Do Churches Qualify for a QCD to Satisfy Your RMD?

Yes, you can make a qualified charitable distribution to a church. Federal law automatically treats churches as eligible charities for this purpose, so if you’re 70½ or older you can transfer up to $111,000 directly from your IRA to your church in 2026 without counting the money as taxable income.¹

Why Churches Automatically Qualify

A QCD can go to any organization eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. Churches are named in that section alongside hospitals, schools, and public charities.¹ Unlike most nonprofits, churches don’t need to file a formal application to gain tax-exempt status. Federal law excepts them from that requirement.²

To keep that status, a church has to operate for religious, charitable, or educational purposes. It cannot channel funds to private individuals, and it cannot campaign for or against political candidates.¹

You can look up a church’s status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, which lists entities in Publication 78 data.³ Some smaller churches won’t appear there. Because they were never required to apply for recognition, they were never added to the list, but they still qualify.

Church-Affiliated Entities That Don’t Qualify

Not every organization connected to a church can accept a QCD. Federal law bars QCDs from going to donor-advised funds, private foundations, and supporting organizations, even when they’re affiliated with a religious institution.⁴ If your church runs a separate private foundation or a donor-advised fund program, direct the gift to the church itself instead.

Who Can Make the Gift, and From Which Accounts

You must be at least 70½ years old on the date the distribution occurs. That age doesn’t move with the required minimum distribution age, so you can begin making QCDs several years before your first RMD is due.⁴

The 2026 annual limit is $111,000 per person, adjusted each year for inflation. If both spouses in a married couple are 70½ or older, each can transfer up to $111,000 from their own IRA, for a combined ceiling of $222,000.

Eligible accounts:

Traditional IRAs, the most common source for QCDs.
Rollover IRAs, treated the same as traditional IRAs.
Inherited IRAs, as long as the beneficiary meets the age requirement.
Inactive SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, but only if the employer isn’t making contributions for the current year.⁴

Roth IRAs are technically eligible, but there’s little reason to use one because qualified Roth distributions are already tax-free. Employer plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s cannot be used directly. You would need to roll those funds into a traditional IRA first.

The Tax Benefit

The money moved from your IRA to your church is excluded from your gross income entirely. A regular IRA withdrawal counts as taxable income, and you can only offset it with a charitable deduction if you itemize. Because the standard deduction is significantly higher than what most retirees give to charity, many people get no tax benefit from their donations. A QCD works differently. It lowers your taxable income whether you itemize or take the standard deduction.⁵

Reducing your adjusted gross income can help in ways that go beyond the income tax itself. A lower AGI may reduce how much of your Social Security income is taxed, lower your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums (which are income-based), and keep you below thresholds for the net investment income tax.

You can’t claim a charitable deduction for the same dollars you exclude through a QCD. The exclusion is the benefit; there’s nothing to deduct on top of it.⁶

Using a QCD to Satisfy Your RMD

If you’re 73 or older (or 75 or older if you were born in 1960 or later), you must take a minimum distribution from your traditional IRA each year. A QCD counts dollar-for-dollar toward that requirement.⁷ If your RMD is $20,000 and you send $20,000 to your church as a QCD, your entire RMD is satisfied and none of it enters your taxable income.

Timing is critical. The IRS applies a first-dollars-out rule: the first withdrawals you take in a year are applied toward your RMD. If you take your full RMD as a regular distribution in the spring and then make a QCD in the fall, the QCD doesn’t retroactively convert those earlier dollars into a tax-free transfer. You’ll owe tax on the regular distribution, and the QCD will simply count as an additional distribution on top of your RMD. To get the full benefit, make the QCD before you take any other withdrawal for the year.⁷

What Kinds of Church Gifts Qualify

A QCD has to be a pure gift. You can’t receive anything of value in return. IRA funds used to buy tickets to a church gala, pay for raffle entries, or cover tuition at a church-affiliated school do not qualify. The IRS calls these quid pro quo contributions because you received goods or services in exchange.⁸

There’s a specific carve-out for churches. Intangible religious benefits don’t disqualify a QCD. Admission to a worship service, participation in a religious ceremony, and congregation membership count as intangible religious benefits rather than goods or services with commercial value.⁸ Ordinary giving, including tithes, building fund contributions, and mission support, will typically qualify without issue as long as you aren’t getting something tangible back.

Setting Up the Transfer

A QCD must move directly from your IRA custodian to the church. You cannot withdraw the money yourself and then write a personal check. That would count as a regular taxable distribution followed by a separate donation.⁴

Before contacting your custodian, gather three pieces of information from your church: its legal name as it appears with the IRS, its nine-digit Employer Identification Number (available from the church office or through the IRS search tool), and the mailing address of its financial or administrative office.⁹

Then contact your IRA custodian through their website, by phone, or with a distribution request form. Specify the exact dollar amount and name the church as the payee. The custodian issues a check payable to the church, not to you. Some custodians mail the check directly to the church; others send it to your home for you to deliver. A few offer electronic transfers. Processing usually takes five to ten business days.

Year-End Deadline

The QCD must be completed by December 31 of the tax year you want it to count for. A mailed check is considered delivered on the date it’s mailed, not the date the church deposits it.⁶ Even so, starting in early to mid-December leaves a buffer for processing delays. If you’re using the QCD to satisfy an RMD, start well before the fourth quarter so you don’t run into the first-dollars-out problem.

Reporting the QCD on Your Return

Your custodian will send you a Form 1099-R showing all IRA distributions for the year. Beginning with 2025 distributions, custodians use a new Code Y in Box 7 to flag QCDs, paired with Code 7 for a normal distribution or Code 4 for a distribution from an inherited IRA.¹⁰

On Form 1040, report the total IRA distribution on line 4a. If the entire amount was a QCD, enter zero on line 4b for the taxable amount. If only part of the distribution was a QCD, enter the non-QCD portion on line 4b. Then check box 2 on line 4c to indicate a qualified charitable distribution was included.¹¹

Get a Written Acknowledgment

Ask your church for a written acknowledgment. For any contribution of $250 or more, the letter needs to include the organization’s name, the amount, and either a statement that no goods or services were provided in exchange or, where applicable, a statement that the church provided only intangible religious benefits.¹² Keep the letter with your tax records. A QCD is an income exclusion rather than a deduction, but the acknowledgment protects you if the IRS ever asks whether the transfer met the requirements.

State Taxes

Not every state follows the federal treatment of QCDs. Some states base their income tax on federal AGI, which already excludes the QCD. Others start with gross IRA distributions and may not offer a matching exclusion. If you live in a state with an income tax, check whether your state conforms to the federal QCD rules before you assume the transfer will lower your state bill too.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
2
Internal Revenue Service. Churches and Other Religious Organizations
3
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
5
Internal Revenue Service. Seniors Can Reduce Their Tax Burden by Donating to Charity Through Their IRA
6
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B, Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
8
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions – Quid Pro Quo Contributions
9
Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
11
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040
12
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions – Written Acknowledgments