Can an inherited IRA make a qualified charitable distribution?

The beneficiary's age controls

An inherited IRA uses the beneficiary's age for the QCD age test. The beneficiary must independently be at least age 70 1/2. The deceased owner's age does not satisfy that test for a younger beneficiary.

A beneficiary who has reached age 70 1/2 may make a QCD from an inherited IRA after the owner's death. The age condition applies to the beneficiary, and the inherited account can be the source of the distribution.

The trustee pays the eligible organization directly

A qualified charitable distribution is generally a nontaxable distribution made directly by the IRA trustee to an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. The direct payment and eligible recipient are part of the federal definition.

Practitioners describe QCD funds as transferred directly from the IRA to a qualifying charity. A payment to the beneficiary followed by a separate charitable payment does not match that direct-transfer description.

The recipient condition concerns the organization's eligibility to receive tax-deductible contributions. The distribution must go from the trustee to that organization under the official description.

Income treatment and distribution limits

Practitioners describe a qualifying QCD as excluded from the IRA owner's gross income when the trustee pays a qualifying public charity directly and the owner meets the age condition. Other practitioners describe QCDs as excluded from adjusted gross income for IRA owners or beneficiaries age 70 1/2 or older.

Estate planning practitioners describe a QCD as counting toward a required minimum distribution.