What the calculator compares
- Path one, write a check: the money leaves the IRA as a withdrawal, lands in your income, and you deduct the gift later only if you itemize and only above the new half-percent floor.
- Path two, give from the IRA: your custodian sends the money directly to the charity and it never counts as income at all. No itemizing, no floor, no cap.
- The tool computes your actual federal tax under each path and shows the difference, plus your income under each path, which drives things like Medicare premiums that sit outside the tax math.
An example with the calculator's own numbers: a married couple filing jointly with $120,000 of income giving $10,000 saves about $960 in federal tax by giving from the IRA instead of writing a check. Your numbers will differ. That is the point of running them.
The 2026 numbers it uses
- $111,000 per person, per year, per IRS Notice 2025-67. Spouses each have their own limit from their own IRAs.
- Age 70½ exactly. Eligibility starts at 70 and a half, not at 70. The tool tells you if you are not eligible yet and shows what the move would be worth once you are.
- IRA only. Workplace plans do not qualify: no 401(k), no 457, and no SEP or SIMPLE IRA either.
- Public charities only. Donor advised funds and 509(a)(3) supporting organizations are excluded. NYC Honor Foundation qualifies: it is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 42-1836369, and its IRS classification, 509(a)(2), is not an excluded category.
The calculator does not model how a QCD lines up with a required minimum distribution you are already obligated to take, because that depends on timing and on your own accounts. The general rule is below.
Can I donate my RMD to charity?
Yes, and it is the part most people miss. From age 73 you have to take a required minimum distribution out of a traditional IRA every year, and it has to be out by December 31. From age 70½ you can send money straight from that same IRA to a public charity as a qualified charitable distribution. The IRS counts a QCD toward the required minimum distribution, so the gift can satisfy some or all of what you were going to be forced to withdraw anyway. Because the money never lands in your income, it is never taxed, and in New York it never reaches the state or city return either.
The IRS gives the arithmetic plainly. If your required minimum distribution is $10,000 and you make a $5,000 qualified charitable distribution, you still have to withdraw the other $5,000. The gift covers its own share, not the rest.
The date is the thing to watch. The money has to leave the IRA by December 31 to count for that tax year, and custodians slow down in the last two weeks of December. How your own RMD and QCD line up is a question for your tax professional, not for a calculator.
Sources: RMD age 73 and the December 31 deadline, IRS Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distribution FAQs. QCD eligibility at 70½ and a QCD counting toward the RMD, IRS, "Seniors can reduce their tax burden by donating to charity through their IRA." The $111,000 figure for 2026, IRS Notice 2025-67. Read the sources before acting on any of it.
How to actually send a QCD to NYC Honor
A QCD is paid by your IRA custodian directly to the charity, almost always by check. Your custodian will ask for three things:
- Payee: NYC Honor Foundation Inc.
- EIN: 42-1836369, an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity
- The mailing address: 7720 82nd St, Glendale, NY 11385-7635
- Tell us the gift is coming at eslyn@nychonor.org. Custodian checks arrive with no donor name on them, so that is what lets us thank you and send your acknowledgment.
The same details work for a grant from a donor advised fund. We confirm receipt and send a written acknowledgment for your records. Fund at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab, or BNY Mellon? You can start the grant in one step from the donate page.
This is education, not advice
NYC Honor Foundation is a charity, not a tax or investment advisory firm. The calculator produces an estimate to help you ask better questions. Tax outcomes depend on facts it never sees. Talk to your own tax professional before moving money.
For the rules behind the tool, read the 2026 QCD limit and rules. If you take the standard deduction and give smaller amounts, the new $1,000 and $2,000 rule is the page to read instead. If you are not yet 70 and a half, the timing question is whether to bunch several years of giving into one. The full three-tool calculator, including bunching and appreciated stock, is at the charitable deduction calculator.