QCDs: A Tax-Smart Way for Retirees to Give

0:00It's March 26th. Welcome in. This is Durham News Today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. Retirees over 70 and a half with traditional IRA space required minimum distributions starting at age 73, which add to taxable income, and can bump up taxes, Medicare premiums, and even make more social security benefits taxable. But there's a smart workaround called a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD. It lets you send money directly from your IRA to a qualified charity, counting toward your required minimum distribution without it hitting your taxable income. Starting in 2026, this strategy gets even better as new tax rules limit standard charitable deductions. Itemizes lose benefits on the first 0.5% of their adjusted gross income, end donations, and non-itemizes cap out at 1000. $1 for singles, or 2000 for couples. QCDs bypass all that since the amount never enters your income with a limit of $111,000

1:04per person, up from 100, 8000 this year. Many retirees overlook QCDs and end up paying thousands extra in taxes or higher Medicare costs, where premiums can jump to $206, and 50 cents monthly based on income from two years back. By keeping adjusted gross income lower, QCDs help avoid those surcharges and reduce taxable social security portions, saving hundreds or more. Annually, common pitfalls include withdrawing cash first, which makes a taxable, or doing it after your full required minimum distribution. Stick to direct transfers early in the year from eligible IRAs to 501C3 charities, and get paperwork from your custodian and the group. tier 2.0 also allows a one-time $55,000 QCD to fund certain charitable trusts for lifetime income. Pending bills might soon let QCDs go to donor-advised funds, but for now, this proven tool stands out as a top-tax move for generous retirees looking to support causes without

2:08the usual IRS fight.