When Donating to Charity From an IRA, Beware of These Tax Traps

Using your individual retirement account to give to charity is a good thing. But tax snafus can ruin the good intentions.

Traditional IRAs have long been used to make qualified charitable distributions. Eligible individuals can donate as much as $100,000 a year. Such gifts can make up part or all of the donor’s required minimum distribution, or RMD. And amounts donated to qualified charities are excluded from the donor’s taxable income for that year.