Required minimum distributions in 2026: when they start and how to figure them

You saved in a traditional IRA or a 401(k) for decades, and the tax was deferred the whole time. A required minimum distribution, or RMD, is the point where the deferral starts to end. Every year from a certain age, the government requires a slice to come out and be taxed. The rules are mechanical once you see them, and the expensive mistakes are almost all about timing. This page covers when RMDs start, the first-year trap, how the amount is figured, which accounts are exempt, and what happens if you miss one.

When RMDs start

For people who reach age 72 after 2022, RMDs begin for the year you turn 73. ^{3 4} The IRS says owners of traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs must start even if they are still working. ¹

Workplace plans have one exception. If you are still working for the employer that sponsors your 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b), the plan can let you wait until you retire, unless you are a significant owner of that business. The FAQ gives the ownership test. ¹ That exception covers only that employer's plan. It never applies to IRAs. ¹

The first-year trap: two RMDs on one return

Your first RMD has a grace period. It is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73. Every later RMD is due by December 31 of its own year. ¹

That grace period has a cost. If you use it, your first and second RMDs both land in the same tax year, one by April 1 and one by December 31. The IRS's own example: reach 73 in 2024, and the first RMD is due by April 1, 2025, with the second due by December 31, 2025. ¹ Two years of income on one return can push you into a higher bracket, raise the taxable part of your Social Security, and affect Medicare premiums later. Taking the first one in the year you turn 73 avoids the doubling.

How the amount is figured

The formula is one division:

account balance at December 31 of last year ÷ the distribution period for your age this year

The balance is the one from the prior year's last statement. ² The divisor comes from an IRS life-expectancy table in Publication 590-B. Most owners use Table III, the Uniform Lifetime Table, looking up the age they reach on their birthday this year. If your spouse is your sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger, you use Table II, which gives a longer period and a smaller RMD. ¹

Because the divisor shrinks each year, the share you must take grows each year.

One account or many?

• IRAs. You figure an RMD for each traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA separately, then you may add them up and take the total from any one or more of your IRAs. ¹
• 401(k) and 457(b) plans. The RMD from each plan must come from that plan. ¹
• Taking more than required this year does not count toward next year's RMD, and an RMD can't be rolled over into another tax-deferred account. ¹

Which accounts have no RMD

Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the original owner is alive, and neither do designated Roth accounts in workplace plans. ¹ Beneficiaries who inherit them are a different story: inherited accounts follow their own rules, which this page does not cover. ¹

Giving it to charity instead

If you are charitably inclined, a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, can satisfy an IRA RMD without the money landing in your income. The IRA custodian sends the money directly to the charity. QCDs are available from age 70 and a half, and count toward your RMD for the year. ² For 2026 the annual QCD limit is $111,000. We explain how QCDs compare with other ways to give in Charitable giving in 2026.

If you miss an RMD

The shortfall is subject to an excise tax of 25%, reported on Form 5329. The tax drops to 10% if you correct the shortfall within the correction window, and the IRS can waive it for reasonable error if you take the missed amount and attach a letter of explanation. ¹ The rates and the window are in section 4974. ⁵ The practical rule: if you find a missed RMD, take it as soon as you can and file Form 5329 asking for the waiver, rather than waiting.

What to gather

• The December 31 statement for every IRA and workplace plan you own.
• Your age this year and your spouse's, if your spouse is your sole beneficiary.
• Publication 590-B, Appendix B, for the table.
• A record of any QCDs, and the charity's acknowledgment.