Required Minimum Distribution Rules: Age, Calculation, Tables, and Inherited IRAs
A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the minimum amount the IRS requires an account owner to withdraw each year from certain retirement accounts once the owner reaches the applicable age. For each year, the IRS says the RMD is figured by dividing the account balance as of December 31 of the prior year by a life expectancy factor from the IRS tables in Publication 590-B.
This guide walks through the IRS required minimum distribution rules in the order most readers search for them: the age RMDs begin, which accounts are covered, how to calculate the amount, which table applies, how inherited accounts differ, and what the IRS says happens when an RMD is missed. It addresses federal rules only.
Reviewed against current IRS guidance: October 25, 2026.
What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?
Under IRS rules, retirement accounts that received tax-deferred contributions are not allowed to stay untouched forever. The IRS required minimum distribution rules require the account owner to start taking money out in a year the IRS specifies, and to keep taking at least a minimum amount each year after that. The word "minimum" matters: an owner can withdraw more than the RMD, but the IRS states that an excess withdrawal in one year cannot be applied to a future year's RMD.
The IRS also states that a required minimum distribution cannot be rolled over into another tax-deferred account. Each year's RMD is a distribution that must be taken out of the account.
For the IRS explanation, see Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions.
Required Minimum Distribution Age: When RMDs Begin
The required minimum distribution age depends on when the account owner was born and on the tax year. Publication 590-B (2025) states that for tax years 2023 and later, an IRA owner must begin receiving required minimum distributions by April 1 of the year following the year the owner reaches age 73. The same publication describes age 72 for tax years 2020 through 2022 and age 70½ for tax years 2019 or earlier.
The IRS final regulations published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-33 add that, for employees born on or after January 1, 1960, the applicable age is 75. Because the applicable age depends on birth year, owners born near the change should confirm the age that applies to them with a tax professional before relying on a general rule.
The IRS also explains the first-year timing. The first RMD is for the year the owner reaches the applicable age, but it can be delayed until April 1 of the following year. In the IRS example for an owner who reaches age 73 in 2024, the first RMD is due by April 1, 2025, and the second RMD is due by December 31, 2025.
For the IRS explanation, see Publication 590-B and Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-33.
IRA Required Minimum Distribution and 401k Required Minimum Distribution: Which Accounts Are Covered
According to the IRS, traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and workplace retirement plans such as 401(k), profit-sharing, 403(b), and 457(b) plans are subject to RMDs. The IRA required minimum distribution rules and the 401k required minimum distribution rules share the same basic idea but differ in two practical ways.
Roth accounts: the IRS states that the RMD rules do not apply to Roth IRAs or designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of those accounts are subject to RMD rules.
Workplace plans: the IRS states that plan participants can delay RMDs until retirement, unless they are a 5% owner of the business sponsoring the plan.
Aggregation: an IRA owner calculates the RMD for each IRA separately but can take the total from one or more of the IRAs. For 401(k) and 457(b) accounts, the IRS states the RMD must be taken separately from each plan account.
A business owner who sponsors a plan should keep these differences in mind, because the 5% owner exception to the retirement-delay rule applies specifically to owners.
How Do I Calculate My Required Minimum Distribution? The Required Minimum Distribution Formula
The required minimum distribution formula is the same each year: take the account balance as of December 31 of the preceding year and divide it by the applicable distribution period from the IRS tables. Publication 590-B gives this example: for a $100,000 IRA balance at the end of 2025 and a distribution period of 24.6 for a 75-year-old in 2026, the RMD is $4,065.
Anyone asking how do I calculate my required minimum distribution therefore needs two inputs: the prior year-end balance of each account and the correct IRS table factor. The IRS states that the table used depends on who the beneficiary of the account is.
Required Minimum Distribution Table: Which IRS Table Applies
Publication 590-B and the IRS RMD page identify three life expectancy tables. Each applies to a different situation:
IRS table | When the IRS says it applies |
Table III: Uniform Lifetime Table | Used when the IRA owner's spouse is not the sole designated beneficiary, or is not more than 10 years younger than the owner |
Table II: Joint and Last Survivor Table | Used when the sole beneficiary is the owner's spouse and the spouse is more than 10 years younger than the owner |
Table I: Single Life Table | Used by beneficiaries of an inherited IRA |
IRA required minimum distribution table for owners
For most IRA owners, the IRA required minimum distribution table is Table III, the Uniform Lifetime Table. An owner whose spouse is the sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger uses the Joint and Last Survivor Table instead, which is why the beneficiary designation matters when selecting a table.
Publication 590-B contains the tables. See Publication 590-B.
