Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Age, Calculation & 2026 Rules

What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?

A Required Minimum Distribution is the minimum amount the IRS requires you to withdraw annually from most tax-advantaged retirement accounts beginning at a certain age. The concept exists because Congress granted tax deferral on contributions to traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar accounts — meaning the government has never collected income tax on those dollars. RMDs are the mechanism by which the IRS ensures that tax eventually gets paid rather than being deferred indefinitely or passed entirely to heirs.

According to the Investment Company Institute's 2025 Annual Report, Americans held approximately $14.6 trillion in IRA assets, with traditional IRAs accounting for the majority. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances found that among households headed by someone age 65 to 74, the median retirement account balance was approximately $200,000 — meaning RMD obligations affect tens of millions of retirees each year, not just the wealthy.

When Do RMDs Start? The SECURE 2.0 Age Changes

The SECURE Act of 2019 raised the RMD starting age from 70½ to 72. Then the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 raised it again — first to 73, then ultimately to 75. The specific age that applies to you depends entirely on your birth year:

Your Required Beginning Date — the absolute deadline for taking your very first RMD — is April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which you reach your RMD age. For every year after that, the deadline is December 31. This means if you turn 73 in 2026, you can wait until April 1, 2027 to take your first RMD. However, doing so means you will have two RMDs in 2027: the first-year distribution (due by April 1) and the second-year distribution (due by December 31). Taking two distributions in one calendar year can push you into a significantly higher tax bracket — most tax professionals recommend taking the first RMD in the year you actually turn 73 to avoid this stacking problem.

Per IRS Publication 590-B, if you were still working at age 73 and participating in your employer's 401(k), you may be able to delay RMDs from that specific plan until you retire — the "still working exception." This exception does not apply to IRAs, only to current-employer plans, and it does not apply if you own 5% or more of the business sponsoring the plan.

Which Accounts Require RMDs?

Not all retirement accounts have RMD requirements. Understanding which accounts are affected — and which are exempt — is critical for planning.

If you have multiple traditional IRAs, you calculate a separate RMD for each account — but you can take the total from one or any combination of accounts. For 401(k) and 403(b) plans, RMDs must be taken separately from each plan; you cannot aggregate and withdraw from one. This distinction matters when you have multiple old employer plans and are deciding whether to consolidate into a rollover IRA.

How to Calculate Your RMD: The Exact Formula

The IRS RMD calculation is straightforward once you have two numbers: your account balance and your distribution period factor. The formula:

The account balance is the fair market value of the account on December 31 of the previous year. Your financial institution reports this on IRS Form 5498, which arrives in May of the following year — after most RMDs are already due. Don't wait for Form 5498; use your year-end account statement directly.

The distribution period factor comes from IRS Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table) in Publication 590-B, using your age as of your birthday in the current calendar year. Most IRA owners use this table. The only exception: if your sole beneficiary is your spouse who is more than 10 years younger than you, use Table II (Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy), which produces larger factors and thus smaller RMDs.

2026 IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) — Selected Ages

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table. Distribution period factors are the same for 2025 and 2026; the IRS updates the table periodically based on updated mortality data, with the most recent update effective January 1, 2022.

Step-by-Step RMD Calculation Example

RMD Penalties: The 25% Excise Tax Explained

Failing to take your full RMD — or taking none at all — is one of the most expensive mistakes in tax planning. The IRS imposes a 25% excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn but did not. This tax is reported on Form 5329 and is in addition to the ordinary income tax you would have paid on the withdrawal. SECURE 2.0 reduced this penalty from the prior 50% rate, and also introduced a "correction window": if you take the missed RMD within two years, the penalty drops to 10%.

Example of the penalty magnitude: You were required to withdraw $40,000 but withdrew nothing. The 25% excise tax is $10,000 — and you still owe ordinary income tax on the $40,000 when you eventually withdraw it. The IRS can also abate the penalty under Revenue Procedure 2023-24 if you establish that the shortfall was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, but this is not automatic and requires a written statement.

RMDs and Your Tax Liability: The Hidden Cascade

RMDs are taxed as ordinary income in the year received — at federal rates up to 37% and at state rates where applicable. But the tax impact extends well beyond your marginal rate. Large RMDs can trigger a cascade of secondary tax costs that many retirees don't anticipate:

• IRMAA Medicare Surcharges. RMD income counts toward MAGI, which determines whether you pay higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. In 2026, the IRMAA surcharge triggers when MAGI exceeds $106,000 (single) or $212,000 (MFJ) — based on income reported two years prior. A large RMD in 2026 affects 2028 Medicare premiums. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, approximately 7% of Medicare beneficiaries pay IRMAA surcharges, adding $69 to $419 per month in 2026 depending on income.
• Social Security Taxation. RMD income increases your "combined income" (AGI + half of Social Security), potentially causing up to 85% of your Social Security benefits to become taxable. Below $25,000 combined income (single), zero Social Security is taxable. Above $34,000, up to 85% is taxable. An RMD can push you from 50% to 85% taxation on Social Security — a significant hidden cost.
• Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). The 3.8% NIIT applies to the lesser of net investment income or the amount by which MAGI exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (MFJ). While RMD income itself is not investment income subject to NIIT, it increases your MAGI and can drag other investment income above the threshold.
• Loss of Deductions. Higher AGI from RMDs can reduce itemized deductions subject to AGI floors — medical expenses deductible only above 7.5% of AGI, for example, become harder to claim when RMDs inflate income.

