QCD vs DAF Calculator 2026

Fixed-assumption educational comparison. This page implements the delivered T5 v3 scenario model. Its formulas below are modeling assumptions, not a complete tax-return calculation. The three columns are never ranked. The no-gift baseline keeps AGI₀, including the planned IRA withdrawal W₀, and selects the larger of other itemized deductions and the combined standard, age and modeled senior deductions. Every route uses the same best-of convention: taxable income = max(0, route AGI − max(other itemized + charitable deduction, combined standard-path deductions)). No official 2028 Medicare figures are used.

QCD eligibility and published limits — IRC §408(d)(8)(A), (B), (F), (G); IRS Notice 2025-67. Notice 2025-67 states: “The aggregate amount of qualified charitable distributions that are not includible in gross income under section 408(d)(8)(A) is increased from $108,000 to $111,000.” It also increases the one-time split-interest amount from $54,000 to $55,000. Publication 590-B says: “You must be at least age 70½ when the distribution is made.” §408(d)(8)(B) requires a payment “made directly by the trustee” and excludes donor-advised funds and supporting organizations. This tool assumes an eligible public charity, your own fully taxable traditional IRA and required acknowledgments. Below age 70½ it retains the hypothetical Route A arithmetic but labels eligibility No and states on the result card that the saving cannot be claimed.

Exact funding assumptions. For any positive cash gift G: Route A AGI = max(0, AGI₀ − W₀ + max(0, G − $111,000)); Route B AGI = AGI₀ when IRA-funded, otherwise max(0, AGI₀ − W₀); Route C AGI = max(0, AGI₀ − W₀). Thus the full planned withdrawal disappears on those specified routes even for a small gift, and Route B adds no further IRA income for a gift larger than W₀. These are alternative withdrawal scenarios, not a legal exclusion for undonated money. A real excluded QCD is limited to the qualifying amount transferred. Route A also selects the better deduction, but gives no separate charitable deduction for above-cap distributions. Zero cash gift disables every gift effect, including stock. When both normalized stock inputs are zero (including empty entries), all eight Route C rows show Not applicable; entering stock restores the numerical comparison. Empty/low AGI floors taxable income at zero without validating its consistency with W₀.

RMD illustration. At gift-date age 73+, the RMD row is min(G, W₀, $111,000); below 73 it is zero. W₀ proxies remaining RMD solely for this comparison. Actual birth-year rules and required distributions are not calculated. A spouse can use a separate IRA and personal QCD limit; the entered gift has one person's cap. An RMD already paid to you cannot retroactively become a trustee-to-charity QCD. See Pub. 590-B, Required Minimum Distributions and Qualified Charitable Distributions.

DAF deduction — IRC §170(b)(1)(C), (G), (I), §170(d), §170(p); Pub. L. 119-21 §§70424–70425. Cash uses 60% of route AGI; eligible long-term appreciated stock uses 30%. §70425 allows the otherwise allowable deduction only to the extent it “exceeds 0.5 percent of the taxpayer’s contribution base.” The model calculates max(0, min(gift, percentage × route AGI) − 0.5% × route AGI), then applies its top-bracket factor. AGI includes all income entered. DAF gifts do not qualify for the non-itemizer $1,000/$2,000 cash deduction. There are no other donations or carryovers. See Pub. 526.

Carryforward simplification. When itemizing, the row shows only the amount above the percentage cap, for up to five years. Stock on a standard-deduction path shows the full FMV; cash on that path shows zero. This is the delivered model's convention, not a determination that a full stock gift legally carries merely because you did not itemize. It omits the special floor carryover rule in §170(d)(1)(C). Future eligibility and usability are not predicted.

Ordinary tax and deduction assumptions. The existing bracket engine uses Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §§4.01, 4.14: standard deductions $16,100 Single/MFS, $32,200 MFJ, $24,150 HoH. The model adds $1,650 per age-65+ person for MFJ, otherwise $2,050, plus $6,000 per eligible older person phased down by 6% of AGI above $150,000 MFJ/$75,000 otherwise. Entered ages proxy year-end ages. The baseline and all routes itemize only if other deductions plus any modeled charity exceed that combined standard-path amount; equality selects standard. The senior amount is omitted on the model's itemized path. This differs from the IRS guidance: “It is available to eligible taxpayers who claim the standard deduction or itemize”. Actual MFS rules also differ: the age addition is $1,650 and married taxpayers must file jointly for the enhanced senior deduction. The model's MFS values are illustrative assumptions, not published entitlements.

Top-bracket factor. If a route's pre-charitable taxable income, max(0, route AGI − max(other itemized, combined standard-path deductions)), exceeds the published 37% bracket threshold, the model multiplies the entire charitable amount by 35/37 and retains cents. It does not apply §68 to all itemized deductions. Actual IRC §68 uses “2/37 of the lesser of” total otherwise allowable itemized deductions or its statutory income amount above the 37% threshold. The blanket factor here is a simplified illustration, not that full statutory computation. At AGI $811,000, other itemized deductions $300,000 and cash gift $111,000, pre-charitable taxable income is $511,000 in the 35% band, so the deduction is $106,945.00 without reduction. With no other itemized deductions, the Northern Trust example still gives ($111,000 − $4,055) × 35/37 = $101,164.19.

Stock gains illustration. Assume publicly traded stock held over one year and transferred in kind. Appreciation = max(0, FMV − basis). One 0%/15%/20% rate is selected using Route C taxable income after the stock deduction and the best-of itemized/standard comparison; this is not a stacked capital-gains computation. The model's 0%/15% ceilings are Single/MFS $49,450/$545,500, MFJ $98,900/$613,700, HoH $66,300/$590,700. These MFS/HoH assumptions differ from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §4.03, which publishes MFS $49,450/$306,850 and HoH $66,200/$579,600. The illustration excludes hypothetical-sale feedback, capital losses and NIIT.

IRMAA and net difference. Reuse the existing CMS 2026 schedule, published November 14, 2025. Under the two-year lookback, 2026 income affects 2028 premiums; the 2026 schedule is held constant solely for illustration. AGI proxies MAGI, other adjustments are zero, and coverage is full-year. MFS uses the lived-together table. The IRMAA row is each route's own annual surcharge. Net = (baseline federal tax − route federal tax) + (baseline annual surcharge − route annual surcharge) + avoided capital gains. For example, baseline $6,355.20 minus Route A $4,620.00 saves $1,735.20. Standard Part B and actual Part D plan premiums cancel. The net combines 2026 tax with one illustrated 2028 premium year; it is not a refund or lifetime value.

Input, rounding and scope. All six money fields clamp empty, invalid and negative entries to $0, cap at $10,000,000 and round to whole dollars ($0.50 up). Age accepts two decimals, 0–120. Monetary outputs retain cents. Negative net values remain visible. NIIT at 3.8%, state tax, SALT interactions, AMT, credits, inherited IRAs, IRA basis and deductible contributions after age 70½ are outside scope. IRS/statutory sources accessed October 30–31, 2026; CMS verification reused from October 29. Illustration only; consult a tax professional.