enters the gross amount on line 4a, the non-QCD taxable portion on line 4b, and checks box 2 on line 4c. The older "write QCD next to line 4b" instruction has been replaced by the line 4c checkbox on the 2025 form.

  27. Under the current Form 1099-R instructions, a QCD may be reported with code Y paired with code 7 (non-inherited IRA), code 4 (inherited IRA), or code K (IRA assets without a readily available fair market value). Code Y is optional for tax year 2026.

    • Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (current online version, covers 2026), Box 7a, Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)To report a QCD, use code Y with: Code 7 for a QCD from a non-inherited (normal distribution) IRA, Code 4 for a QCD from an inherited (death distribution) IRA, or Code K for a QCD reporting distributions of traditional IRA assets not having a readily available FMV that are either from non-inherited or inherited IRAs. Checked 2026-10-09.

  28. Under the 2026 Form 1099-R instructions, code Y must be used together with code 4, 7 or K; none of those is a Roth IRA distribution code (Roth IRA distributions use codes Q, T or J), so the instructions provide no code Y combination for a QCD from a Roth IRA. Code Y is optional for tax year 2026.

  29. On the 2025 Form 1040, if all or part of an IRA distribution is a QCD, the total goes on line 4a; if only part is a QCD, the non-QCD part goes on line 4b; box 2 on line 4c is checked. When the IRA has nondeductible basis and a distribution goes to charity, Form 8606 is filed (Pub 590-B Amy example), and the basis portion may be deductible on Schedule A subject to AGI limits.

    • Instructions for Form 1040 (2025), Lines 4a and 4b, Exception 3If all or part of the distribution is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), enter the total distribution on line 4a. If the total amount distributed is a QCD, enter -0- on line 4b. If only part of the distribution is a QCD, enter the part that is not a QCD on line 4b unless Exception 2 applies to that part. Check box 2 on line 4c. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDs, Amy exampleBecause Amy made a distribution of nondeductible contributions from her IRA, she must file Form 8606 with her return. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDs, Amy examplethe $5,000 portion of the distribution attributable to the nondeductible contributions can be deducted as a charitable contribution, subject to adjusted gross income (AGI) limits. Checked 2026-10-09.

  30. On the 2025 Form 1040, Exception 2 for lines 4a/4b: if you received a distribution from a non-Roth IRA and made nondeductible contributions to any traditional IRA for 2025 or an earlier year, enter the total on line 4a and use Form 8606 to figure line 4b. Rollovers are Exception 1.

    • Instructions for Form 1040 (2025), Lines 4a and 4b, Exception 2Exception 2. If any of the following apply, enter the total distribution on line 4a and see Form 8606 and its instructions to figure the amount to enter on line 4b. You received a distribution from an IRA (other than a Roth IRA) and you made nondeductible contributions to any of your traditional IRAs for 2025 or an earlier year. Checked 2026-10-10.

  31. A QCD is excluded from gross income and cannot also be claimed as a charitable deduction. Only the portion that would otherwise be taxable can be a QCD; when an IRA has nondeductible basis, the QCD is treated as coming first from the taxable (pre-tax) money, overriding the normal pro-rata rule.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(E)shall not be taken into account in determining the deduction under section 170. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(B), flush languageA distribution shall be treated as a qualified charitable distribution only to the extent that the distribution would be includible in gross income without regard to subparagraph (A). Checked 2026-10-09.
    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(D)Notwithstanding section 72, in determining the extent to which a distribution is a qualified charitable distribution Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDsIf your IRA includes nondeductible contributions, the distribution is first considered to be paid out of otherwise taxable income. Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, QCDsYou can't claim a charitable contribution deduction for any QCD not included in your income. Checked 2026-10-09.

  32. Adjusted gross income means, for an individual, gross income minus the deductions listed in § 62(a), so an amount excluded from gross income never enters AGI.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 62 (LII), § 62(a)For purposes of this subtitle, the term "adjusted gross income" means, in the case of an individual, gross income minus the following deductions: Checked 2026-10-12.

  33. The excludable QCD amount is reduced by the total deductible IRA contributions made for years ending on or after the owner reached 70½, less amounts already used to reduce prior years' QCDs (effective for tax years after 2019, SECURE Act). The reduced amount is taxable but may be deductible as a charitable contribution if itemizing.

    • 26 U.S.C. § 408 (LII), § 408(d)(8)(A), second sentencethe aggregate amount of deductions allowed to the taxpayer under section 219 for all taxable years ending on or after the date the taxpayer attains age 70½ Checked 2026-10-09.
    • IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Ch. 2, Offset of QCDs by amounts contributed after age 70½Beginning in tax years after December 31, 2019, the amount of QCDs that you can exclude from income is reduced by the excess of the aggregate amount of IRA contributions you deducted Checked 2026-10-09.