Retirement tax questions · 2026 figures

Should we give to charity from the IRA?

If you give to charity and have a traditional IRA, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) lets you send the gift straight from the IRA. The gift never counts as income, and once required withdrawals have started it counts toward them. For people who don't itemize, that can be worth more than a deduction, because lower income can also mean less Social Security taxed and lower Medicare premiums.

In short

From age 70½, an IRA owner can give up to $111,000 a year (2026) directly from an IRA to a charity.
The gift is left out of adjusted gross income, so it doesn't raise the taxable part of Social Security, Medicare surcharges or other income-based limits.
It counts toward that year's required withdrawal.
A cash gift, for someone who doesn't itemize, is deductible only up to $2,000 for a couple ($1,000 single) from 2026.

Why it's easy to get wrong

A QCD has rules that a regular withdrawal doesn't:

The money has to go straight to the charity, from the IRA custodian to the charity (a check made out to the charity is fine). If it's paid to you first, it's an ordinary withdrawal.
Only from IRAs. Not directly from a 401(k) or 403(b); the money would have to be moved to an IRA first.
Only to qualifying charities. Donor-advised funds and private foundations don't qualify.
Timing matters for your required withdrawal. A QCD counts toward the withdrawal only for the year it's made, so it needs to happen by December 31.

What matters

Whether you itemize. Most retirees take the standard deduction, so a cash gift does little for their taxes beyond the small non-itemizer deduction. A QCD helps whether or not you itemize.
Where your income sits. In the range where Social Security becomes taxable, each dollar kept out of income can also keep up to 85 cents of benefits untaxed.
Medicare surcharge lines. Lower income can keep you under an IRMAA tier two years later. See Medicare surcharges.
Required withdrawals. They start at 73 or 75 depending on your birth year, but QCDs are allowed from 70½, so they can also shrink the IRA before then.

An example with 2026 figures

A married couple, both 75, with $44,400 a year of Social Security and a required withdrawal of $40,000. They give $5,000 to their church each year, and take the standard deduction.

Federal income tax	Cash gift	Gift as a QCD
IRA withdrawal in their income	$40,000	$35,000
Taxable part of Social Security	$21,470	$17,220
Adjusted gross income	$61,470	$52,220
Deduction for the gift	$2,000	none needed
Federal income tax	$1,197	$472

Same gift, same required withdrawal met, and $725 less federal income tax with the QCD. That's 24% of the part of the gift the cash deduction didn't cover, although they're in the 12% bracket: keeping the gift out of income also kept more of their Social Security untaxed. At other incomes the difference can be larger or smaller, and some states tax IRA withdrawals too.

What Taxtirement shows

Yearly gifts from IRAs entered once and applied every year, counted toward each year's required withdrawal and kept out of income.
Other gifts of cash or shares, with the itemize-or-not choice checked every year.
The effect everywhere it reaches: the taxable part of Social Security, Medicare surcharges, the senior deduction and your state tax.
Required withdrawals worked out from the IRS tables for each account, including inherited IRAs, with the dates on your checklist.

References

The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources; the household in the example is made up. The app's calculations are also checked against them; see How we check our numbers.

Laws

26 U.S.C. § 408(d)(8): Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs (uscode.house.gov)U.S. Code, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Current textUsed for: who can make a QCD (age 70½), the limit and how it's left out of income
26 U.S.C. § 170: Charitable contributions (uscode.house.gov)U.S. Code, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Current textUsed for: the deduction for cash gifts by people who don't itemize
26 U.S.C. § 86: Social Security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits (uscode.house.gov)U.S. Code, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Current textUsed for: how much Social Security is taxable
26 U.S.C. § 401(a)(9): Required minimum distributions (uscode.house.gov)U.S. Code, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Current text (as amended by SECURE 2.0, 2022)Used for: the age required withdrawals start

Regulations and official guidance

IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 inflation adjustments (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · October 2025Used for: the 2026 brackets and standard deduction in the example
Check your eligibility for the new enhanced deduction for seniors (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · 2025Used for: the senior deduction in the example
IRS Notice 2025-67: 2026 retirement plan limits (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · 2025Used for: the 2026 QCD limit

Forms, instructions and publications

IRS Publication 590-B (2025): Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · 2025 tax yearUsed for: QCDs, which IRAs and charities qualify, and how they count toward required withdrawals
IRS Publication 526 (2025): Charitable Contributions (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · 2025 tax yearUsed for: charitable deductions and the charities that qualify
IRS Publication 915 (2025): Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits (irs.gov)Internal Revenue Service · 2025 tax yearUsed for: the worksheet for the taxable part of Social Security in the example

See it with your own numbers. Taxtirement works out every year of retirement for your household, federal and state, and puts the scenarios side by side so you can compare them. Coming November 2026 for iPhone, iPad and Mac.