How qualified charitable distributions work: giving from an IRA without paying income tax in 2026

A qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, lets someone aged 70½ or older send money straight from an individual retirement account (IRA) to a charity without counting it as taxable income. For 2026, each IRA owner can give up to $111,000 this way, up from $108,000 in 2025, according to IRS Notice 2025-67. The money can also count toward the minimum amount the owner must withdraw from the IRA each year.

The rule sits in section 408(d)(8) of the tax code, and it works alongside charitable deduction rules that changed in 2026. Itemizers now deduct gifts only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of their contribution base, and people who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000, or $2,000 on a joint return, of cash gifts to qualifying charities. A QCD works differently: instead of being deducted, the money is kept out of income. Our guide to the 2026 deduction rules explains those changes.

Who can make one

• The IRA owner must be at least 70½ on the date of the distribution, not just by the end of the year.
• The money must come from an IRA. Ongoing SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are excluded, according to the IRS.
• The IRA trustee or custodian must pay the charity directly. Money the owner withdraws first and then gives away does not qualify.
• The donor needs the same kind of acknowledgment from the charity that would be needed to claim a deduction, according to IRS Publication 590-B.

Which charities can receive one

The charity must be an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A) of the tax code, a list that includes churches, schools, hospitals, publicly supported charities and certain private foundations, such as private operating foundations. The law specifically excludes donor-advised funds and supporting organizations, so a QCD cannot be used to top up a donor-advised fund account. The whole amount must also be a gift that would otherwise qualify for a full charitable deduction.

How much can be given

The limit applies to each person, so on a joint return each spouse can exclude QCDs up to the limit, according to Publication 590-B. Anything above the limit is taxed like any other IRA distribution.

Two further rules can shrink the tax-free amount. First, only money that would otherwise be taxable counts as a QCD, which matters for IRAs that include after-tax contributions. Second, the excluded amount is reduced by any deductible IRA contributions the owner has made for years in which he or she was 70½ or older, to the extent they have not already reduced earlier QCDs. Publication 590-B includes a worksheet for that calculation.

The one-time option for a gift annuity or trust

One time only, an IRA owner can elect to send a QCD to a split-interest entity: a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust or a charitable gift annuity. The limit is $55,000 in 2026. The trust or annuity must be funded only by QCDs, and a charitable gift annuity must pay fixed payments of 5% or more, starting no later than one year after it is funded.

QCDs and required minimum distributions

IRA owners generally must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) in the year they reach age 73, according to the IRS. A QCD can satisfy all or part of a year's RMD. Because QCDs are allowed from age 70½, an owner can start giving this way before RMDs begin.

How a QCD fits with the 2026 deduction rules

The tax code says that QCDs left out of income "shall not be taken into account in determining the deduction under section 170", the section that governs charitable deductions. Two things follow from that wording. A donor cannot both exclude a QCD from income and deduct it. And the 0.5% floor, which the 2025 tax law applies to contributions allowable as a deduction under section 170, does not reduce a QCD, in our reading of the two provisions. Nor does the exclusion depend on itemizing: section 408(d)(8) sets no such condition.

Timing and reporting

The limit applies to QCDs made during a tax year, so a QCD meant to count for 2026 must leave the IRA in 2026. The IRA custodian reports the distribution on Form 1099-R for the calendar year in which it is made. On Form 1040, the donor reports the full amount on the line for IRA distributions and enters zero as the taxable amount if all of it was a QCD. The IRS's online FAQ says to write "QCD" next to that line; on the 2025 Form 1040, Publication 590-B instead has the donor check the QCD box on line 4c.

What a QCD cannot do

• It cannot go to a donor-advised fund or a supporting organization.
• It cannot also be claimed as a charitable deduction.
• It cannot exceed $111,000 per person in 2026; the excess is taxable.
• It cannot be made before the owner turns 70½.