If you are trying to reduce your tax burden in retirement, one way to do that is to make a charitable contribution from funds in a traditional or Roth individual retirement account.
There are multiple benefits to you for making a qualified charitable distribution. The QCD is removed from your IRA without you claiming it as income, meaning you are not taxed on those funds before giving them to charity.
Making a QCD also provides a chance to give to a favorite charity a donation that you might otherwise not have been able to make, or receive potential tax benefits for charitable contributions you are already making.
If you are 72 or older, your QCD can satisfy some or all of your required minimum distribution. But even if you are not required to take an RMD, you can still make a QCD gift.
Under the law, you can donate up to $100,000 in QCDs per year directly from an IRA to qualifying charities. If you and your spouse have separate IRAs, you may each contribute the maximum of $100,000 per year.
Before you consider QCD, though, you should discuss it with your tax advisor and estate-planning attorney as they are not for everybody. Reducing Your Tax Burden with a Qualified Charitable Contribution