We wanted to send out a friendly reminder to our clients that are retired and can take advantage of the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from their IRAs before the end of the tax year. This is not just for the wealthy. Clients who do not itemize their tax deductions but would like to give to a charity could find this beneficial.

Note that you cannot advantage yourself of this until you are at least 70½ years of age. This provision of the IRS Code allows you to, rather than take your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year, instead in whole or part, request a direct distribution to charities of your choice.

There are of course requirements for this and the most important is that you cannot take the distribution and then donate. It must come directly from the place where invested. This is not the most favorite time of the year for many financial planners, as this requires the involvement of a financial representative many times and they are not paid for doing this.

Most financial planners will be happy to assist and service their clients’ needs in doing this. If interested, please contact your financial planner and tax preparer before attempting this on your own. It is imperative to proceed before the end of the 2023 tax year.