RMD Rules 2026: Who Must Take a Required Minimum Distribution, From Which Accounts, by When

What is an RMD, and do I have to take one in 2026?

A required minimum distribution (RMD, which the tax code calls a minimum required distribution, MRD) is the least you must withdraw each year from a traditional IRA, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) once you reach your start age (IRS RMD FAQs). Under SECURE 2.0 that age is 73 if you were born 1951–1959 and 75 if you were born 1960 or later (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2). The amount is the account balance on December 31 of last year divided by your factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9). Example: a single 73-year-old with $500,000 in an IRA on December 31, 2025 must withdraw $18,868 in 2026; with $30,000 of Social Security and a $25,000 pension, that RMD adds $4,131 of federal tax, leaving $14,737.

RMD on a $500,000 balance (December 31, 2025) by age in 2026, Uniform Lifetime Table; computed by the tax engine.
Key number	2026
Age 73: divisor 26.5 (3.77% of the balance) (Uniform Lifetime Table)	$18,868
Age 75: divisor 24.6 (4.07% of the balance)	$20,325
Age 80: divisor 20.2 (4.95% of the balance)	$24,752
Age 85: divisor 16.0 (6.25% of the balance)	$31,250
Federal tax the age-73 RMD adds (single, $30,000 Social Security, $25,000 pension) (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)	$4,131
RMD left after that tax	$14,737

An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.4.0, state 1.16.4) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. The RMD assumes the Uniform Lifetime Table (no spouse more than 10 years younger as sole beneficiary). How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, state.

Do I owe an RMD, from which account, and by when?

Birth year

Balance on December 31, 2025 ($)

Account

Start age from your birth year (SECURE 2.0); the amount from the Uniform Lifetime Table. A spouse more than 10 years younger as sole beneficiary uses a different table: RMD calculator.

Who must take an RMD: the accounts

Lifetime RMDs by account type (IRS RMD FAQs; Roth IRA: IRC §408A(c)(5))
Account	RMD while you are alive?
Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA	Yes, from your start age, even if you still work
401(k), 403(b), 457(b)	Yes, but you may wait until the year you retire from that employer, unless you own more than 5% of the business
Roth IRA	No (your beneficiaries do have RMD rules)
Roth 401(k), Roth 403(b) (designated Roth)	No
Inherited IRA or plan	Beneficiary rules: inherited IRA rules 2026

When RMDs start: age 73 or 75 by birth year

SECURE 2.0 applicable age (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2)
Born	Start age	First RMD year
1951–1959	73	the year you turn 73
1960 or later	75	the year you turn 75
1950 or earlier	—	already required: your start age was reached before 2023

The RMD age calculator gives your exact first year and deadline.

The deadlines: April 1 once, then December 31

Your first RMD may wait until April 1 of the year after you reach your start age; every later RMD, including the second one, is due by December 31 (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-5). Waiting to April 1 puts two RMDs in one tax year: first RMD: December or April 1, both years’ tax computed.

How the amount is computed

Divide each account’s balance on December 31 of the prior year by the factor for the age you reach this year in the Uniform Lifetime Table (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9; IRS Publication 590-B). At 73 the factor is 26.5, so the RMD is 3.77% of the balance; at 80 it is 4.95%; at 85, 6.25%. Every factor: RMD table 2026 and RMD percentage by age.

Several accounts: what you may add together

You compute an RMD for each account. The IRA RMDs may then be taken in total from any one or more of your IRAs, and the 403(b) RMDs from any of your 403(b)s, but each 401(k) and 457(b) must pay out its own RMD (IRS RMD FAQs). Worked example: 401(k) and 403(b) RMD aggregation.

If you miss it: the 25% excise tax

The shortfall is taxed at 25%, or 10% if you take it within the correction window, reported on Form 5329; the IRS can waive it for reasonable cause (IRC §4974). RMD penalty calculator (Form 5329).

Ways to make an RMD cost less

From age 70½, a qualified charitable distribution of up to $111,000 in 2026 counts toward the RMD and stays out of your income (IRS Notice 2025-67): QCD limit 2026. And because each RMD is a fraction of the traditional balance, converting part of it to a Roth IRA in the years before (and after) RMDs start shrinks every future RMD: Roth Conversion Planner.

Paid tool An RMD is a fraction of the traditional balance on December 31, so every dollar you move to a Roth before then is a dollar no future RMD is computed on: a Roth IRA has no RMD while you are alive (IRS RMD FAQs). The Roth Conversion Planner works out how much to convert in each year from now to your plan end age to shrink those future RMDs: the federal and state tax each conversion costs, the IRMAA tier that year’s MAGI sets two years later, and the ACA subsidy it affects — beside the same years with no conversions, and downloadable as a PDF you keep. A planning tool, not advice: the numbers move when your assumptions do. Build my conversion schedule — Personal PRO ($49) → Roth Conversion Planner: see what is included, and price this year free, first →

An RMD is ordinary income on top of everything else you have that year. QuantCalc runs your whole retirement — withdrawals, RMDs, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year.

Run the free tax-aware simulation →

Common questions

What is the RMD age in 2026?

73 if you were born 1951–1959, 75 if you were born 1960 or later, under SECURE 2.0 (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2). In 2026 the people reaching 73 were born in 1953.

What is the difference between an RMD and an MRD?

None: the tax code and the regulations say minimum required distribution; the IRS and custodians usually say required minimum distribution.

How much is my 2026 RMD?

Your December 31, 2025 balance divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your 2026 age. $500,000 at 73 gives $18,868; at 75, $20,325; at 80, $24,752.

Do I need an RMD if I am still working?

From a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) of the employer you still work for, you may wait until the year you retire, unless you own more than 5% of the business. The exception never covers IRAs (IRS RMD FAQs).

Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?

Not while the owner is alive, and neither do Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) accounts (IRS RMD FAQs). Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth do have RMD rules.

What happens if I miss an RMD?

An excise tax of 25% of the amount not taken, cut to 10% if you take it within the correction window (IRC §4974); you report it on Form 5329 and can ask the IRS to waive it for reasonable cause. RMD penalty calculator.

Sources

RMD calculator 2026 → RMD age calculator → RMD table 2026 → First RMD deadline → RMD penalty calculator → 401(k) and 403(b) RMD aggregation → Inherited IRA rules 2026 → QCD limit 2026 → RMDs and IRMAA →