On November 14, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) explained that traditional IRA owners could make up to $105,000 in tax-free charitable donations this year through qualified charitable distributions (QCD). The limit has increased from $100,000 in prior years.

In addition, traditional IRA owners who are age 73 or older have a required minimum distribution (RMD). The RMD starts at approximately 3.8% and increases each year as the IRA owner becomes older. The QCD from an IRA will count towards a taxpayer’s RMD.

To qualify as a QCD, the distribution must be sent directly to a qualified charity. Some IRA custodians will send a check to the IRA owner for distribution to the charity, however, the check must be payable only to a qualified exempt organization. Because it may take time for some custodians to process the request, the IRS urges IRA owners to initiate the QCD process by early December. This ensures sufficient time to make certain that the transaction has been completed by December 31, 2024.

The maximum QCD, which is indexed each year for inflation, is $105,000 in 2024. If a married couple are both over age 70½, they could potentially contribute double the limit to charity, up to $210,000.

For IRA owners who are planning for next year, the IRS has released the inflation-adjusted number for 2025. In 2025, individuals will be able to transfer $108,000 from an IRA to charity as a QCD.

If the IRA custodian does make a transfer to a charity, the IRA owner will receive IRS Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans. The IRS Form 1040 for tax year 2024 will require the IRA distribution to be reported on Line 4a. If the full distribution is a QCD, the taxpayer will enter "0" on Line 4b of his or her tax return.

A charity must send the donor a written acknowledgment of the IRA contribution. This is not a receipt because the gift is not included in the donor’s income and is not deductible. However, the written acknowledgment from the charity must state that "no goods or services were received" in return for the IRA gift.

IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions and IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) have additional information on the procedures for substantiating a gift from your IRA.