Here’s the qualification – the “direct contribution to charity” provision went away at the end of 2009. Unless Congress extends this provision, you can not make a direct contribution from your IRA without “realizing” the income. I’d wait until later in the year if this is what you had in mind – sometimes Congress makes changes like this and often when they do they don’t make the change retroactive.

On the other hand, if the law isn’t changed to extend the direct contribution privilege, you can still receive your RMD from your IRA and donate it to the charity. Assuming that your itemized deductions are greater than the standard deduction, you will effectively cancel out the income from the RMD – you won’t pay tax on it.

However, since you do have to realize the RMD as income, this method will increase your Adjusted Gross Income, which could impact your tax situation for other items on your return. You can find out more by going to this article “Last Chance for Charitable Contributions from Your IRA” (use this link: http://financialducksinarow.com/1852/last-chance-for-charitable-contributions-from-your-ira/) for more details.

Hope this helps!