For tax bracket modeling with RMD income factored in, use our income tax calculator to see exactly how an additional $30,000–$80,000 in RMD income affects your 2026 federal tax liability.

Strategies to Reduce Your RMD Tax Burden

1. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

A Qualified Charitable Distribution allows you to transfer up to $105,000 directly from your IRA to a qualified charity in 2026. The QCD counts toward your RMD but is excluded from your taxable income entirely — a far better tax outcome than taking the RMD, paying tax on it, and then taking a charitable deduction (which only benefits you if you itemize, and is capped at 60% of AGI for cash gifts).

Key QCD requirements: You must be age 70½ or older (not 73 — you can make QCDs even if you haven't yet reached RMD age). The distribution must go directly from the IRA to the charity — you cannot receive the check and forward it. Donor-advised funds and private foundations do not qualify. The $105,000 limit is per person, per year, and applies to the aggregate of all QCDs. Married couples can each direct $105,000, for a combined $210,000 annually. Per IRS Notice 2023-75, the QCD limit is indexed for inflation beginning in 2024.

For a retiree in the 22% bracket, a $30,000 QCD saves approximately $6,600 in federal income tax — and potentially more when accounting for Social Security and IRMAA cascade effects.

2. Roth Conversions Before RMDs Begin

The years between retirement and the start of Social Security or RMDs — often called the "conversion window" — offer the best opportunity for strategic Roth conversions. By converting traditional IRA assets to Roth in lower-income years, you permanently reduce the pre-tax balance that will generate future RMDs. According to a 2024 Vanguard research paper, systematic Roth conversions in the decade before RMDs begin can reduce lifetime tax costs by 15%–25% for moderate- to high-balance retirees.

The goal is to "fill up" lower tax brackets with conversions — typically the 12% and 22% brackets — before RMDs, Social Security, and other income push you into the 24% or 32% bracket in later years. For conversion strategy details, see our Roth IRA conversion tax strategy guide.

3. Aggregate IRAs and Minimize Accounts

While you can aggregate RMDs across multiple IRAs (taking the total from one account), you cannot aggregate across different account types. If you have old 401(k)s at prior employers, rolling them into a single traditional IRA simplifies RMD management significantly. You have one balance to track, one factor to apply, and one institution to coordinate with.

4. Delay Social Security to Absorb RMDs

Delaying Social Security to age 70 (earning 8% annual delayed retirement credits) concentrates your income in later years, but if you also have large RMDs arriving at 73+, the combination can be brutal tax-wise. For some retirees, starting Social Security earlier — say, at 67 or 68 — while converting more traditional IRA assets to Roth in the low-income years actually results in lower lifetime taxes. A breakeven analysis comparing these scenarios should account for the IRMAA cascade and Social Security taxation cliff, not just the raw benefit amount.

5. Aggregate Multiple RMD Deadlines Carefully

If you have both a traditional IRA and a 403(b) or 401(k), remember: IRA RMDs can be aggregated and taken from any IRA, but workplace plan RMDs must be taken from each plan separately. Failing to take a separate RMD from a 401(k) — thinking the IRA withdrawal covered it — results in a penalty on the 401(k) shortfall even if the total dollars withdrawn exceeded the combined RMD requirements.

Inherited IRAs and the 10-Year Rule

The RMD rules for inherited IRAs changed dramatically under the SECURE Act of 2019 and were further clarified in IRS Final Regulations issued in 2024. Non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited an IRA after January 1, 2020 generally must deplete the account within 10 years. Whether annual distributions are required within that 10-year window depends on whether the original account owner had already begun RMDs:

• Original owner died before their Required Beginning Date: No annual distributions required. The beneficiary just needs to empty the account by December 31 of the 10th year after the owner's death.
• Original owner died on or after their Required Beginning Date: The beneficiary must take annual distributions each year of the 10-year period (based on the beneficiary's own life expectancy), with the full balance depleted by year 10.

Eligible Designated Beneficiaries — a spouse, a disabled or chronically ill individual, a beneficiary not more than 10 years younger than the decedent, or a minor child of the decedent — can use the prior stretch IRA rules and take distributions over their life expectancy. The 10-year rule applies to all other non-spouse beneficiaries.

RMDs From 401(k)s vs. IRAs: Key Differences

These differences make rolling old employer 401(k)s into an IRA attractive for RMD management — you get aggregation, QCD eligibility, and simpler administration. For more on 401(k) tax rules and distribution strategies, see our 401(k) tax guide.

RMDs and Retirement Account Tax Planning Integration

RMD management is not a standalone calculation — it is an integral part of a comprehensive retirement tax strategy. According to a 2025 analysis by the Tax Foundation, retirees who proactively plan around RMDs through Roth conversions, QCDs, and bracket management can reduce lifetime federal taxes by $50,000 to $150,000 compared to those who simply take RMDs reactively.

The key levers in the years before and during RMDs:

• Pre-RMD Roth conversions to reduce the taxable IRA balance that generates future RMDs
• QCDs to satisfy RMDs without generating taxable income (for those with charitable intent)
• Timing Social Security claiming to smooth income and minimize the Social Security taxation cliff
• Tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts to offset RMD income with capital losses
• Managing IRMAA two-year look-back periods to avoid Medicare premium surcharges

For retirement planning context, also review our guide on retirement account tax benefits and how different account types interact in a diversified tax strategy.

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