You cannot keep retirement funds in your account indefinitely. You generally have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 73. You’re not required to take withdrawals from Roth IRAs, or from Designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan while the account owner is alive. However, beneficiaries of Roth IRAs or Designated Roth accounts are subject to the required minimum distribution rules. Your RMD is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your account each year. You can withdraw more than the minimum required amount. Your withdrawals will be included in your taxable income except for any part that was taxed before (your basis) or that can be received tax-free (such as qualified distributions from designated Roth accounts). Do these rules apply to my retirement plan? The minimum distribution rules discussed below apply to original account holders and their beneficiaries in these types of plans: traditional IRAs SEP IRAs SIMPLE IRAs 401(k) plans 403(b) plans 457(b) plans profit sharing plans other defined contribution plans Roth IRA beneficiaries Calculating the required minimum distribution The required minimum distribution for any year is the account balance as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year divided by a distribution period from the IRS’s “Uniform Lifetime Table.” Use a different table if the sole beneficiary is the owner’s spouse who is ten or more years younger than the owner. The following can help determine the payout periods and the amount of your required distribution: worksheets to calculate the required amount tables to calculate the RMD during the participant or IRA owner’s life: Uniform Lifetime Table – for all unmarried IRA owners calculating their own withdrawals, married owners whose spouses aren’t more than 10 years younger, and married owners whose spouses aren’t the sole beneficiaries of their IRAs Table I (Single Life Expectancy) is used for beneficiaries who are not the spouse of the IRA owner Table II (Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy) is used for owners whose spouses are more than 10 years younger and are the IRA’s sole beneficiaries Inherited IRAs - if your IRA or retirement plan account was inherited from the original owner, see "required minimum distributions after the account owner dies," below. Required beginning date for your first RMD IRAs (including SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs) April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which you reach age 73. 401(k), profit-sharing, 403(b), or other defined contribution plan Generally, April 1 following the later of the calendar year in which you: reach age 73, or retire (if your plan allows you to delay taking your RMD until retirement). See the chart comparing IRA and defined contribution plan RMDs. Example: Jodie has decided to retire from their employer on their 73rd birthday, December 31, 2024. The employer’s 401(k) plan allows participants to delay taking RMDs until after they retire. Jodie’s first RMD is due by April 1, 2025, for the 2024 year (based on December 31, 2023, balance in their 401(k) plan). Their second RMD is due on December 31, 2026, for 2025 (based on December 31, 2024, balance). Subsequent RMDs are due on December 31st annually thereafter. If Jodie also had an IRA, their first RMD from the IRA was due by April 1, 2025, for the 2024 year. Jodie’s RMD from their IRA doesn’t affect the RMD due from the retirement plan. Terms of the plan govern A retirement plan document may require you to begin receiving distributions after you reach age 73, even if you’re still employed. Date for receiving subsequent required minimum distributions For each year after your required beginning date, you must withdraw your RMD by December 31. For the first year following the year you reach age 73, you will generally have two required distribution dates: a withdrawal on April 1 of the year following the year you turn 73 and an additional withdrawal by December 31. You can make your first withdrawal by December 31 of the year you turn 73 instead of waiting until April 1 of the following year. This would allow the distributions to be included in your income in separate tax years. Example: John reached age 73 on August 20, 2024. He must receive his 2024 required minimum distribution by April 1, 2025, based on his 2023 year-end balance. John must also receive his 2025 RMD by December 31, 2025, based on his 2024 year-end balance. Extra taxes for not taking RMDs If you don’t take any distributions, or if the distributions are not large enough, you may have to pay a 25% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required (10% if withdrawn within 2 years). To report the excise tax, you may have to file Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts. See the Form 5329 instructions PDF for additional information about this tax. Calculating RMDs for designated beneficiaries after the account owner’s death For the year of the account owner’s death, the RMD due is the amount the account owner would have been required to withdraw, if any, but did not withdraw. Beginning the year following the owner’s death, the RMD depends on certain characteristics of the designated beneficiary. See Retirement topics – Beneficiary for more information. Related Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) FAQs regarding required minimum distributions Publication 590-B, Distribution from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (includes life expectancy tables) Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE and Qualified Plans RMD comparison chart (IRAs vs. defined contribution plans)
