Under SECURE 2.0 the RMD starting age depends on your birth year: born July 1, 1949 through 1950 → age 72, born 1951–1959 → age 73, and born 1960 or later → age 75 (anyone born before July 1, 1949 started at 70½ under the pre-SECURE rule). 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 |
|---|---|
| July 1949 – 1950 | 72 |
| 1951 – 1959 | 73 |
| 1960 or later | 75 |
The 1959 row follows the proposed regulation (REG-103529-23): the final regulation, 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2(b)(2), gives 73 to 1951–1958 and 75 to 1960 and later and leaves 1959 reserved — the first-RMD deadline page walks through it.
Knowing the age only sets the deadline; the amount comes from a separate lookup. Once you have your starting age, this year's RMD divisors give the factor to divide your December 31 balance by, and the same table shows how that factor shrinks in each year that follows.
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 by QuantCalc's own calculation modules or read from a published, versioned dataset — never hand-entered. Reference for research and planning only; not tax, legal, or investment advice.
Model this for your own numbers
The free QuantCalc calculator runs your actual balances, income, and filing status through the same parity-tested engine.
Open the free calculator →Planning conversions across several years? See the Roth Conversion Planner.
Changelog
- v2026.1 — first publication. Figures computed from the 2026 tax-constants mirror and published 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/.