Qualified Charitable Distributions

If you have a retirement account such as a pre-tax IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or any other type, and you’re normally used to giving to charity, then you’ll want to pay attention to this show because it could save you thousands of dollars just by following the one single tip we’re going to give you.

So what exactly are Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)? About 10 years ago, Congress enacted a rule that says that, as long as you meet certain criteria, you can give money to a charity from a pre-tax retirement account without having that show up on your tax returns (so essentially, tax-exempt). There’s a difference between tax-exempt and tax-free though – to find out what it is and for a more in-depth explanation of QCDs, listen to this episode.