Charitable Deduction from IRA

[BSR]

I wrote a check to a charity from my IRA. The check took a long time to be processed and the charity gave me a December 30, 2019, donation date. However the IRA custodian didn't clear the check until January 7, 2020. Do I claim the deduction on 2019 or 2020 tax returm?

[Anonymous]

don't know if you are 701/2 or older?   However, if you are, this does not qualify as a qualified charitable distribution because you wrote a check rather than having the trustee make the transfer directly to the charity. the contribution may be taken on Schedule A in 2019, the year the check went into the mail. if you are 701/2 or older making a direct transfer to a charity or charities by the trustee may be better from a tax standpoint.  Such a distribution reduces the taxable amount of the IRA, and thus reduces adjusted gross income.   this would definitely be better if your standard deduction exceeds your itemized deductions.