Can I take a QCD (Qualified Charitable Deduction) on my Federal return for Metro.Life annuity payments I receive from my Federal Thrift Savings Plan distributions?

[ornofrk]

Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. provides these payments under a Group Annuity Contract with the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

[tagteam]

@Mike9241 

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

No.  QCDs can only be made from an IRA.  The annuity established from your participation in the federal TSP is not an IRA.

[rjs]

In addition to what dmertz said, even from an IRA a QCD has to be paid directly to the charity from the IRA. If the IRA paid the money to you it is not a QCD, and there is no way to make it a QCD, even if you donate it to a charity.

QCD stands for Qualified Charitable Distribution, not Deduction. The manner in which the distribution is paid out is what makes it a QCD. It's not a deduction that you can decide to claim on your tax return.