Hi Skitter,
Good question, but to hopefully ease your mind a little remember that only the taxable income above the 12% tax bracket will be taxed at 22% (the next bracket). Your whole income will not be taxed at that amount. For example, the top of the 12% bracket is $40,525 for single filers. So, if your taxable income is $50,000 only $9,475 is taxed at 22%.
If you are still concerned about how to reduce your taxable income and you are not in control of how much you can take out of your IRA due to RMDs, then the only other option is to see if you can increase your deductions by itemizing unless the standard deduction is greater.
Another option is If you make substantial charitable contributions, some charities can accept contributions directly from IRAs where you get the benefit of the donation deduction but will no incur the tax consequence.
Not really supposed to share articles outside the TurboTax realm, but...
