Under the QCD rules, the IRA owner must be at least age 70 ½ to do the QCD to the charity (and notably, the IRA owner must actually be age 70 ½ or older on the date of distribution, not merely turning 70 ½ sometime that year). Under IRS Notice 2007-7, Q&A-37, even a beneficiary of an inherited IRA can be eligible for a QCD, as long as the beneficiary themselves is at least age 70 ½ on the date of the distribution.
