I made direct contributions from my IRA to charities but my 1099-R shows gross distributions without noting the contributions. What do I do?

[MichaelDC · Accepted solution]

If you are over age 70½ and have an amount transferred directly from an IRA to charity, the otherwise taxable amount (up to $100,000) is excluded from your taxable income as a Qualified Charitable Distribution.

The Form 1099-R from the financial institution will report a regular distribution.  Nothing on this form will indicate that the distribution was transferred to charity.  When entering this Form 1099-R into TurboTax, in the follow-up questions you'll need to enter the amount that was transferred to charity. TurboTax will exclude this amount from the amount reported on Form 1040 line 15b or Form 1040A line 11b and will include the notation "QCD" next to the line.

[rginglis]

what and where do I enter this distribution dollars on 1099-R

[Paul Cox]

Yes, but it doesn't work in Turbotax.  The amount donated through the Qualified Charitable Donation (QCD) still showed up as income on my AGI.   And Turbotax instructed me to remove the amount of the donation off my list of donations for the year.   Since the QCD was added to my income, I have to assume that it added to my taxes at the same rate as my regular income.  If this is correct I do not know what possible tax advantage can be had in making a donation through the IRA disbursement rather than the regular way of writing them a check. Seems that it just adds more hassle.  Can someone clarify this issue for me? 

[PattiF]

To enter a QCD from an IRA distribution that is reported on a 1099-R, follow these steps.

In the Wages & Income section

• Scroll to Retirement Plans and Social Security
• Click on IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R), and Start
• Choose to type it in yourself
• Tell us Which 1099-R You Have, check the first Form 1099-R, withdrawal of money from 401(k) retirement plans, pensions, IRAs, etc.
• Enter the information on the form and make sure that the box  The IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box is checked on my copy of the 1099-R is checked
• Continue and enter code in Box 7, Continue
• Indicate that it was not inherited
• Indicate that Yes, this withdrawal was a RMD, Continue
• Transfer to Charity? Check the box for how much of the distribution was transferred to charity.

The IRA distribution is on page 1 of the 1040, but none of it is taxable if the whole amount was donated to charity. 

Remember that you cannot also claim this amount as a charitable deduction.

@Paul Cox