RMDs 2026: The SECURE 2.0 Rules (and What Changed)
A 2026 RMD primer. Ages, calculation, the inherited IRA 10-year rule, QCDs, and the reduced penalties for missed distributions under SECURE 2.0.
Required minimum distributions used to be simple. You hit 70.5, the IRS’s Uniform Lifetime Table gave you a divisor, you divided your prior-year-end IRA balance by the divisor, and you sent the money. The SECURE Act of 2019 and SECURE 2.0 in 2022 complicated the picture. The age changed twice. The penalty dropped from 50% to 25% to 10% under certain conditions. Inherited IRA rules were overhauled and then clarified by IRS final regulations in July 2024.
The result is that most of the top Google results on RMDs are either stale or incomplete. This is the 2026 primer. If you turn 73 this year, if you inherited an IRA, or if you are planning a qualified charitable distribution, this covers the current rules.
What an RMD is
A Required Minimum Distribution is the annual amount the IRS requires you to withdraw from tax-deferred retirement accounts starting at a certain age. The purpose is to ensure the deferred tax dollars eventually get paid. RMDs apply to:
- Traditional IRAs
- SEP IRAs
- SIMPLE IRAs
- Traditional 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s (workplace plans)
RMDs do NOT apply to Roth IRAs during the owner’s lifetime. As of 2024, Roth 401(k)s also no longer require RMDs for the owner, per SECURE 2.0 Section 325. (They still require RMDs if inherited.)
When you start: the 2026 age schedule
Your RMD age depends on your birthdate. The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted as Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, replaced the SECURE 1.0 schedule, which itself had replaced the pre-2020 age of 70.5.
| Birthdate | First RMD Age | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Before 7/1/1949 | 70.5 | Pre-2020 (historical only) |
| 7/1/1949 to 12/31/1950 | 72 | SECURE Act 1.0 |
| 1951 to 1959 | 73 | SECURE 2.0 |
| 1960 or later | 75 | SECURE 2.0 (effective 2033) |
For 2026, the first-time RMD cohort is people born in 1953, who turn 73 this year.
The first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year following the year you turn your RMD age. This is the “first-year delay” option. It is not usually a tax win because you then take two RMDs in that following year (the delayed one plus the current year’s). For most situations, taking the first RMD in the same year you turn RMD age is cleaner.
Every subsequent RMD is due by December 31 of that calendar year.
How the amount is calculated
The calculation uses two numbers:
- Your prior-year-end account balance (December 31 of the year before the RMD year)
- Your Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for your RMD-year age
The current Uniform Lifetime Table, updated in 2022 by the IRS in Publication 590-B, uses longer life expectancies than the pre-2022 version, which lowered RMDs by roughly 5 to 8% across most ages.
2026 worked example. Assume a 73-year-old (born 1953) with a $500,000 Traditional IRA balance on December 31, 2025.
- Prior-year-end balance: $500,000
- Age 73 divisor from Uniform Lifetime Table: 26.5
- RMD: $500,000 / 26.5 = $18,868
Selected divisors for reference, per IRS Publication 590-B Appendix B:
| Age | Divisor | RMD on $500K balance |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | $18,868 |
| 75 | 24.6 | $20,325 |
| 80 | 20.2 | $24,752 |
| 85 | 16.0 | $31,250 |
| 90 | 12.2 | $40,984 |
If you have a spouse more than 10 years younger who is your sole beneficiary, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table instead, which produces a lower RMD.
Aggregation rules: 401(k) vs IRA
IRA RMDs can be aggregated. Per IRS RMD FAQs, if you have three Traditional IRAs, you calculate the RMD for each separately, sum the total, and can take the full amount from any one account (or any combination). Same rule for 403(b) plans.
401(k) RMDs cannot be aggregated. If you have two 401(k)s, you must take the RMD from each plan separately. This trips up people with old 401(k)s from prior employers. A common cleanup move is rolling old 401(k)s into an IRA before RMD age to simplify the withdrawal. We have discussed 401(k) rollovers at length.
