If you own a traditional IRA, you may be legally required to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) each year. Since you accumulated funds in your traditional IRA on a pre-tax basis, you may be subject to income tax when you withdraw your RMD each year.

Many supporters choose to donate these funds to NCOA. By making a direct transfer of all, or a portion, of your RMD, you may be able to avoid the income tax you would otherwise be subject to, as long as you did not contribute to your IRA that year. 

This is known as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), and you are allowed to transfer up to $100,000 each year to charitable organizations. Here's how:

1. Contact your plan administrator and request a qualified charitable distribution be passed directly to NCOA and paid by check or electronic funds transfer.
2. Ask your plan administrator to include your name in the distribution, so we can acknowledge you appropriately and accurately. 
3. Another option is to ask your plan administrator to send the check to you, made out to the National Council on Aging, then you send it directly to NCOA. If you decide to make a gift this way, please email us at donorservices@ncoa.org, so we can identify your gift properly. 

If you are still working and contributing funds to a retirement account, a gift of this nature could impact your taxable income. Please consult a qualified advisor before making a gift.

NCOA’s federal tax ID number is 13-1932384. Distributions should be made payable to the National Council on Aging.