IRS Rules for IRA Charity Beneficiary

If you are considering donating to a charity from your Individual Retirement Account or IRA, keep in mind that the Internal Revenue Service has a number of rules for taxpayers wanting to make charitable donations directly from their IRAs. Qualified taxpayers can reap the benefits of charitable donations made from an IRA, as long as the donation is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). If all requirements are met, your charitable donation will be nontaxable.

Age

For your donation to qualify as a QCD, you must be at least 70 ½ when the donation was made and the donation must be transferred directly from your IRA to the eligible charity.

Limits

Your charitable donation cannot exceed $100,000 per year.

Itemizing

Qualified taxpayers do not have to itemize their charitable deduction from their IRA.

Eligibility

Not every charity is eligible, including donor-advised funds, so make sure to check eligibility prior to making any donations.

Deductions

Though your donation will be nontaxable, you will not be able to deduct it, unless the contributions were non-deductible and you are itemizing.

Resources

• IRS Tax Tips for IRA Owners
• IRS Publication 590
• IRS Publication 526