When RMDs start
| You were born in | RMDs start at age |
|---|---|
| 1951 through 1959 | 73 |
| 1960 or later | 75 |
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act. If you were born before 1951, your RMDs have already begun.
Your first RMD can wait until April 1 of the year after you reach your starting age. Every RMD after that is due by December 31. Waiting until April means taking two distributions in the same tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket, so many people take the first one in the year they turn 73 or 75.
How the amount is figured
Take the account balance on December 31 of last year and divide it by a factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The factor shrinks each year, so the required percentage rises as you age.
| Example at age 73 | |
|---|---|
| IRA balance on December 31 | $800,000 |
| Life expectancy factor at 73 | 26.5 |
| First RMD | $30,189 |
Uniform Lifetime Table factor for age 73. A spouse more than ten years younger who is the sole beneficiary uses a different table.
You can add up the RMDs for all of your IRAs and take the total from any one of them. 401(k) plans are different: each one has its own RMD that has to come out of that plan.
What happens if you miss one
The penalty is 25 percent of the amount you should have taken. It drops to 10 percent if you take the missed amount and file the correction within the IRS window, generally by the end of the second year after the miss. It is one of the easier penalties to avoid and one of the more painful ones to pay.
Accounts with no RMDs
Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the original owner’s lifetime, and since 2024 neither do Roth 401(k) accounts. If you are still working at 73 and do not own 5 percent or more of the company, your current employer’s 401(k) may let you delay its RMDs until you retire. IRAs do not get that exception.
Planning in the years before RMDs begin
Roth conversions in the gap years
Between the day you stop working and the year RMDs start, your taxable income is often at its lowest. Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in those years means paying tax at today’s lower bracket on money that would otherwise come out later as RMDs, possibly at a higher one. Converted money then grows without future RMDs, and heirs generally inherit it tax free.
Watch the Medicare surcharge
Medicare Part B and D premiums rise when income crosses certain thresholds (IRMAA), based on your tax return from two years earlier. A large conversion at 64 can raise premiums at 66. The conversion amount should be sized with that in mind.
Give from the IRA instead of the checkbook
From age 70½ you can send money directly from an IRA to a charity as a qualified charitable distribution. It is not counted as income, and once RMDs begin it counts toward your RMD. For people who give anyway, it is often the cleanest tax move available.
California’s part
California taxes IRA and 401(k) withdrawals as regular income but does not tax Social Security benefits. For a Bay Area retiree, the order in which you draw from accounts changes both your federal and state bill.
What I look at with clients
I project what your RMDs will be at 75, 80 and 85 if nothing changes. For many people with most of their savings in pre-tax accounts, the number is larger than they expect, and the time to do something about it is before the first one is due.
Questions people ask
Do I have to spend my RMD?
No. You have to take it out of the account and pay the tax, but you can reinvest it in a regular brokerage account or move it to savings. You cannot put it back into an IRA.
Can I take my RMD from just one IRA?
Yes. Add up the RMDs for all of your traditional IRAs and take the total from any one or several of them. Each 401(k) has to satisfy its own RMD.
Do inherited IRAs have RMDs?
Usually. Most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within ten years, and if the original owner had already started RMDs, annual withdrawals are generally required during those ten years too. Spouses have more options.
Sources
Pete Alexander plans retirement income, asset protection and insurance for families in Fremont and the East Bay, and co-wrote Crash Proof Wealth with Brett Kitchen. More about Pete.
This guide is general information. It is not tax, legal or investment advice or a recommendation to buy any product. Figures and rules were checked on October 25, 2026 and can change. Talk with a qualified professional about your own situation.