Qualified charitable distribution (QCD) planner

For an IRA owner 70½+, a qualified charitable distribution (IRC §408(d)(8)) gives directly from the IRA to charity: it is excluded from gross income and counts toward the RMD, so it keeps the gift out of MAGI — lowering IRMAA and the §86 taxation of Social Security — and it helps even the standard-deduction retiree (for whom a charitable itemized deduction is worthless). Compares QCD vs take-the-RMD-then-donate by composing the rmd, sstax, irmaa, and tax engines, and reports each strategy's AGI / MAGI / taxable SS / income tax / IRMAA plus the net tax saving. The QCD annual limit is the IRS-indexed §408(d)(8) amount ($108,000 in 2025, $111,000 in 2026). Deterministic; not tax advice.