Normally, a distribution from a traditional IRA incurs taxes since the account holder did not pay taxes on the money when they put it into the IRA. But account holders aged 70½ or older who make a contribution directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity can donate up to $100,000 without it being considered a taxable distribution. The deduction effectively lowers the donor's adjusted gross income (AGI).

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Internal Revenue Publication 590-B: Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements

To avoid paying taxes on the donation, the donor must follow the IRS rules for qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)—aka, charitable IRA rollovers. Most churches, nonprofit charities, educational organizations, nonprofit hospitals, and medical research organizations are qualified 501(c)3 organizations. The charity will also not pay taxes on the donation.

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Source: Internal Revenue Service: Publication 526: Charitable Contributions

Steps to follow:

1. Contact your IRA provider

2. Must be 70 ½ and older

3. Applies to Traditional IRAs

4. The maximum amount cannot exceed $100,000 per tax year from an individual IRA.

5. Distributions must be made payable to a qualifying charity, such as Sage Upstate

6. The transfer must be made by December 31st to count against the year’s RMD requirement.

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