When Is My First Required Minimum Distribution Due?
Your first Required Minimum Distribution deadline has key tax implications. Understand the timing for your accounts and for inherited IRAs to plan effectively.
A Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is a mandatory withdrawal the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires from most retirement accounts to ensure individuals pay taxes on their tax-deferred savings. Recent legislative updates, including the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act, have changed the age at which these distributions must begin, creating questions for many retirees about their specific deadlines.
Your First RMD Deadline from Your Own Accounts
Recent legislative changes have adjusted the age for beginning RMDs. If you were born between 1951 and 1959, you must start taking RMDs when you reach age 73. For those born in 1960 or later, this age is pushed to 75. Individuals born before 1951 were subject to previous rules, with trigger ages of 70 ½ or 72, and should already be taking their distributions.
The deadline for your very first RMD is known as the Required Beginning Date (RBD). This date is April 1 of the year following the year you reach the relevant RMD age. For example, if you turn 73 during 2025, your first RMD is not due until April 1, 2026. This initial distribution is calculated based on your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year; for a 2025 RMD, the calculation uses the December 31, 2024, balance.
Delaying your first RMD until the April 1 deadline has a tax consequence. If you postpone your first distribution into the following year, you will be required to take your second RMD by December 31 of that same year. This means you would receive two distributions in a single tax year, which could increase your taxable income and potentially push you into a higher federal income tax bracket.
To avoid this “doubling up,” you can take your first RMD during the calendar year you reach your trigger age instead of waiting until the following April. Taking the first distribution by December 31 of that year ensures your first and second RMDs fall in separate tax years. For every subsequent year, the deadline is always December 31.
The “Still Working” Exception
The “still working” exception allows some individuals to delay RMDs from certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. If you are still employed past your RMD age, you may be able to postpone distributions from your current workplace plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), until April 1 of the year after you officially retire, provided the retirement plan document permits it.
This exception has limitations. It does not apply to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), including Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRAs, from which you must begin taking RMDs at your trigger age regardless of employment status. The exception is also unavailable to individuals who own more than 5% of the business that employs them.
The rule applies only to the plan of your current employer. For instance, a 74-year-old who is still working can delay RMDs from their current company’s 401(k) plan but must still take required distributions from any 401(k) or similar plans held with former employers.
Deadlines for Beneficiary RMDs
The rules for individuals who inherit retirement accounts are distinct and depend on several factors, including the beneficiary’s relationship to the original owner. Following the passage of the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries are subject to a “10-year rule.” This rule mandates that the entire balance of the inherited account must be withdrawn by the end of the 10th year following the year of the original account owner’s death.
For those subject to the 10-year rule, there has been confusion about whether distributions are required annually within the 10-year period, particularly if the original account owner had already started taking their own RMDs. The IRS proposed regulations that would require annual withdrawals in such cases, but due to the uncertainty, has waived penalties for beneficiaries who failed to take these distributions for 2021 through 2024. Final rules are expected to provide definitive guidance for 2025 and beyond.
Certain individuals classified as “Eligible Designated Beneficiaries” (EDBs) are not subject to the 10-year rule. This category includes:
- The surviving spouse of the account owner
- Minor children of the owner
- Chronically ill or disabled individuals
- Beneficiaries who are not more than 10 years younger than the decedent
These beneficiaries often have more flexible options, such as taking distributions based on their own life expectancy. A surviving spouse has the unique ability to roll the inherited assets into their own IRA, treating the funds as their own.
Accounts Requiring Minimum Distributions
Several types of retirement accounts are subject to RMD rules for the original account owner. The accounts that require these annual withdrawals include Traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
Employer-sponsored plans are also included under these rules, such as traditional 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b) plans, and profit-sharing plans. The specific timing for these plans can sometimes be deferred by the “still working” exception.
An exception applies to Roth accounts. Roth IRAs do not have RMD requirements for the original owner, and as of 2024, this exemption extends to Roth 401(k)s. This allows the funds to continue growing tax-free without mandatory withdrawals during the owner’s lifetime. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account, however, are subject to distribution rules, which generally fall under the 10-year rule.