text:  I give it to my charity. No, you've got to go directly from your IRA or directly from your retirement plan into the charity. If you take possession of it, it excludes you from getting that tax-free. But it's a neat little plan. The year you do that, the following April, you'll be very happy you did because you don't have to pay tax on that RMD. So for the proper person who is giving money to church or charity anyway,