What the new tax law means for your charitable giving

Q. I’m 67 and retiring this year. My understanding is that because of the new standard deduction, giving to charity out of an IRA is going to be smarter for retirees. Is that right?

— Pete in Bakersfield

A. Pete, that’s mostly right. The larger standard deduction means fewer people will itemize and that will make qualified charitable distributions, or QCDs, directly from IRAs attractive to more people. However, eligibility to make a QCD is dependent upon age, not your work status.

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