Fidelity’s QCD form, officially titled “Qualified Charitable Distribution — IRA One-Time Withdrawal,” tells Fidelity to send money from your IRA directly to a qualifying charity so the distribution is excluded from your gross income. You fill in your account details, the charity’s name, address, and EIN, choose how the check is delivered, sign, and submit. For 2026, you can exclude up to $111,000 in QCDs, and you must be at least 70½ on the date the distribution is made.1Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
Before You Fill It Out
Two rules decide whether your distribution qualifies at all. You must have reached age 70½ on or before the date of the distribution, and the money must move directly from your IRA to the charity without passing through your bank account. Both come from 26 U.S.C. § 408(d)(8).2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
The form works with Traditional IRAs, Rollover IRAs, Roth IRAs, inactive SEP IRAs, inactive SIMPLE IRAs, and Inherited IRAs.3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal A SEP or SIMPLE that is still receiving employer contributions is not eligible.1Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) For an Inherited IRA, the beneficiary must be 70½ or older.
Confirm the Charity Qualifies
Eligible recipients are the public charities, churches, educational institutions, hospitals, and similar entities described in Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code. Supporting organizations under Section 509(a)(3) and donor-advised funds under Section 4966(d)(2) are excluded by statute, and private foundations generally do not qualify because they are not listed under 170(b)(1)(A).2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts You can verify status by name or EIN using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.4Internal Revenue Service. Search for Tax Exempt Organizations
Deductible Contributions After 70½ Reduce the Exclusion
If you made deductible IRA contributions after turning 70½, the tax-free portion of your QCD is reduced dollar for dollar by those contributions, less any reductions already applied in prior years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts A $7,000 deductible contribution at age 71, for example, turns your first $7,000 of QCDs into ordinary taxable income. This catches people who kept contributing after the SECURE Act removed the age cap.
Where to Get the Form
The form is a PDF on Fidelity’s website. Search “QCD” on Fidelity’s forms page, or look for “Qualified Charitable Distribution — IRA One-Time Withdrawal.” Copies are also available at any Fidelity Investor Center. It handles one-time distributions only; recurring QCDs use a separate form.
Filling Out the Form
Four sections. Ten minutes if you have the charity’s details in front of you.
Section 1: Account Owner
Your name, Fidelity IRA account number, Social Security or taxpayer ID number, and a primary phone number. If you hold more than one IRA at Fidelity, double-check that the account number matches the IRA you want the money to come from.
Section 2: Distribution Method
This section covers three things: how the check is delivered, the charity’s details, and which holdings inside your IRA fund the distribution.
For check delivery, choose one of three options:3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal
- Send to your address on file. Fidelity mails a check payable to the charity to your home, and you forward it. This is the default if nothing is selected.
- Send to the charity address. Fidelity mails the check directly to the charity at the address you provide.
- Keep the charity on file for future QCDs. This option requires a Medallion signature guarantee.
For the charity’s details, enter the full legal name, the check amount, an optional “For Benefit Of/Attention” line, the mailing address, and the nine-digit EIN the IRS assigns to every tax-exempt organization.5Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number Verify the EIN on the charity’s letterhead or through the IRS search tool before entering it. To give to more than one charity, photocopy the charity details page or attach a spreadsheet listing each name, address, and amount.3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal
The combined total across all charities cannot exceed the annual per-person cap of $111,000 for 2026.1Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) Spouses who each own an IRA can each give up to that amount.
For position selection, tell Fidelity to pull from your core cash position (including any Fidelity money market funds) or to liquidate specific holdings. If you want specific funds sold, list each fund name or number and the dollar amount. A practical tip from the form itself: to get online commission rates, place the trade yourself online first, let it settle to cash, and then submit the QCD form to distribute from cash.3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal
Section 3: Automatic Withdrawal Plan Adjustment
If Fidelity currently calculates and pays your RMD through an automatic withdrawal plan, check the box that reduces the plan by the QCD amount. Without that adjustment, you could end up taking more from the IRA than you actually need to satisfy the RMD, since the QCD already counts.
