Can I have charitable donations made directly from my pre-tax retirement accountsl (457B, 403(B), etc.) accounts and have it reduce my income for tax purposes?

[bjhoogenboom]

All my retirement accounts are pre-tax.  I am required to take RMDs this year (over 70 1/2).  I know charitable donations made directly from IRA accounts can reduce your stated income for tax purposes, but not sure if that includes pre-tax accounts?

[EdwardK]

No. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) can only be made from IRAs. Money in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s is not eligible for QCDs.

Per IRA FAQs - Distributions (Withdrawals), "Generally, a qualified charitable distribution is an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA (other than an ongoing SEP or SIMPLE IRA) owned by an individual who is age 70½ or over that is paid directly from the IRA to a qualified charity. See Pub. 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)) for additional information."

[dmertz]

You can have the 457(b) plan or 403(b) plan make the payment directly to the charity, but it won't be a QCD.  It will be no different that the plan making the distribution to you and then you writing a check to the charity.  You'll be able to claim a charitable contribution deduction on Schedule A, but you cannot exclude the distribution from income the way you could with a QCD from an IRA.

[Scott_Sa]

Tho technically correct, the answer is misleading.  You CAN use QCD to reduce your taxes (if you are 70 1/2 or older):

* Say you are withdrawing $50,000/year from pre-tax IRA for living expenses

* Say you contribute $5000/year to a charity

* You are paying, assuming 20% income tax bracket, $1000 tax on that $5000 of your withdrawals that went to a charity

* IF, instead, you withdraw $45,000/year for living, and do a QCD to your charity, you have saved the $1000 in taxes that you would have otherwise paid on that extra $5000.

[Opus 17]

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@Scott_Sa wrote:

Tho technically correct, the answer is misleading.  You CAN use QCD to reduce your taxes (if you are 70 1/2 or older):

* Say you are withdrawing $50,000/year from pre-tax IRA for living expenses

* Say you contribute $5000/year to a charity

* You are paying, assuming 20% income tax bracket, $1000 tax on that $5000 of your withdrawals that went to a charity

* IF, instead, you withdraw $45,000/year for living, and do a QCD to your charity, you have saved the $1000 in taxes that you would have otherwise paid on that extra $5000.

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First, that's a 7 year old discussion you are replying to.

Second, you can't do a QCD from a non-IRA account.

Something everyone has missed is that a person could do a rollover from the 403b or 457 to an IRA, and then do the QCD from the IRA.  But you can't do a QCD directly from a qualified workplace plan.  

[dmertz]

The original question was asked in 2019, when RMD age was 70½.  In that year the RMD for the qualified retirement plan would have to have been satisfied before rolling any amounts over to an IRA