Inherited IRAs: the 10-year rule (and the 2024 final regs)
The SECURE Act of 2019 eliminated the “stretch IRA” for most non-spouse beneficiaries. A non-eligible designated beneficiary inheriting an IRA after 2019 must empty the inherited account within 10 years of the death.
The open question for five years was whether the beneficiary had to take annual RMDs during the 10-year window or could defer everything to year 10. The IRS Final Regulations published in July 2024 settled it:
- If the decedent was already in RMD status at death (had hit their own RMD age), the beneficiary must take annual RMDs during years 1 through 9 of the 10-year window, plus empty the account by year 10.
- If the decedent was not yet in RMD status at death, the beneficiary can skip annual RMDs and just empty the account by year 10.
For 2020-2024 inherited IRAs, the IRS waived penalties for missed annual RMDs during that transition period. Starting in 2025, the annual RMD requirement (when applicable) is enforced.
Eligible designated beneficiaries (EDBs) are exempt from the 10-year rule. EDBs include:
- Surviving spouses
- Minor children of the decedent (until age 21)
- Disabled or chronically ill individuals
- Beneficiaries not more than 10 years younger than the decedent
EDBs can still use the old life-expectancy stretch approach.
QCDs: the RMD’s best tax move
A Qualified Charitable Distribution lets you send up to $108,000 in 2026 directly from an IRA to a qualified charity, per IRS annual inflation adjustments. The 2026 figure is indexed from the original $100,000 limit.
QCDs count toward your RMD for the year but are excluded from your adjusted gross income. That matters because:
- Lower AGI can reduce Medicare Part B and Part D premium surcharges (IRMAA)
- Lower AGI can reduce the taxable portion of Social Security benefits
- The standard deduction applies regardless, so charitable giving outside a QCD often provides no tax benefit to retirees who do not itemize
Important: the QCD age eligibility is 70.5, NOT your RMD age. This is one of the few places where the old 70.5 rule still lives. You can do QCDs starting at 70.5, even though you do not have an RMD obligation until 73.
For retirees giving to charity who have IRA assets, QCD is usually the most tax-efficient way to donate. We have written about tax-efficient giving strategies in related contexts.
Penalties and how to fix a missed RMD
Before SECURE 2.0, the penalty for missing an RMD was 50% of the shortfall. That penalty has been reduced in two stages.
- Current base penalty: 25% of the shortfall (SECURE 2.0 Section 302)
- Correction window reduction: 10% if corrected within the “correction window” (generally two years)
To fix a missed RMD:
- Take the missed distribution as soon as possible
- File IRS Form 5329 with your tax return, showing the shortfall
- Attach a letter explaining the reasonable cause for the miss
- Request a waiver of the penalty
The IRS has historically been lenient when the miss is the result of a reasonable error (custodian mistake, death in the family, health issue) and the correction is prompt. Penalty waivers are not automatic, but they are common on first-time misses.
In our view
The RMD rules are genuinely more forgiving under SECURE 2.0 than they were a decade ago. The age is later, the penalty is lower, and the inherited IRA rules are finally settled. The most common 2026 errors we see among investors handling their own RMDs are:
- Using the wrong starting age because they relied on a pre-2023 article
- Missing the aggregation distinction between IRAs and 401(k)s
- Not doing QCDs despite giving to charity anyway
- Not starting annual RMDs on an inherited IRA when the decedent was already in RMD status
These are all fixable. The penalty reduction means a first-time miss is not the catastrophe it used to be, but the cleanest path is still to get it right the first time. Retirement planning that anticipates RMDs by 5 to 10 years tends to produce better tax outcomes than dealing with the distributions reactively.
Please consult a qualified tax professional before making retirement distribution decisions. This post is educational and does not constitute individualized tax or investment advice.
Ferrante Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.
FC and its principals may hold positions in securities or asset classes discussed in this article. This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.
Forward-looking statements reflect Ferrante Capital’s current analysis and involve assumptions and estimates. Actual results may differ materially. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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