Section 4: Signature and Date
Sign and date. In most cases nothing else is needed, but a Medallion signature guarantee (a stamp from a bank, credit union, or brokerage that verifies your identity) is required if:
- The check goes directly to the charity and the total distribution exceeds $38,000.
- Your address on the account changed within the past 10 days.
- You are keeping the charity’s information on file for future use.
- The total transaction exceeds $100,000.
Completing the form at a Fidelity Investor Center waives the Medallion requirement.3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal For larger distributions, that alone can be worth an in-person visit.
Tax Withholding
The form has a withholding section, but for a properly executed QCD you almost always want zero federal and zero state withholding. A QCD is excluded from income, so any tax withheld would reduce the gift and force you to reclaim it as a refund later.
How to Submit It
Fidelity accepts digital uploads. Sign the form, scan it or take a clear photo of every page, then upload through the QR code printed on the form or at Fidelity.com/upload-QCD.3Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distribution – IRA One-Time Withdrawal Uploading skips mail transit and gives you confirmation of receipt.
You can also mail it. Check the current mailing address at Fidelity.com under “Customer Service” then “Mailing Addresses,” since the correct address depends on the transaction type. If an automatic withdrawal plan is in place, submit the form at least 14 days before the next scheduled payment so Fidelity can adjust it.
After submission, watch the Activity tab of your account for the transaction. Year-end volume can slow processing, so don’t wait until mid-December.
The December 31 Deadline
A QCD must be completed by December 31 of the tax year in which you want it counted, with no extensions.1Fidelity. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) “Completed” means the charity has the funds, not that you sent the form. Build in enough time for Fidelity to cut the check and for it to reach the charity. Submitting by early December is safer than pushing it to the last week.
Coordinating a QCD With Your RMD
If you’re subject to RMDs (age 73 for those born 1951–1959, age 75 for those born after 1959), a QCD can satisfy part or all of the year’s RMD. The IRS treats the first dollars out of the IRA each year as counting toward the RMD, so run the QCD before any personal distributions or Roth conversions from the same IRA. If your 2026 RMD is $15,000 and you make a $20,000 QCD first, the RMD is fully covered and none of it lands in your AGI. Take a $5,000 personal distribution first and that $5,000 is taxable, because it went to you rather than a charity.
Reporting the QCD on Your 1040
Fidelity issues a Form 1099-R for the distribution. Starting with 2025 forms, the IRS added distribution code “Y” in Box 7 to identify QCDs, but using it is currently optional for custodians.6Internal Revenue Service. Entering Code Y in a 2025 Form 1099-R, Box 7; Is Optional If your 1099-R doesn’t carry Code Y, the form may show the whole distribution as taxable, and you handle it on your return.
On Form 1040, put the full distribution on Line 4a. On Line 4b, enter only the taxable portion (total distribution minus the QCD amount) and write “QCD” next to Line 4b. If everything was a QCD, Line 4b is zero. Skip this and the IRS will treat the whole distribution as income, which can raise your AGI, your Medicare premiums, and the taxable share of your Social Security.
You cannot also claim a charitable deduction for a QCD. The statute prohibits deducting an amount that has already been excluded from income.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
Get a Written Acknowledgment
Keep a written acknowledgment from every charity that receives a QCD of $250 or more. It must include the charity’s name, the cash amount, and a statement that no goods or services were provided in exchange.7Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments Most charities send them automatically, but follow up if one hasn’t arrived within a few weeks of the check clearing.
What This Form Does Not Cover
SECURE Act 2.0 allows a one-time QCD of up to $55,000 in 2026 to fund a charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder annuity trust, or charitable remainder unitrust, counting against the annual $111,000 cap.8Fidelity Charitable. Secure Act 2.0 Retirement Provisions The standard Fidelity QCD form is built for outright gifts. Setting up a split-interest arrangement involves additional paperwork and coordination with the charity or trust administrator.