RMD deadline: when to take it

By December 31 each year. The one exception is your first RMD: it may wait until April 1 of the next year, your required beginning date. Waiting puts two RMDs in that next year. Heirs have no April 1 option.

The tool is set to an owner who turns 73 in 2026, a first RMD year.

Balance, last December 31$ Tax year

The original owner

Owner's birth year Year the owner died

The person I inherited from had inherited it too (I am a successor)

You

Your birth year Taken so far this year$

Your beneficiary category what these mean

Surviving spouse of the owner Minor child of the owner, under 21 at the death Disabled or chronically ill Not more than 10 years younger than the owner, or older Anyone else: an adult child, grandchild, niece, friend

Assumed yearly growth, for the schedule only%

Your 2026 RMD $0

General information, not tax or financial advice. Confirm with your custodian or a tax professional.

How this figure was found

Year by year

Balances after this year assume the growth rate you set; the divisors do not depend on it.

Year	Age	Divisor	Start balance	Required

A first RMD year, worked

Born in 1953, you turn 73 in 2026. With $250,000 on December 31, 2025, the first RMD is:

$250,000 ÷ 26.5 = $9,433.96

It may wait until April 1, 2027. The 2027 RMD is still due by December 31, 2027, worked from the December 31, 2026 balance, so waiting means two withdrawals in 2027.

General information, not tax or financial advice. Confirm with your custodian or a tax professional. The tables are IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Appendix B.

Questions people ask next

What is the required beginning date?

April 1 of the year after the year you reach your RMD age. See RMD age by birth year.

When is an inherited IRA RMD due?

By December 31 of each year it is required. The April 1 option is for an owner's first RMD only.

What if I miss the deadline?

The excise tax on a missed RMD is 25% of the shortfall, cut to 10% if it is corrected in time, and the IRS can waive it for a reasonable error. Confirm with your custodian or a tax professional.

Is it December 31 for the year of death too?

Normally yes. See RMD in the year of death.