Making contributions directly from your IRA
For Donors over 70 ½ year old:
Are you aware that a person over the age of 70 ½ can make charitable contributions directly from your IRA? The contributions are called Qualified Charitable Contributions (QCDs) and offer a tax-efficient way to make contributions to the Virginia Wilderness Committee.
In 2025 folks over 70 ½ need deductions in excess of $15,000 for a single filer or $30,000 married filing jointly plus $1,600 for each person over 65 to itemize their deductions on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Fewer filers ever reach the threshold to itemize their deductions. QCDs bypass the need to itemize deductions on Schedule A of your tax return.
When you receive a distribution from your IRA(s) you will receive a statement (1099-R) at the end of the year that reports the amount of the distribution. Then on your tax return you report the amount as ordinary income. With QCDs you also report the amount of the QCD as a deduction on the same line as the income. In effect the two cancel out. All the activity is reported on the first page of your personal 1040 tax return. The QCD never becomes part of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or Taxable Income.
For those who are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), a contribution to Virginia Wilderness Committee counts towards your RMD and offers an excellent way to keep your IRA distribution out of what you would report as ordinary income. In other words, by contributing directly from your IRA account, you can make a donation before paying taxes on the distribution and skip itemizing or considering standard deductions.
The order of your distributions matters. You must complete QCDs BEFORE taking distributions that you want to use for your living expenses. Please contact the company that manages your retirement accounts if you have questions.
Respectfully Submitted
Ronald Stoltzfus, Treasurer
Virginia Wilderness Committee
Are you aware that a person over the age of 70 ½ can make charitable contributions directly from your IRA? The contributions are called Qualified Charitable Contributions (QCDs) and offer a tax-efficient way to make contributions to the Virginia Wilderness Committee.
In 2025 folks over 70 ½ need deductions in excess of $15,000 for a single filer or $30,000 married filing jointly plus $1,600 for each person over 65 to itemize their deductions on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Fewer filers ever reach the threshold to itemize their deductions. QCDs bypass the need to itemize deductions on Schedule A of your tax return.
When you receive a distribution from your IRA(s) you will receive a statement (1099-R) at the end of the year that reports the amount of the distribution. Then on your tax return you report the amount as ordinary income. With QCDs you also report the amount of the QCD as a deduction on the same line as the income. In effect the two cancel out. All the activity is reported on the first page of your personal 1040 tax return. The QCD never becomes part of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or Taxable Income.
For those who are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), a contribution to Virginia Wilderness Committee counts towards your RMD and offers an excellent way to keep your IRA distribution out of what you would report as ordinary income. In other words, by contributing directly from your IRA account, you can make a donation before paying taxes on the distribution and skip itemizing or considering standard deductions.
The order of your distributions matters. You must complete QCDs BEFORE taking distributions that you want to use for your living expenses. Please contact the company that manages your retirement accounts if you have questions.
Respectfully Submitted
Ronald Stoltzfus, Treasurer
Virginia Wilderness Committee