What's the most tax-efficient way to leave money to charity?

The most tax-efficient charitable bequests usually come from your pre-tax retirement accounts, not your Roth or taxable assets. A traditional IRA left to an individual is fully taxable as ordinary income to that heir, but a charity pays no income tax, so naming a charity as the IRA beneficiary lets 100% of those dollars go to the cause while your heirs inherit your tax-free Roth and stepped-up taxable assets instead. While alive, donating appreciated stock you've held over a year lets you deduct the full market value and avoid capital gains tax. A donor-advised fund bunches several years of giving into one deductible year, and a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) lets those 70½ and older give up to $108,000 in 2025 directly from an IRA, satisfying RMDs tax-free. Match the right asset to the right recipient and everyone keeps more.