QCD Calculator

The Qualified Charitable Distribution, made simple

A Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD, lets you send money directly from your IRA to a qualified charity, and treat that transfer as if it never hit your tax return. It counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution, and it does not add a single dollar to your taxable income. For charitably inclined retirees, it is one of the cleanest, most powerful tax moves available.

Age 70 and a half, not 73

Here is the quirk. The RMD age was raised to 73 by SECURE 2.0, but the QCD age was left at 70 and a half. So you can do QCDs for two or three years before you have any RMD to satisfy. If you are already writing checks to your church or favorite nonprofit, moving those donations through your IRA starting at 70.5 can start saving tax immediately.

How it beats a regular cash donation

A normal charitable contribution only reduces your tax if you itemize. Most retirees take the standard deduction (about $30,000 for a married couple over 65 in 2025), so their charitable checks give them zero tax benefit. A QCD is different. The distribution never shows up in your Adjusted Gross Income in the first place. You get the tax benefit whether you itemize or not.

Second-order benefits

Because a QCD keeps AGI lower, it can also reduce the portion of your Social Security that is taxable, keep you under an IRMAA cliff that raises your Medicare premiums, and preserve eligibility for other income-based benefits. For a household near an IRMAA threshold, a modest QCD can save thousands in Medicare premiums, on top of the income tax savings.

The 2025 limit and the rules

The QCD limit for 2025 is $108,000 per person, indexed for inflation. A married couple can each make QCDs from their own IRAs. The transfer must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity; if the check comes to you first, it does not qualify. The charity must be a qualified 501(c)(3); private foundations and donor advised funds do not count for QCD purposes.

How to set one up

Call your IRA custodian and ask for a QCD form. You can either have them mail a check directly to the charity, or use an IRA checkbook where each check is a QCD as long as you write it to a qualified charity. Keep documentation. The 1099-R at year end will not identify the distribution as a QCD; you (or your tax preparer) mark it on your return.

If you are over 70.5 and giving to charity anyway, there is almost no reason to write those checks from your bank account instead of from your IRA.