IRA: Charitable Donations from IRAs

Overview:

IRA owners 72 or older may request an IRA distribution to be paid directly to an IRS “qualified charity” and may satisfy a required minimum distribution (RMD) with the withdrawal. Unlike the RMD paid directly to the IRA owner, the QCD is excluded from your taxable income.

Charitable Distributions

What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?

An otherwise taxable distribution from an eligible IRA owned by an individual 72 or older paid to an IRS qualified charity.

How to determine if a charity can receive the QCD?

The IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check allows users to Search for Charities among a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.

Where can an IRA owner find additional information on QCDs?

Visit Charitable Donations for IRAs for additional information on qualified charitable distributions. See also IRS Publication 590-b.

Withdrawal Processing

When can I submit my withdrawal?

Account holders may submit a third party withdrawal from your IRA to a charity at any time via Client Portal. Any request designated as third party is subject to legal and compliance review. Therefore, we recommend that you allow enough time to meet the year end IRA withdrawal deadline.

As the circumstances associated with each request tend to be unique, we cannot provide any assurance as to how long the review process will take or even whether the request will be approved at the conclusion of the review.

Can our clients submit a QCD withdrawal online?

Yes. Account holders may submit third party withdrawal to a Charity via Client Portal by taking the steps outlined below.

To establish the Charity as a valid destination:

  • Navigate to the Transfer & Pay tab > Transfer Funds > Distribution > Check > Use a new withdrawal method

    • Enter the details of your Charity

    • Write QCD as the reason for payment

    Since the charity is a third party, the withdrawal is subject to compliance review. We recommend that you allow enough time to meet the year end IRA withdrawal deadline.

    Once you set up the Charity destinations you can use them for any number of donations.

What amount may be withdrawn? Why?

We will process the withdrawal for any amount, as long as the account has sufficient available funds. Why? Although the QCD donations to the charity must not exceed $100,000 per year to retain QCD status, charitable gifts may exceed this limit.

Where are the funds disbursed?

Funds are made payable to the IRS qualified charity and mailed direct to the charity. Only funds disbursed to the charity can be designated from your IRA as a QCD.

Does the distribution count towards the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) amount?

Yes

Eligible IRA Accounts

Is the Charitable Distribution allowed from all IRAs held here?

No, see the list below. IRA owners should contact a qualified tax advisor about how to preserve QCD tax benefits. Not all distributions are created equal. A tax advisor will be able to assess an IRA owner’s best choice.

  • Traditional IRA: Yes

  • Rollover IRA: Yes

  • Roth IRA: Yes

  • Inherited IRA: Yes, if the beneficiary is at least age 70 1/2

  • SEP IRA: No

  • Education IRA: No

Are the Charitable Distributions allowed from other IRA and retirement plans not held here?

No, not directly. Retirement plans, employer sponsored SEP IRAs, and Simple IRAs (account classifications not held here) are not eligible for a QCD election. IRA owners may be eligible to rollover assets from these plans into a traditional, rollover, or Roth IRA to request a charitable distribution. IRA owners should contact a qualified tax advisor or their retirement plan administrator.

QCD Tax Reporting

How is the QCD reported to the IRS?

We will report the charitable distributions on Form 1099-R when issued. See Reports and Dates for 1099 availability dates.

Can any taxes be withheld from the distribution?

No.

Do federal taxes have to be paid on the distribution?

Generally, federal taxes are not paid with QCDs. But distributions in excess of the IRS limit may be subject to income tax. We recommend that clients contact a qualified tax advisor.

Does a state or municipal tax have to be paid on the distribution?

Contact your tax advisor or local tax authority on state and municipal requirements for the distributed amount.

Disclaimer: We do not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a qualified tax advisor or refer to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.