Required Minimum Distribution Calculator: IRS Worksheets and What to Gather
The IRS publishes worksheets for IRA owners rather than a single online calculator on its worksheet page. Two IRA RMD worksheets are listed: one to use only if your spouse is the sole beneficiary of your IRA and is more than 10 years younger than you, and one for everyone else. The IRS states that both worksheets calculate the RMD from your own IRAs, including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs.
A required minimum distribution calculator, whether from the IRS worksheets or another source, works only with the inputs entered. Before using one, gather:
The December 31 balance of each IRA or plan account for the prior year
The owner's age or birth year
The identity and age of the account beneficiary, where the spouse-more-than-10-years-younger rule might apply
Whether the account is a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or workplace plan
The worksheets are available on the IRS page Required minimum distribution worksheets.
Review Your RMD Planning
Tax Wealth Consultant (TWC) provides bookkeeping, tax planning, and tax preparation support for business owners and professionals in Irvine and Orange County. Schedule a consultation to review how these rules apply to your own records.
taxwealthconsultant.com | (949) 409-8335
Minimum Required Distribution Deadlines and the Rules for Taking the Money
A minimum required distribution has two timing rules. The first RMD can wait until April 1 of the following year, but every later RMD is due by December 31 of its year. Taking the first RMD late therefore means two RMDs may fall in the same calendar year, as in the IRS example above.
The IRS also states that, for workplace plans, participants can generally delay RMDs until retirement unless they are 5% owners. Owners of several accounts should track each account separately, because the aggregation rule for IRAs does not extend to 401(k) and 457(b) plans.
Required Minimum Distribution Inherited IRA Rules
The required minimum distribution inherited IRA rules differ from the owner rules. The IRS states that beneficiaries of an inherited IRA use the Single Life Table, Table I, and that the rules depend on when the original owner died.
Deaths before 2020: the beneficiary generally must distribute the balance within 5 years of the end of the year after the owner's death, or over the beneficiary's life starting by the end of that year.
Deaths after December 31, 2019: the 10-year rule generally applies, whether the owner died before, on, or after the required beginning date. Publication 590-B states the entire balance must be withdrawn by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner's death; for an owner who died in 2025, that date is December 31, 2035.
The IRS identifies exceptions to the 10-year rule for certain eligible designated beneficiaries: a surviving spouse, a child who has not reached the age of majority, a disabled or chronically ill person, and a person not more than ten years younger than the owner.
See Publication 590-B and the IRS RMD guidance page for the beneficiary rules.
Missed RMDs: The IRS Excise Tax, Correction, and Waiver
The IRS states that the excise tax for a missed RMD is 25% of the amount not withdrawn. It is reduced to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within two years. The tax is reported on Form 5329 with the tax return for the year the RMD was required but not taken.
The IRS also describes a waiver. It is available if the shortfall was due to reasonable error and reasonable steps are being taken to fix it. The taxpayer files Form 5329 with a letter of explanation. Whether the waiver applies depends on the facts, so anyone who missed an RMD should review the IRS instructions or speak with a tax professional.
What the IRS Rules Mean in Practice
Taken together, the IRS rules point to a short list of practical considerations. None of them depends on a hypothetical taxpayer; each follows from a rule stated above.
Confirm the applicable age before assuming a start date, because the IRS ties the required minimum distribution age to birth year and tax year.
List every account by type, because the Roth rules, the workplace-plan delay, and the aggregation rules are different for each.
Record the December 31 balance of each account each year, because the IRS formula starts there.
Keep beneficiary designations current, because the IRS uses the beneficiary to decide which table applies and, after death, which distribution rules apply.
Calendar both the April 1 and December 31 deadlines, because the first-year option can create two RMDs in one year.
Review any missed RMD promptly, because the IRS reduces the excise tax if the shortfall is corrected within two years.
Next Steps for Retirement Account Owners in Irvine and Orange County
Account owners in Irvine and Orange County who are approaching their RMD year, or who have inherited a retirement account, should start with account statements, beneficiary designations, and a review of the tables above. Tax Wealth Consultant (TWC) offers tax planning support to help evaluate how these rules fit a specific situation. For related TWC reading, see the articles on retirement income tax planning, the qualified charitable distribution, Roth conversion planning for business owners, and IRA and 401(k) contribution limits.
This article is general information, not individualized tax, legal, investment, or financial advice.
Talk With Tax Wealth Consultant
Tax Wealth Consultant (TWC) provides bookkeeping, tax planning, and tax preparation support for business owners and professionals in Irvine and Orange County. Schedule a consultation to review how these rules apply to your own records.
taxwealthconsultant.com | (949) 409-8335
Tax Wealth Consultant (TWC) provides tax planning, tax preparation, and wealth advisory services for business owners, professionals, and investors in Irvine, Orange County, and beyond. Learn more at https://www.taxwealthconsultant.com/.
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