topic charitable contribution in Tax law changes

charitable contribution

thescdahls — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:00:11 GMT

If the charitable contributions are $20,000, would it be better to take a $9,000 RMD and contribute to charity, also or make a QCD with the RMD.

Re: charitable contribution

VolvoGirl — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 17:58:57 GMT

I think it is always better to make a QCD from the RMD. Then the RMD isn't taxed as income.

Re: charitable contribution

thescdahls — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:07:36 GMT

Even if the $9,000 would make 29,000 in deductible income on this years tax form?

Re: charitable contribution

VolvoGirl — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:10:48 GMT

Sure. It's better to reduce your income and AGI before taking deductions. Your AGI is used to determine other thing like your medical deductions and any credits you qualify for.

Re: charitable contribution

thescdahls — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:19:18 GMT

Your logic sounds better than mine. I will take the RMD from the IRa as QCD and use the RMD from $01K to make additional charitable contributions. Thank You.

Re: charitable contribution

mfields2 — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:20:34 GMT

It is hard without knowing your specific situation, but in general:

It is better to take a Qualified Charitable Distribution than have your charity as an itemized deduction. First, your QCD takes the income out of your total income, which means it is effectively a state tax deduction for all states that begin their calculation of tax using the Federal Adjusted Gross Income. Lowering your adjusted gross income also has other effects on your federal return, as it is the key number which determines eligibility for many tax credits and deductions - student loan interest, education credits, passive loss eligibility, etc. In the last couple of years, Adjusted Gross Income determined whether or not you received a stimulus payment. So any chance to lower your adjusted gross income can have very beneficial side effects.

As a practical matter, most people who are taking a QCD are retired or mostly retired; in general this means that if they have mortgage interest on their residence it is a lower than average amount. For a married couple, the standard deduction with both spouses over age 65 was $27,800, which is a high number. Since state and property tax deductions that apply to itemized deductions are capped at $10,000, it effectively means that (for most people) the standard deduction vs. itemized deduction evaluation is: Do my charitable contributions plus my mortgage interest exceed $17,800? If they do, you are probably itemizing your deductions. But let's say you have $15,600 in charity and $5,000 in mortgage interest (and over $10k paid in property/state/local taxes). Yes, you are itemizing your deductions and getting $30,000 in total deductions. But if you gave $15,000 through a qualified charitable distribution and $600 in cash contributions to your charity and took the standard deduction, you would have a total deduction of $43,400: $15,000 QCD PLUS $27,800 of standard deduction PLUS $600 charitable contribution that you can take even if you are using the standard deduction. So you get an additional $13,400 of deduction by using the QCD option, and you might lower your state taxes too.

Re: charitable contribution

rivagirl — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:29:29 GMT

Can you make a QCD from a401k plan or just an IRA?

Re: charitable contribution

rivagirl — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:47:08 GMT

Can I request a QCD on an inherited IRA? I'm only 65 but I am currently having to take the minimum withdrawal due to my deceased mother's age. Thanks

Re: charitable contribution

rivagirl — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 18:42:11 GMT

Can I request a QCD on an IRA I inherited? I'm currently only 65 but I have to take a withdrawal because of my deceased mothers age. Thanks