QCD vs. Charitable Deduction Calculator
If you're 70½ or older with a traditional IRA, there are two very different ways to give to charity from it. A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) sends the money straight from your IRA trustee to the charity — it's excluded from your income entirely, up to $111,000 in 2026. Or you can take the distribution as taxable income and deduct the gift — which only helps if you itemize, and is capped by the same 2026 charitable-deduction rules as everyone else's giving. Enter your numbers to see the real AGI and federal-tax difference between the two, side by side. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Estimate for general guidance only — not tax advice. Figures use the 2026 federal brackets, the 2026 standard deduction plus the age-65+ addition ($2,050 single/head of household, $1,650 per qualifying spouse married filing jointly), and the 2026 charitable-deduction rules (the §170(p) $1,000/$2,000 non-itemizer cap, the 0.5%-of-AGI floor, and the §68 top-bracket haircut) via the same engine as the Charitable Deduction Calculator. It assumes no basis in the IRA (all pre-tax), doesn't model the one-time $55,000 split-interest QCD, IRMAA tiers, Social Security taxability, the 3.8% NIIT, the 60%/30%/20%-of-AGI ceilings on very large gifts, or state tax (a few states don't conform to the QCD exclusion). Verify with the IRS or a tax professional.
Five things people get wrong about QCDs
1. "I have to wait until 73 (RMD age) to do a QCD." No — you can QCD starting at 70½, about 2.5 years before RMDs begin at 73. These are two different ages set by two different rules, and conflating them is the single most common QCD mistake.
2. "Donating my RMD and writing it off" is the same as a QCD. It isn't. A QCD is never taxed — it's excluded from income before it ever hits your return. Taking the distribution and deducting the gift makes it taxable first, and the deduction only helps if you itemize — which the 2026 rules make harder, not easier.
3. "I take the standard deduction, so giving from my IRA doesn't help me." With a QCD it does. A QCD isn't a deduction at all — it's an income exclusion, so it works exactly the same whether you itemize or not. Take-and-deduct, by contrast, gives a non-itemizer only the small §170(p) $1,000/$2,000 crumb.
4. "A QCD always beats take-and-deduct on my taxes." Almost always — but for a gift at or below $1,000 (single) / $2,000 (married filing jointly), the two paths tie on federal income tax, because take-and-deduct removes the exact same dollars via §170(p). A QCD still wins in that band, but through a lower AGI, not a bigger refund.
5. "Any charity works, and it can come from any retirement account." No. A QCD must go directly from your IRA trustee to a public charity — donor-advised funds, private foundations, and supporting organizations are excluded by statute. And it has to come from an IRA, not a 401(k) — you'd need to roll it over first.
How a QCD compares to taking the distribution and deducting it
A Qualified Charitable Distribution (IRC §408(d)(8)) lets an IRA owner age 70½+ send up to $111,000 in 2026 (indexed annually — up from $108,000 in 2025 and $105,000 in 2024, per IRS Notice 2025-67) directly from the IRA trustee to a section 170(b)(1)(A) public charity, per person. The statute is explicit: the amount "shall not be includible in gross income." It never touches your AGI, and because it was never income, you can't also claim a charitable deduction for it — no double-dip, and none is needed.
The alternative — take it as income, then deduct it — raises your AGI first. The distribution is fully taxable, and the gift is only deductible if you itemize, subject to the same three 2026 rules modeled by the Charitable Deduction Calculator: the permanent §170(p) non-itemizer deduction (capped at $1,000 single / $2,000 married filing jointly), a new 0.5%-of-AGI floor for itemizers, and the §68 "2/37 rule" that trims every itemized deduction to about 35 cents on the dollar in the 37% bracket. This tool reuses that exact engine for the take-and-deduct side — it doesn't re-derive the deduction math, it calls the same function twice.
Why the AGI exclusion is worth more than an equal-sized deduction. A deduction only reduces taxable income after AGI is computed — it can't touch anything keyed to AGI itself. A QCD keeps the dollars out of AGI from the start, which can matter for Medicare Part B/D premium surcharges (IRMAA), how much of your Social Security benefit gets taxed, and the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax threshold — none of which an itemized deduction can move. This tool flags that AGI effect but doesn't compute IRMAA or Social-Security-taxability dollars in v1; those need their own sourced tables.
