How Do Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) Work in Retirement?

A required minimum distribution is the smallest amount the IRS says you must withdraw each year from most traditional IRAs and from many workplace retirement plans once you reach the applicable age. You can take more. You cannot choose to leave the entire pretax balance untouched forever. The withdrawn amount is generally taxable, except for after-tax basis or a portion that qualifies for a special exclusion.

The IRS retirement-topics page on RMDs, reviewed in April 2026, says you generally must start withdrawals from a traditional IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 73. The age has changed before and can depend on birth year. Use that IRS page for the age that applies to you rather than an age you remember from a seminar. This article explains the machinery. It is not a Roth conversion plan. Conversions before RMDs are a different question, covered in Roth conversions before RMDs begin.

Which accounts

The IRS says the lifetime rules apply to original owners of traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, and other defined contribution plans. Roth IRAs, and designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b), do not require withdrawals while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of those Roth accounts do face RMD rules. Inherited accounts follow a different set of beneficiary rules. If you inherited an IRA, do not use the owner's lifetime formula without reading the IRS beneficiary pages.

When the first RMD is due

For an IRA, including a SEP or SIMPLE IRA, the IRS says the first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach the RMD age. For a 401(k) or similar plan, the first deadline is generally April 1 of the year after the later of the year you reach that age or the year you retire, if the plan allows the delay. The plan document can require an earlier start. "Still working" is not a universal exception. It has to be in the plan, and it usually does not apply to an IRA.

Every later RMD is due by December 31. If you delay the first one until April 1, you can have two RMDs in that calendar year: the delayed first withdrawal and the regular one for the new year. Both can land in the same tax return. Taking the first RMD in the year you reach the age, instead of waiting until April, spreads those dollars across two tax years. The IRS uses this example pattern on its RMD page.

Account	First deadline, in general	Later deadlines
Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA	April 1 of the year after you reach the RMD age	December 31 each year
401(k) or similar plan	April 1 after you reach the age, or after retirement if the plan allows that delay	December 31 each year
Roth IRA while you are alive	No lifetime RMD under the IRS rule for owners	Not applicable to the owner

How the amount is calculated

The RMD for a year is the prior December 31 balance divided by a life-expectancy factor from an IRS table. Most owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table. A married owner whose spouse is more than 10 years younger and is the sole beneficiary uses a different joint table. The factor changes as you age, so the percentage slowly rises even if the balance stays flat. Markets move the balance, so the dollar RMD moves too. A calculator is only as good as the balance and the table year you give it. The IRS publishes worksheets and tables. Do not lock a plan to a factor copied from a prior year without checking.

Each IRA's RMD is computed separately. The IRS allows you to total IRA RMDs and withdraw the combined amount from one or more of your IRAs. A 401(k) RMD generally has to be taken from that plan. An IRA withdrawal does not satisfy a 401(k) RMD. That distinction surprises people who consolidated "in their head" but not on the statement.

Taxes, Medicare, and large balances

Most of an RMD from a traditional account is ordinary income. A large pretax balance can force a large taxable withdrawal even if you do not need the cash to live. That income can make more of your Social Security taxable, which is the subject of taxes on Social Security benefits. It can also raise the income measure Medicare uses for IRMAA premiums, discussed in Roth conversions and Medicare IRMAA. The RMD itself is the forced piece. What you do above the minimum is still a choice, which is why withdrawal order still matters after RMDs begin.

If you miss an RMD or take too little, the IRS describes an excise tax of 25 percent of the amount you should have withdrawn, reduced to 10 percent if you withdraw the shortfall within the correction window it describes. Form 5329 is part of reporting that tax. The percentages are a reason to calendar the deadline, not a planning target.

Charitable transfers from an IRA, called qualified charitable distributions, can satisfy all or part of an IRA RMD when the rules are met. That is a separate decision about gifts, explained in qualified charitable distributions and RMDs. Wanting a lower tax bill is not, by itself, a reason to give money away.

Why the years before RMD age matter

Before the required withdrawals start, you choose how much pretax income to recognize. After they start, the minimum arrives whether or not you want it. Households look at those earlier years because a smaller pretax balance can mean a smaller later RMD. Roth conversions are one tool for that, and they have their own tax cost. Doing nothing is also a choice. It preserves the account and accepts the later forced income. Neither is automatic.

Common mistakes

Using the wrong age is the first mistake, because Congress has moved it. Assuming a Roth IRA has a lifetime RMD is another, and so is assuming a Roth 401(k) still follows the old workplace RMD rule after the IRS said designated Roth accounts do not, while the owner is alive. People also take an IRA withdrawal and think it covered the 401(k), or they delay the first RMD into April and forget the second deadline in December. Inherited accounts are a separate rule set. Do not apply your own age-73 timeline to an IRA you inherited from a parent.

What this means for your retirement plan

List every pretax account, the owner's birth year, and whether a workplace plan allows a still-working delay. Estimate the future RMD from today's balance only as a sketch, then watch how it stacks on Social Security. If the sketch already fills the tax bracket you hoped to stay in, the years before the start date are when you still have room to change the balance. Analyze your future retirement income with your own accounts and ages.

Frequently asked questions

When do RMDs start?

The IRS page updated in 2026 says withdrawals generally start when you reach age 73, with the first IRA deadline on April 1 of the following year. Confirm the age for your birth year on IRS.gov before you build a calendar around a different number.

Are Roth IRAs subject to RMDs?

Not during the owner's life, under the IRS rule. Beneficiaries are different. Designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) are also exempt while the owner is alive, according to the same IRS page.

Can I put an RMD back into a retirement account?

The RMD amount itself is not eligible to be rolled over or converted. You can spend it, save it in a taxable account, or give it in a way that meets the charitable-distribution rules. You cannot satisfy the RMD by moving that required amount into a Roth IRA.

What if I am still working at 73?

Your traditional IRA still follows the IRA deadline. A workplace plan may allow a delay until retirement if the plan says so and you qualify. Read the plan and the IRS comparison of IRA and plan rules. Do not assume the job delays every account.

Related reading

• Should I do Roth conversions before RMDs begin?
• What is a qualified charitable distribution, and can it reduce RMD taxes?
• Retirement withdrawal order
• How can I reduce taxes in retirement?

This article is educational and not tax advice. RMD ages, tables, and excise taxes are set out on IRS.gov and can change. Use the IRS required-minimum-distribution pages and, if you inherited an account, the beneficiary pages before you withdraw.