A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the smallest amount the IRS requires the owner of a tax-deferred retirement account to withdraw each year once they reach a set age. Under current federal rules that age is generally 73. The first RMD can wait until April 1 of the year after the owner turns 73, and every later one is due by December 31. The amount is the prior year-end balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor, and a shortfall can trigger a 25% excise tax.
This is general information about how a federal rule works. It is not tax, legal or investment advice. A tax professional or a financial advisor can confirm how the rule applies to one person's accounts.
What Is a Required Minimum Distribution, in Plain Terms
Traditional retirement accounts let money go in before tax and grow without yearly tax on the gains. The trade-off built into the tax code is that the deferral cannot last forever. An RMD is the mechanism that ends it: starting at the applicable age, a minimum slice of the account has to come out each year, and that slice is generally counted as taxable income.
The IRS defines the term directly in its Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs (page last updated January 29, 2026; read September 23, 2026): RMDs are "minimum amounts that IRA and retirement plan account owners generally must withdraw annually starting with the year they reach age 73."
Three words in that definition carry the weight. "Minimum" means the owner can always withdraw more. "Annually" means the calculation repeats every year on a new balance. "Generally" signals exceptions, which is where most of the confusion lives.
Which Accounts Have RMDs, and Which Do Not
RMDs attach to account types, not to people, so the first question is always which accounts someone holds. For a map of the account family itself, the guide to the main types of retirement accounts covers how a 401(k), 403(b) and IRA differ before any withdrawal rule comes into play.
According to the IRS RMD FAQs (read September 23, 2026), the rule applies to traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans and profit-sharing plans. Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs while the owner is alive, and the same FAQ page states that designated Roth accounts inside workplace plans are also exempt during the owner's lifetime. Beneficiaries who inherit any of these accounts, Roth included, follow their own RMD rules.
That Roth exemption is one reason the tax timing of each account type matters so much. The explainer on traditional vs Roth accounts and where the tax hits sets out why one account is taxed on the way out and the other on the way in.
Health savings accounts do not appear on the IRS list of accounts subject to RMDs. They sit under a separate set of rules, described in the guide to how an HSA works and its tax layers.
When RMDs Start: The Applicable Age by Birth Date
The starting age has changed several times, which is why older articles still quote 70½ or 72. The current ages come from the SECURE 2.0 Act and the final IRS regulations (T.D. 10001), published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-33 on August 12, 2024. Those regulations set the "applicable age" by date of birth:
| Date of birth | Applicable age for RMDs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Before July 1, 1949 | 70½ | T.D. 10001, IRB 2024-33 (Aug. 12, 2024) |
| July 1, 1949 to December 31, 1950 | 72 | T.D. 10001, IRB 2024-33 (Aug. 12, 2024) |
| January 1, 1951 to December 31, 1958 | 73 | T.D. 10001, IRB 2024-33 (Aug. 12, 2024) |
| 1959 | Not assigned in the final regulations | T.D. 10001 leaves this year out of its categories |
| January 1, 1960 or later | 75 | T.D. 10001, IRB 2024-33 (Aug. 12, 2024) |
The 1959 row is not a typo. The statute's wording created an overlap for people born that year, and the final regulations did not settle it. Anyone born in 1959 has a reason to confirm the current IRS position with a tax professional rather than rely on a summary table, this one included.
The Two Deadlines: April 1 and December 31
The IRS page Retirement topics: Required minimum distributions (last reviewed April 8, 2026; read September 23, 2026) sets out two separate deadlines.
- The first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after the owner reaches the applicable age. The IRS calls this the required beginning date.
- Every later RMD is due by December 31 of the year it covers.
The gap between those two dates creates the most common surprise in the whole topic. Take a hypothetical owner who turns 73 in 2026. The RMD for 2026 can be delayed until April 1, 2027. But the RMD for 2027 is still due by December 31, 2027. Using the delay means two required distributions land in the same calendar year, and both are generally counted as income for that year.
Neither choice is automatically better. Taking the first RMD in the year the owner reaches the applicable age spreads the income across two tax years; using the April 1 date pushes it into one. Which outcome suits a household depends on its income in each year, which is a question for a tax professional.
The Still-Working Exception, and Who Cannot Use It
Workplace plans can allow a later start. Per the IRS RMD page (read September 23, 2026), the required beginning date for a 401(k), 403(b) or other defined contribution plan can be April 1 following the later of the year the participant reaches the applicable age or the year they retire, if the plan allows the delay.
Three limits apply to that exception:
- The plan document decides. The IRS notes that a plan may require RMDs to start at the applicable age even for employees still working. The plan's summary plan description or administrator is the place to confirm it.
