RMD Deadline: Dec. 31 Rules and How to Calculate Yours

If you turn 73 in 2026, the IRS expects you to start taking withdrawals from your traditional retirement accounts, and the date that matters most each year is December 31. Your first required minimum distribution, or RMD, is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73, and every RMD after that is due by December 31 of its year. This guide explains who has to take one, how the amount is calculated, and what happens if the deadline passes without a withdrawal.

Summary

The IRS states that you generally must start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 73. Your RMD is the minimum amount you must withdraw from the account each year, and you can withdraw more than the minimum if you want.

For an IRA, the first RMD is due by April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 73. For a 401(k), profit-sharing, 403(b), or other defined contribution plan, the first RMD is generally due by April 1 following the later of the year you reach age 73 or the year you retire, if your plan allows you to delay until retirement.

After that first year, every RMD is due by December 31. If you wait until April 1 for your first RMD, you will have two required distributions in that following year, one by April 1 and one by December 31, and both count as income in the year you receive them.

Roth IRAs work differently. You are not required to take withdrawals from a Roth IRA while you are alive, but beneficiaries of Roth IRAs are subject to the RMD rules.

RMD Deadlines at a Glance

Account	First RMD due	Later RMDs due
Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA	April 1 of the year after you reach age 73	December 31 every year
401(k), 403(b), profit sharing	April 1 after the later of age 73 or retirement, if the plan allows the delay	December 31 every year
Roth IRA, owner alive	No RMD while the owner is alive	No RMD while the owner is alive
Inherited IRA or Roth IRA, beneficiary	Beneficiary rules apply, see the IRS page	See the IRS page

The table shows the two dates to keep separate. April 1 applies only to the first RMD, and only once. December 31 applies to each RMD after that, every year. A common mix-up is treating April 1 as the annual deadline. It is not. Once the first RMD is done, the yearly deadline is December 31.

How Your RMD Is Calculated

The IRS gives a simple formula. The RMD for any year is the account balance as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year divided by a distribution period from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The table is in IRS Publication 590-B, and your plan administrator or IRA custodian can also calculate the amount for you.

For age 73, the distribution period in the Uniform Lifetime Table is 26.5. As an illustration of the arithmetic only, a prior year-end balance of $100,000 divided by 26.5 gives an RMD of about $3,774. Your own figure depends on your actual December 31 balance and your age, so confirm the amount with your custodian.

The balance used is always the prior year-end balance, not the balance on the day you withdraw. That keeps the calculation the same for the whole year once the year begins.

Which Accounts Are Covered

The IRS lists traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, and other defined contribution plans among the accounts subject to the withdrawal rules. Beneficiaries of these accounts and of Roth IRAs are also covered by the RMD rules.

The clear exception is the original owner of a Roth IRA. The IRS says you are not required to take withdrawals from a Roth IRA while the account owner is alive.

Because each account type has its own rules, check with your custodian about whether RMDs from several accounts can be combined, and confirm the total before December 31. The IRS pages read for this guide do not state an aggregation rule.

What Happens If a Deadline Is Missed

If you do not take any distributions, or if the distributions are not large enough, you may have to pay a 25% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required. The IRS notes the rate is 10% if the amount is withdrawn within 2 years. A tax professional can explain how that applies to your situation.

Your IRA custodian also has a role. If an RMD is required from your IRA, the trustee, custodian, or issuer must either report the amount of the RMD to you or offer to calculate it for you. The IRS says the report is due January 31 of the year in which the minimum distribution is required. If you have not received it, ask your custodian.

Choosing Order

Confirm your age and accounts: list every traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), and 403(b), and note any Roth IRA, which has no RMD while you are alive.
Get the number for each account: take the prior year-end balance, divide by the distribution period from the Uniform Lifetime Table, and confirm the result with your custodian.
Take each RMD by December 31, and decide whether to take the first RMD in the year you turn 73 or wait until April 1 of the next year, keeping in mind that waiting puts two taxable distributions in one year.

Before December 31

Write down the RMD amount for each account and the December 31 deadline, and keep it separate from the April 1 first-RMD deadline.
Confirm that the amount uses the prior year-end balance and the correct table, and ask your custodian to confirm it.
Decide how the withdrawal will be taxed: RMDs from a traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income, except for any part that was taxed before or can be received tax-free.
If you turned 73 this year and have not taken your first RMD, decide whether to take it in 2026 or by April 1, 2027, and consider the tax effect of two distributions in one year.
Ask your plan administrator or IRA custodian how and when your distributions can be paid out.
If a past RMD was missed, ask a tax professional about the 2-year window the IRS mentions for the lower 10% rate.

This article is for general information, not financial advice.