Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: The QCD Adjustment Worksheet in Publication 590-B shrinks the part of a qualified charitable distribution you can exclude from income when you also deducted traditional IRA contributions after reaching 70 and a half. Five lines: prior unused deductions, this year’s deductions, their total, this year’s QCDs, and the excludable amount.
What this worksheet is for
The publication’s rule: “the amount of QCDs that you can exclude from income is reduced by the excess of the aggregate amount of IRA contributions you deducted for the taxable year and any prior year that you were age 70½ or older over the amount of the IRA contributions that were used to reduce the excludable amount of QCDs in all earlier years”. The related limit and the deduction rule are in Publication 526: “Your total QCDs for the year can’t be more than $108,000.” and “if the QCD is nontaxable, you can’t claim it as a charitable contribution deduction.” A QCD also helps with the RMD: “A QCD will count towards your required minimum distribution, discussed earlier.” The limit pages are QCD limit 2026 and QCD limit 2027.
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | “Enter the total amounts of contributions deducted in prior years that you were age 70½ or older that did not reduce the excludable amount of qualified charitable contributions in prior years.” |
| Line 2 | “Enter the total amounts contributed and deducted during the current year if you were age 70½ (or older) at the end of the year. If this is your first QCD worksheet, also include contributions you deducted in prior years during which you were age 70½ (or older) at the end of the year.” |
| Line 3 | “Add the amounts on lines 1 and 2.” |
| Line 4 | “Enter the total amounts of qualified charitable distributions made during the current year, not to exceed $108,000.” |
| Line 5 | “Subtract line 3 from line 4. This is the amount of your excludable qualified charitable distribution for the current year.” |
| Footnote | “If zero or less, you have no excludable qualified charitable distribution. If greater than zero, enter -0- on line 1 of your subsequent QCD worksheet. If less than zero, enter the amount as a positive amount on line 1 of your subsequent QCD worksheet.” |
The IRS example: Jim, 2025 and 2026
The publication works one case on two copies of the worksheet. Its inputs are the IRS’s own, and each computed line is recomputed here from the printed lines.
| Line | Jim’s 2025 worksheet | Jim’s 2026 worksheet |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1: prior-year deductions that did not reduce a QCD | $0 | $4,000 |
| Line 2: IRA contributions deducted this year, as the IRS example shows them | $10,000 | $0 |
| Line 3, computed: line 1 plus line 2 | $10,000 (computed) | $4,000 (computed) |
| Line 4: qualified charitable distributions this year | $6,000 | $6,500 |
| Line 5, computed: line 4 minus line 3 | ($4,000) | $2,500 (computed) |
For 2025 the result is below zero, so Jim has no excludable QCD and carries the negative amount forward as a positive amount on line 1 of the next worksheet. That carryover of $4,000 reduces his 2026 QCD of $6,500 to an excludable $2,500.
Edition
This page reads Publication 590-B (2025), the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-28 (sha256 in the kit data). The QCD Adjustment Worksheet in it is for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own copy and use that year’s line numbers and dollar amounts, because a different year’s worksheet can word its lines differently.
The $108,000 limit is the 2025 figure as Publication 526 prints it. It is indexed each year, and this page does not restate a 2026 figure.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the worksheet after deducting an IRA contribution at age 70½ or older. With nothing on lines 1 and 2 the whole QCD is excludable up to the limit, but such a deduction reduces it.
- Dropping the carryover. A result below zero is entered as a positive amount on line 1 of the next year’s worksheet.
- Deducting a nontaxable QCD on Schedule A as well.
Related: QCD limit 2026, QCDs after 70 and a half, and QCD age versus RMD age.
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Answer againSources
- Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf
- Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 28, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.