A QCD counts toward your RMD. If you're already RMD age (73+ under SECURE 2.0), a QCD satisfies that year's required minimum distribution dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount you give. Ordering matters: the first distributions you take in a year count toward the RMD, so do the QCD before any other withdrawal, or an earlier taxable withdrawal eats the RMD first.
No withholding. A QCD is deemed to have elected out of withholding (IRC §3405(a)(2)), so the full amount reaches the charity. A normal IRA distribution defaults to 10% federal withholding unless you file Form W-4R to change it.
Eligibility restrictions. The gift must go directly from the trustee to a public charity — not a donor-advised fund, private non-operating foundation, or supporting organization — and the entire gift must otherwise be 100% deductible under §170 (no dinner, no raffle ticket, no member perks). It must come from an IRA (not an ongoing SEP/SIMPLE, and not a 401(k)/403(b)/457). A Roth IRA technically qualifies but almost never makes sense, since qualified Roth withdrawals are already tax-free. And if you're still working and deducting new IRA contributions after 70½, your excludable QCD is reduced dollar-for-dollar by those contributions (a narrow anti-abuse rule).
A worked example
Diane is single, age 75, with $60,000 of AGI from Social Security and a pension. She wants to give $10,000 to her church this year and takes the standard deduction otherwise.
- QCD: her IRA trustee sends $10,000 straight to the church. Her AGI stays exactly $60,000 — the gift never shows up as income, so there's nothing to deduct and nothing to withhold.
- Take-and-deduct: she withdraws $10,000 (AGI rises to $70,000), and since she doesn't itemize, she can claim only the $1,000 §170(p) non-itemizer deduction on the gift — the rest of the distribution is fully taxed.
- Result: the QCD saves Diane a little over $1,100 in federal income tax this year, and keeps her AGI $10,000 lower — every dollar of the gift, not just the $1,000 a non-itemizer can deduct.
Now shrink the gift to $900 — under the $1,000 §170(p) cap. Take-and-deduct would remove that same $900 from taxable income, so the two paths land on the exact same federal income tax. The QCD still "wins," but only because Diane's AGI is $900 lower — not because it saves her any more tax this year. That's the one case where "QCD always wins" overstates it, and the calculator will tell you plainly when you're in that band.
Common questions
How old do I have to be? 70½ on the distribution date — not just the calendar year you turn 70. That's about 2.5 years before RMDs start at 73.
Does a QCD lower my AGI? Yes, entirely — it's excluded from gross income under §408(d)(8)(A), never added and then subtracted.
Do I get a deduction too? No. Since it was never income, there's nothing to deduct — claiming one would be a double benefit.
Is a QCD always better? Almost always, but it ties on federal income tax at or below the $1,000 (single) / $2,000 (married filing jointly) §170(p) cap — see the worked example above.
What's the 2026 limit? $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 in 2025 — indexed annually, per IRS Notice 2025-67.
Which charities qualify? Public charities only, direct trustee-to-charity — not donor-advised funds, private foundations, or supporting organizations.
Does it count toward my RMD? Yes, if you're 73+, as long as you make the QCD before any other withdrawal that year.
Is it withheld like a normal distribution? No — a QCD isn't subject to withholding, so the full amount reaches the charity.
Can I use a 401(k) or Roth IRA? Not a 401(k)/403(b)/457 (roll to an IRA first). A Roth technically qualifies but usually isn't worth it — that money's already tax-free.
Is anything saved or uploaded? No. The tool is fully client-side — your numbers never leave your browser.
Sources: IRS Notice 2025-67, 2026 qualified charitable distribution amounts; IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements; 26 USC §408(d)(8) (Cornell LII); Northern Trust, withholding from IRA distributions; Kiplinger, the extra standard deduction for 65 and older. Take-and-deduct math shares the sources of the Charitable Deduction Calculator (Public Law 119-21 §§70424, 70425, 70111).