Required Minimum Distributions
The hidden history of the rule that taxes your retirement, where it came from, and the traps nobody warns you about.
At a Certain Age, They Make You Take the Money Out.
A Required Minimum Distribution is the amount the government makes you pull out of your retirement accounts each year once you reach a certain age. Not ask. Make. Whether you need the money or not. And when you do, you finally pay the tax they have been waiting on for forty years.
This guide walks through where that rule came from, when you have to start, how the amount is calculated, what happens if you miss it, and the moves you can make before that letter ever shows up.
- Why RMDs exist, and the bargain you made decades ago
- The age ladder: 70 1/2, then 72, then 73, and 75 in 2033
- How the amount is calculated, with a real example
- The penalty for missing one, and how it changed
- The traps: the Medicare domino (IRMAA), the smarter way to give (QCD), and the inheritance rule that surprises families
- The Roth escape hatch, and the moves to make first
Context Creates Clarity
Why the Rule Exists
Every dollar in a traditional IRA or 401(k) went in before taxes. The government let you wait. The RMD is simply how it makes sure the tax finally comes due. The back half of a deal you probably forgot about.
The Age Ladder
For decades the magic age was seventy and a half. Then it moved to 72, then 73, and it climbs to 75 in 2033. Which age applies to you depends on the year you were born. Here is where you stand.
The Traps Nobody Warns You About
The RMD itself is not the worst part. It is the dominoes it sets off: higher Medicare premiums (IRMAA), a smarter way to give to charity (QCD), and the inheritance rule that hands your family a tax bill.
The Roth Escape Hatch
A Roth has no required distribution during your lifetime. None. That is why the years before these rules kick in are the time to move money from the taxed-later bucket to the never-taxed-again bucket, on purpose.
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Quick Answers
When do required minimum distributions start?
Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are yearly withdrawals the IRS requires from traditional IRAs and most workplace plans. They start at 73 if you were born from 1951 through 1959, and at 75 if born in 1960 or later. The first one can wait until April 1 of the next year; after that, each is due by December 31.
Key facts
- RMDs start at 73 if you were born from 1951 through 1959 (for 1959, under an IRS proposed rule) and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Source: Federal Register
- Each year's RMD is the account balance on December 31 of the prior year divided by the IRS factor for your age. At 73 the factor is 26.5. Source: IRS
- Missing an RMD triggers an excise tax of 25% of the shortfall, cut to 10% if you correct it within the correction window. Source: 26 U.S.C. 4974
- Roth IRAs, and Roth 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, need no withdrawals until after the owner's death. Source: IRS
- From age 70½ you can give up to $111,000 in 2026 straight from an IRA to charity as a qualified charitable distribution, and it counts toward your RMD. Source: IRS
RMD Questions, Answered
What age do RMDs start, 73 or 75?
It depends on your birth year. If you were born from 1951 through 1959, RMDs start at 73; the IRS has proposed 73 for 1959, where the law's wording overlaps. If you were born in 1960 or later, they start at 75. Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach that age, and each later one by December 31, so delaying the first means two in the same year.
How is my RMD calculated?
Take each account's balance on December 31 of last year and divide it by the factor for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At 73 the factor is 26.5, so a $1,000,000 IRA means a first RMD of about $37,700. IRA RMDs can be added together and taken from any of your IRAs, but 401(k) and 457(b) RMDs must come out of each plan separately. Still working and not a 5% owner? You may delay RMDs from your current employer's plan.
What is the penalty for missing an RMD?
An excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have withdrawn, down from 50% under the old rule. It drops to 10% if you take the missed amount and report the tax within the correction window, which generally ends with the second year after the year you missed. The IRS can also waive part or all of it if the shortfall came from a reasonable error and you are taking steps to fix it; you ask on Form 5329.
Can a qualified charitable distribution count toward my RMD?
Yes. From age 70½ you can send money directly from an IRA to a qualifying charity, up to $111,000 per person in 2026, and it counts toward that year's RMD without being added to your income. It must go straight from the IRA trustee to the charity, and donor-advised funds and supporting organizations don't qualify. You can't also take a charitable deduction for it.
Do Roth IRAs have required minimum distributions?
Not while you're alive. Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) have no required withdrawals until after the owner's death; your beneficiaries do have to follow the RMD rules. One catch for conversions: in a year you owe an RMD, it has to come out before you convert, because an RMD can't be rolled over or converted.
What are the RMD rules for an inherited IRA?
If the owner died after 2019, most beneficiaries must empty the inherited IRA by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death. Eligible designated beneficiaries can use other rules, including life expectancy payments: the surviving spouse, the owner's minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. Roth IRA beneficiaries follow these rules too.
Sources
- IRS: Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs
- IRS Publication 590-B: Distributions from IRAs
- Federal Register, July 19, 2024: Required minimum distributions final regulations
- 26 U.S.C. 4974: Excise tax on certain accumulations in qualified retirement plans
- IRS Notice 2025-67: 2026 retirement plan limits
General education, not tax or legal advice. Rules and limits change; confirm the current year's rules with your tax professional.
The full guide goes deeper. Get the guide above.
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