- 5% owners are excluded. The IRS FAQs state the delay is not available to someone who owns 5% or more of the business sponsoring the plan.
- IRAs never qualify. Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs start at the applicable age regardless of employment status.
The exception also covers only the plan of the employer the person is still working for. Plans left behind at earlier jobs follow the ordinary start date.
How the RMD Amount Is Calculated
The formula is short. The IRS RMD page describes it as the account balance at the end of the immediately preceding calendar year divided by a distribution period from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. A different table, the Joint and Last Survivor Table, applies when the owner's spouse is the sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger.
The IRS gives its own worked example in Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (read September 23, 2026). The illustration below restates it, with every input from that publication:
| Input | Value from IRS Publication 590-B (2025) |
|---|---|
| IRA balance at end of 2025 | $100,000 |
| Owner's age in 2026 | 75 |
| Distribution period (Uniform Lifetime Table) | 24.6 |
| RMD for 2026 | $4,065 ($100,000 ÷ 24.6) |
Two features of the formula are easy to miss. The balance is fixed at the prior December 31, so market moves during the RMD year do not change that year's minimum. And the divisor shrinks as the owner ages, so the required share of the account rises over time even if the balance stays flat.
Several Accounts: What Can Be Combined and What Cannot
People with more than one account often assume one withdrawal covers everything. The IRS FAQs (read September 23, 2026) say it depends on the account type.
| Account type | Calculate RMD | Where the total can be withdrawn from |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs | Separately for each IRA | Any one IRA or any combination of IRAs |
| 403(b) contracts | Separately for each contract | Any one 403(b) or any combination of 403(b)s |
| 401(k) and 457(b) plans | Separately for each plan | Each plan must pay out its own RMD |
The groups do not cross. An extra withdrawal from an IRA does not satisfy a 401(k) RMD, and a 403(b) withdrawal does not cover an IRA. This is the part of the rule that plan websites, which see only their own account, are least placed to explain.
What Happens If an RMD Is Missed
The IRS RMD page (read September 23, 2026) states that an amount not withdrawn on time is subject to a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within two years. The final regulations define that "correction window" more precisely: it generally closes at the end of the second taxable year after the year the tax is imposed, or earlier if the IRS mails a deficiency notice or assesses the tax first.
The tax is reported on Form 5329. According to the IRS FAQs, the same form is used to request a waiver when the shortfall was due to reasonable error and steps are being taken to fix it. The IRS decides whether a waiver is granted.
Two related rules from the IRS sources close common loopholes. Publication 590-B states that an RMD can never be rolled over into another retirement account. And the IRS FAQs confirm that withdrawing more than the minimum is permitted, so the RMD is a floor, not a fixed payout.
What an RMD Explainer Cannot Settle
Some RMD questions depend on facts no general article can see:
- Inherited accounts. Beneficiaries follow separate rules set out in Publication 590-B, and the rules differ by relationship to the original owner.
- Birth year 1959. As noted above, the final regulations left this group unassigned.
- Plan terms. Whether a workplace plan permits the still-working delay is written in the plan document, not in the tax code.
- Tax effect. How an RMD interacts with a household's bracket, Social Security taxation or Medicare premiums depends on the full return.
- Charitable giving from an IRA. Publication 590-B describes qualified charitable distributions for IRA owners from age 70½; the limits and conditions change and are worth confirming on IRS.gov for the year in question.
For any of these, a tax professional or a financial advisor is the right place to take the specific numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a required minimum distribution in simple terms?
It is the smallest amount the IRS requires the owner of a traditional IRA or workplace retirement plan to withdraw each year once they reach the applicable age, generally 73 under current rules. The owner can withdraw more. Withdrawing less than the minimum can trigger an excise tax.
Do Roth IRAs have required minimum distributions?
Not while the owner is alive. The IRS RMD FAQs (read September 23, 2026) state that Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts are exempt during the owner's lifetime. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account are subject to RMD rules.
Can the first RMD be delayed?
Yes, until April 1 of the year after the owner reaches the applicable age. Using that delay means the second year's RMD is also due by December 31 of the same year, so two distributions fall in one tax year.
What is the penalty for missing an RMD?
Per the IRS RMD page (read September 23, 2026), it is a 25% excise tax on the amount not withdrawn, reduced to 10% if corrected within the correction window. It is reported on Form 5329, which is also where a waiver for reasonable error can be requested.
Can one withdrawal cover RMDs from several accounts?
Only within the same group. IRA RMDs can be combined and taken from any IRA, and 403(b) RMDs can be combined across 403(b) contracts. Each 401(k) and 457(b) plan must pay out its own RMD, according to the IRS FAQs.
