Under SECURE 2.0 the RMD starting age depends on your birth year: born 1950 or earlier → age 72, born 1951–1959 → age 73, and born 1960 or later → age 75. The first distribution is due by April 1 of the year after you reach that age.
RMD start age by birth year
| Birth year | RMD starts at age |
|---|---|
| 1950 or earlier | 72 |
| 1951 – 1959 | 73 |
| 1960 or later | 75 |
Methodology
Computed from the SECURE 2.0 start-age function (startAgeForBirthYear) in QuantCalc's canonical tax-constants mirror. Full birth-year bands are in the 2026 RMD table dataset.
Every figure on this page is computed at build time from QuantCalc's parity-tested calculation modules or a committed dataset — never hand-entered. Reference for research and planning only; not tax, legal, or investment advice.
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Changelog
- v2026.1 — first publication. Figures computed from the 2026 tax-constants mirror and committed datasets.
Cite this dataset
QuantCalc Research (2026). At what age do required minimum distributions (RMDs) start in 2026?. https://quantcalc.app/answers/when-do-rmds-start/ (accessed <date>).
BibTeX
@misc{quantcalc2026atwhatagedorequiredminimumdistributionsr,
title = {At what age do required minimum distributions (RMDs) start in 2026?},
author = {{QuantCalc Research}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://quantcalc.app/answers/when-do-rmds-start/},
note = {Accessed <date>}
}Machine-readable citation metadata (schema.org identifier and citation fields) is embedded in this page's JSON-LD, at the stable identifier https://quantcalc.app/answers/when-do-rmds-start/.