By the RetireGauge Editorial Team · Updated June 2026 · Researched from authoritative sources. General information, not professional advice.
For decades you put money into tax-deferred retirement accounts and skipped the tax bill. Eventually the IRS wants its share, and the mechanism it uses is the required minimum distribution, or RMD. This guide explains what RMDs are, when they begin, how the amount is calculated, the penalties for missing one, and a few legitimate ways to keep them smaller.
An RMD is the minimum amount the IRS requires you to withdraw from most tax-deferred retirement accounts each year once you reach a certain age. The logic is simple: traditional retirement contributions and their growth have never been taxed, so the government sets a schedule that forces the money out gradually and brings it into your taxable income. You can always withdraw more than the minimum; you just cannot withdraw less without a penalty.
Each year's RMD is generally taxed as ordinary income in the year you take it. The amount is based on your account balance at the end of the prior year and a life-expectancy factor published by the IRS.
The starting age has moved over the past several years. The SECURE 2.0 Act, signed into law at the end of 2022, raised the RMD age to 73 for many people, and the law schedules a further increase to 75 in 2033. Because the exact age that applies to you depends on your birth year and on later guidance, you should confirm your specific RMD starting age directly with the IRS rather than relying on a single number.
The practical takeaway: if you are approaching your early 70s, check the current rule with the IRS each year, because the age that applied to someone a few years older than you may not be the age that applies to you.
RMDs apply to most employer plans and traditional IRAs. The main accounts affected include:
Some accounts are not subject to RMDs during the original owner's lifetime:
Inherited accounts follow their own, more complicated set of rules; if you have inherited a retirement account, check the IRS guidance for beneficiaries separately.
For most retirees, the calculation uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, found in IRS Publication 590-B. You take your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year and divide it by the life-expectancy factor that matches your age for the current year:
Prior-year-end balance ÷ Uniform Lifetime Table factor = this year's RMD
A higher factor at younger ages produces a smaller required withdrawal; as you age, the factor shrinks and the required percentage of the account rises. Here is a worked example using illustrative balances and factors (always verify the current factor for your age in Publication 590-B):
| Age | Prior year-end balance | Uniform Lifetime factor (illustrative) | RMD = balance ÷ factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | $500,000 | 26.5 | $18,868 |
| 75 | $480,000 | 24.6 | $19,512 |
| 80 | $430,000 | 20.2 | $21,287 |
| 85 | $360,000 | 16.0 | $22,500 |
The factors above are for illustration only. Your real factor must come from the current IRS Uniform Lifetime Table; a different table applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse who is more than ten years younger than you.
Your very first RMD has a special deadline. You must take it by April 1 of the year after the year you reach your RMD age. Every RMD after that is due by December 31 of its own year. That April 1 grace period sounds generous, but it hides a trap: if you delay your first RMD into the following year, you will take two RMDs in that same calendar year — last year's by April 1 and the current year's by December 31. Two distributions stacked into one tax year can push you into a higher bracket. Many retirees choose to take that first RMD in the year they turn the RMD age, by December 31, to avoid doubling up.
Missing an RMD used to carry one of the harshest penalties in the tax code. SECURE 2.0 reduced the excise tax for a missed RMD to 25% of the amount you should have withdrawn but did not. That penalty can drop further to 10% if you correct the shortfall promptly within the window the law allows and file the appropriate form. Even with the reduction, this is an expensive mistake, so calendar reminders and, where available, automatic distribution programs from your custodian are worth using. Confirm the current penalty rates and correction window with the IRS.
You cannot wish RMDs away, but you can shape how large they become and how they are taxed:
Because RMDs land in your ordinary income, they interact with your tax bracket, the taxation of your Social Security benefits, and Medicare income-related premium surcharges. Planning the timing and size of withdrawals — and pairing RMDs with QCDs or other deductions — can soften those effects.
One useful rule eases the logistics: if you own more than one traditional IRA, you calculate the RMD for each, but you may total them and take the combined amount from any one IRA or split it across them as you like. Employer plans such as 401(k)s do not allow this aggregation — each plan's RMD must come out of that specific plan. Confirm the aggregation rules that apply to your account types with the IRS or Publication 590-B.
No. Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs during the original owner's lifetime. Under SECURE 2.0, designated Roth accounts inside employer plans, such as Roth 401(k)s, also no longer require lifetime RMDs. Inherited Roth accounts can be a different matter, so check the IRS beneficiary rules.
That is allowed. The RMD is a floor, not a cap. Any amount above the minimum is still taxed as ordinary income for tax-deferred accounts, but there is no penalty for withdrawing more than required. Extra withdrawals do not, however, reduce next year's RMD calculation beyond their effect on your year-end balance.
Yes. You must remove the money from the tax-deferred account, but nothing stops you from reinvesting it in a regular taxable brokerage account or, if you have earned income and are eligible, contributing to a Roth IRA. You cannot roll an RMD back into a tax-deferred account to avoid the tax.
Use the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B for the current tax year. Match your age for the year and divide your prior-year-end balance by that factor. Because the IRS updates these tables periodically, always use the current version rather than an old printout.
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