Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are amounts the IRS generally requires from many tax-deferred retirement accounts once you reach a certain age. The required beginning date (RBD) is the calendar deadline tied to your first RMD year. Miss it and excise taxes can apply. This page translates the start-date rules; amount math and account lists live in Understanding required minimum distributions.
Tax character of withdrawals still depends on account type: Roth vs traditional IRA taxes. Filing season paperwork: Filing taxes for beginners.
Age rules people actually hit
Congress has shifted the RMD age more than once (SECURE and SECURE 2.0). Under current SECURE 2.0 birth-year bands (confirm the IRS table for your date of birth):
- Born 1951–1959: RMD age 73
- Born 1960 or later: RMD age 75
- Older “70½ / 72” rules applied to earlier birth years; do not rely on a blog memory of those ages if you are in the bands above
Also:
- Your first RMD year is the calendar year you reach that applicable age.
- For many people, the deadline for the first RMD can extend to April 1 of the following year.
- If you delay that first withdrawal to April 1, you may take two RMDs in the same calendar year (the delayed first-year amount plus the current year’s amount), which can stack taxable income.
Employer plans sometimes allow delay while you still work there if you are not a 5% owner; IRAs generally do not get that “still working” delay. Custodians such as Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, and TIAA calculate and can auto-distribute, but you own the deadline.
Worked example
Alex was born in 1953, turns 73 in 2026, and holds a traditional IRA at Vanguard plus an old 401(k) at Fidelity. Alex is retired (no still-working delay).
- Tax year 2026 is Alex’s first RMD year.
- Alex may take the 2026 IRA RMD by December 31, 2026, or delay that first IRA RMD until April 1, 2027.
- If Alex delays, the 2027 calendar year can include both the delayed 2026 RMD (due by April 1, 2027) and the regular 2027 RMD (due by December 31, 2027), which may push Alex into a higher bracket and higher Medicare IRMAA brackets. After the first RMD year, each later RMD is generally due by December 31 of that year.
Alex confirms ages and tables in the current IRS RMD publication, asks each custodian whether auto-RMD is on, and sketches withholding with a tax preparer before choosing the April 1 option.
Roth, inherited, and “still working” cues
| Situation | Typical RMD start cue |
|---|---|
| Traditional IRA / many pre-tax 401(k)/403(b) | Age-based RBD rules above |
| Designated Roth 401(k) / Roth 403(b) | Generally no lifetime RMDs for the owner under current SECURE 2.0 rules; beneficiary rules still differ |
| Roth IRA (owner) | Generally no lifetime RMDs for the owner |
| Inherited accounts | Different schedules (Inherited IRA 10-year rule and exceptions); not the owner RBD |
| Still working at the plan sponsor | Possible delay for that employer plan only; IRAs still follow age rules |
Building balances before RMD years with catch-up contributions and careful Roth conversions is planning some households use; conversions create tax bills in the conversion year.
Spending design around RMDs belongs with a broader cash plan such as Bucket strategy for retirement, not with a last-minute December wire. Charitable transfers that can count toward an RMD: Qualified charitable distributions.
Checklist
- Confirm the RMD age that applies to your birth year in current IRS materials.
- List every tax-deferred account and whether a still-working delay could apply.
- Decide whether to take the first RMD in the birthday year or by the following April 1.
- Model the two-RMD calendar year risk before delaying.
- Set withholding or estimated taxes; keep 1099-R forms.
- Turn on or verify custodian auto-RMD only after the amount and account aggregation rules are clear.
After the RBD, how IRA RMDs aggregate vs per-plan 401(k) RMDs: RMD aggregation basics.
Educational only. Not tax, legal, or investment advice. RMD ages, Roth employer-plan rules, penalties, and tables change; confirm with current IRS publications, your plan documents, and a qualified tax professional.