I’m in my 70’s and have 74% invested in equities. I have no pension. My IRA is the fixed portion of our allocation and the annual RMD goes into our taxable trust accounts. Our SS checks are equivalent to having a $1.6M portfolio drawing out 4%. This allows me to feel comfortable with the equity balance of 75%. The fixed income in the IRA (our RMD) and our SS would provide us with more than we need even if the market crashed for an extended period of time. In reality, we don’t need the equity portion at all to live off of.
It may make sense for some to look at their SS as a fixed portion of their asset allocation, especially if they need more equities to offset future inflation
Yes, that is correct—when the charity actually cashes or deposits the check does not change the tax year of your QCD. Because the custodian cuts the check and deducts the money directly from your IRA, the transaction is treated differently than a personal check or a checkbook IRA.
Why the Cashing Date Doesn't Matter
Immediate IRA Withdrawal: The moment your custodian processes your request and issues the check payable to the charity, the funds leave your IRA. Your custodian reports the distribution on your Form 1099-R for the calendar year the check was issued.
Mailing Rules: Under IRS rules, a check payable to a charity that is delivered to you to forward is still considered a direct distribution, provided you mail it to the charity in that same calendar year without delay. Once it is postmarked and out of your hands by December 31, the gift is complete for that tax year—even if the charity waits until January or February to deposit it.
Based on what Quinn said, it appears he mails the checks to the charity, so the check needs to be cashed by 12/31. If the custodian cuts the check, have them make it out to the charity, and they mail it to you. Then you send it to the charity before 12/31, and it does not matter when the charity cashes it.
Go to Charity Navigator and it gives you details and ratings on the charity. How much of the donations get to the charity, salaries paid, % for marketing, etc
Dick, if you write a check from your IRA it does have to be cashed by 12/31 because the money needs to be out of your account that year.
If you want to avoid that timing problem, have your custodian send the check to you, but made out to the name of the charity. You then send the check to the charity and it does not matter if they do not cash it by December 31. Yes, that is correct—when the charity actually cashes or deposits the check does not change the tax year of your QCD. Because the custodian cuts the check and deducts the money directly from your IRA, the transaction is treated differently than a personal check or a checkbook IRA.
Why the Cashing Date Doesn't Matter
Immediate IRA Withdrawal: The moment your custodian processes your request and issues the check payable to the charity, the funds leave your IRA. Your custodian reports the distribution on your Form 1099-R for the calendar year the check was issued.
Mailing Rules: Under IRS rules, a check payable to a charity that is delivered to you to forward is still considered a direct distribution, provided you mail it to the charity in that same calendar year without delay. Once it is postmarked and out of your hands by December 31, the gift is complete for that tax year—even if the charity waits until January or February to deposit it.
Keep copies of the check and a copy of the postmark at the post office. I have never kept a copy of the postmark and have never had a problem when doing my taxes.
My umbrella is with the company I have my homeowner policy with, but not my auto. I saw this about RLI. RLI Pricing at $5M: While RLI is very competitive at the $1M entry tier (often around $400–$450/year), their rates scale up steeply at higher limits. Policyholders frequently report quotes between $1,300 and $1,650 per year for a $5M RLI policy. I personally do not know if this is true
When you say retirement assets, do you mean IRA assets or all those accumulated for retirement? I ask because my state protects IRA type assets from lawsuits.
My estate planning attorney set up 2 joint trusts, evenly split between us holding our taxable accounts. When one of us dies, the other spouse inherits the assets from that joint trust with a stepped up basis.
I used TT every year until I heard about Free Tax. I switched to them and it was no problem, even though TT had my data for all those years. That didn’t seem to matter
Comments
I’m in my 70’s and have 74% invested in equities. I have no pension. My IRA is the fixed portion of our allocation and the annual RMD goes into our taxable trust accounts. Our SS checks are equivalent to having a $1.6M portfolio drawing out 4%. This allows me to feel comfortable with the equity balance of 75%. The fixed income in the IRA (our RMD) and our SS would provide us with more than we need even if the market crashed for an extended period of time. In reality, we don’t need the equity portion at all to live off of. It may make sense for some to look at their SS as a fixed portion of their asset allocation, especially if they need more equities to offset future inflation
Post: Bond Lookalikes
Link to comment from November 14, 2026
Yes, that is correct—when the charity actually cashes or deposits the check does not change the tax year of your QCD. Because the custodian cuts the check and deducts the money directly from your IRA, the transaction is treated differently than a personal check or a checkbook IRA. Why the Cashing Date Doesn't Matter
Post: Time to QCD
Link to comment from November 14, 2026
Based on what Quinn said, it appears he mails the checks to the charity, so the check needs to be cashed by 12/31. If the custodian cuts the check, have them make it out to the charity, and they mail it to you. Then you send it to the charity before 12/31, and it does not matter when the charity cashes it.
Post: Time to QCD
Link to comment from November 14, 2026
Go to Charity Navigator and it gives you details and ratings on the charity. How much of the donations get to the charity, salaries paid, % for marketing, etc
Post: Time to QCD
Link to comment from November 14, 2026
Dick, if you write a check from your IRA it does have to be cashed by 12/31 because the money needs to be out of your account that year. If you want to avoid that timing problem, have your custodian send the check to you, but made out to the name of the charity. You then send the check to the charity and it does not matter if they do not cash it by December 31. Yes, that is correct—when the charity actually cashes or deposits the check does not change the tax year of your QCD. Because the custodian cuts the check and deducts the money directly from your IRA, the transaction is treated differently than a personal check or a checkbook IRA. Why the Cashing Date Doesn't Matter
- Immediate IRA Withdrawal: The moment your custodian processes your request and issues the check payable to the charity, the funds leave your IRA. Your custodian reports the distribution on your Form 1099-R for the calendar year the check was issued.
- Mailing Rules: Under IRS rules, a check payable to a charity that is delivered to you to forward is still considered a direct distribution, provided you mail it to the charity in that same calendar year without delay. Once it is postmarked and out of your hands by December 31, the gift is complete for that tax year—even if the charity waits until January or February to deposit it.
Keep copies of the check and a copy of the postmark at the post office. I have never kept a copy of the postmark and have never had a problem when doing my taxes.Post: Time to QCD
Link to comment from November 14, 2026
My umbrella is with the company I have my homeowner policy with, but not my auto. I saw this about RLI. RLI Pricing at $5M: While RLI is very competitive at the $1M entry tier (often around $400–$450/year), their rates scale up steeply at higher limits. Policyholders frequently report quotes between $1,300 and $1,650 per year for a $5M RLI policy. I personally do not know if this is true
Post: Protecting What We Built
Link to comment from November 9, 2026
When you say retirement assets, do you mean IRA assets or all those accumulated for retirement? I ask because my state protects IRA type assets from lawsuits.
Post: Protecting What We Built
Link to comment from November 9, 2026
If you switch to Free Tax, after you input your personal info, which takes but a few minutes, you won’t have to do it again in the future. Same as TT
Post: Tax Software 2026
Link to comment from November 8, 2026
My estate planning attorney set up 2 joint trusts, evenly split between us holding our taxable accounts. When one of us dies, the other spouse inherits the assets from that joint trust with a stepped up basis.
Post: Tax Software 2026
Link to comment from November 8, 2026
I used TT every year until I heard about Free Tax. I switched to them and it was no problem, even though TT had my data for all those years. That didn’t seem to matter
Post: Tax Software 2026
Link to comment from November 8, 2026