Inherited IRA RMD
Calculator 2026
Work out whether you must take required minimum distributions from an inherited IRA, how much each year, and when the account must be empty under the 10-year rule.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: It depends on who inherited and whether the owner had started RMDs. Most non-spouse heirs, such as adult children, must empty an inherited IRA by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death.
If the owner died on or after their required beginning date, those heirs must also take a required minimum distribution every year in between, based on the IRS Single Life Expectancy table; yearly RMDs missed for 2021 to 2024 were waived, and they are required from 2025. If the owner died before that date, or the account is a Roth IRA, nothing is required until the 10th year.
Surviving spouses, the owner's minor children, disabled or chronically ill heirs, and heirs no more than 10 years younger can instead stretch withdrawals over their life expectancy. Sources: IRS Publication 590-B (2025); final regulations T.D. 10001; IRS Notice 2024-35.
Do I have to take RMDs from an inherited IRA?
Most adult children and other non-spouse heirs must empty an inherited IRA by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death. If the owner had already reached their required beginning date, they must also take an RMD every year in between (required from 2025; missed years 2021 to 2024 were waived). If the owner died before that date, or it is a Roth IRA, nothing is due until year 10. Spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill heirs and heirs no more than 10 years younger can stretch withdrawals over their life expectancy.
Last updated: September 2026
Sources: IRS Publication 590-B (2025) · Final regulations, T.D. 10001 (July 2024) · IRS Notice 2024-35
📋 Educational estimate for one individual beneficiary. Trusts, estates and multiple beneficiaries follow other rules. Confirm with your IRA custodian or a tax professional.
RMD age 70½
RBD April 1, 2020
Rule that applies
10-year rule with yearly RMDs
owner past RBD
First required RMD
$10,499
in 2026
Account must be empty by
Dec 31, 2035
10-year rule
Total withdrawn
$589,714
at 5% growth
For 2026, the required withdrawal is about $10,499, the December 31 balance divided by 38.1. It is taxed as ordinary income. If the owner had not taken their own RMD for the year they died, the beneficiary must take it by December 31 of that year.
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First required RMD
$10,499
Must be empty by
Dec 31, 2035
Total withdrawn
$589,714
Rule that applies
10-year rule with yearly RMDs
Year-by-year schedule
| Year | Age | Divisor | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 48 | 38.1 | $10,499 |
| 2027 | 49 | 37.1 | $11,024 |
| 2028 | 50 | 36.1 | $11,575 |
| 2029 | 51 | 35.1 | $12,154 |
| 2030 | 52 | 34.1 | $12,761 |
| 2031 | 53 | 33.1 | $13,399 |
| 2032 | 54 | 32.1 | $14,069 |
| 2033 | 55 | 31.1 | $14,773 |
| 2034 | 56 | 30.1 | $15,511 |
| 2035 | 57 | — | $473,949Deadline: withdraw everything left |
The 10-year rule and yearly RMDs
Since the SECURE Act, most non-spouse heirs of an owner who died after 2019 must empty the account by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death. Whether you also owe a withdrawal every year depends on the owner:
- Owner died before their required beginning date (or it is a Roth IRA): no yearly RMD. Withdraw on any schedule you like, as long as the account is empty by the deadline.
- Owner died on or after their required beginning date: take an RMD every year from the year after death, and empty the account by the deadline. The IRS waived the penalty on yearly RMDs missed for 2021 to 2024, and the final regulations require them from 2025. The 10-year deadline itself did not move.
The required beginning date is April 1 of the year after the owner reached RMD age: 73 for owners born 1951 to 1959 and 75 for owners born 1960 or later. The RMD calculator covers the owner's own withdrawals.
Eligible designated beneficiaries: who can still stretch
Surviving spouse
Can treat the IRA as their own, or keep it inherited and take RMDs on their life expectancy, looked up again each year. If the owner died before their required beginning date, RMDs can wait until the year the owner would have reached RMD age.
Owner's minor child
Life expectancy payments until age 21, the age of majority in the final regulations. Yearly RMDs then continue, and the account must be empty by December 31 of the 10th year after the year the child turns 21.
Disabled or chronically ill
Life expectancy payments for as long as the balance lasts. The disability or chronic illness must exist at the date of the owner's death; the custodian may ask for medical documentation.
No more than 10 years younger
A sibling, partner or friend close in age can take life expectancy payments. Someone more than 10 years younger falls under the 10-year rule.
Any heir who inherits money also changes their own net worth picture. For how inheritances compare by age, see average inheritance by age.
IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I)
The divisor beneficiaries use, from IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Appendix B. Find your age in the year after the owner's death, then subtract 1 for each later year (a spouse looks it up again each year).
Last reviewed 13 October 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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The rules turn on two questions, in this order:
- Who inherited? A surviving spouse, the owner's minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone no more than 10 years younger is an eligible designated beneficiary and can stretch withdrawals over life expectancy. Everyone else who is a person falls under the 10-year rule.
- Had the owner reached their required beginning date? That is April 1 of the year after the owner reached RMD age. If they had, a 10-year beneficiary takes yearly RMDs as well, and life expectancy is the longer of the heir's and the owner's remaining one.
- The divisor. RMD = last December 31 balance ÷ life expectancy from IRS Table I, reduced by 1 each year (a spouse looks it up again each year).
The calculator assumes a single individual beneficiary and a constant growth rate. Trusts, estates and multiple beneficiaries follow different rules; check with the IRA custodian.
How to use this calculator
- Choose the account type and who inherited it.
- Enter the owner's birth year and the year they died. The calculator works out whether they had reached their required beginning date.
- Enter the beneficiary's birth year, the balance on December 31 of the year of death, and an expected growth rate.
- Read the rule that applies, the first year an RMD is required, the deadline if there is one, and the year-by-year schedule.
- If the owner died in the year their RMDs began, say whether it was before April 1, which decides which rules apply.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to take RMDs from an inherited IRA every year?
Only in some cases. If you are not an eligible designated beneficiary (for example, an adult child) and the original owner died on or after their required beginning date, you must take a required minimum distribution each year and also empty the account by the end of the 10th year after the year of death.
If the owner died before their required beginning date, or you inherited a Roth IRA, no withdrawal is required until that 10th year. Eligible designated beneficiaries who use life expectancy payments take an RMD every year.
The IRS waived the excise tax on yearly RMDs that 10-year-rule beneficiaries missed for 2021 through 2024; the final regulations apply from 2025. Source: IRS Publication 590-B; IRS Notice 2024-35.
What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?
The 10-year rule requires the whole inherited IRA to be withdrawn by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner's death. An owner who died in 2025 means the account must be empty by December 31, 2035.
It applies to designated beneficiaries who are not eligible designated beneficiaries, for owners who died after 2019, and to eligible designated beneficiaries who choose it when the owner died before their required beginning date. Anything left after the deadline is subject to the excise tax on missed distributions.
Source: IRS Publication 590-B.
Who is an eligible designated beneficiary?
Under the SECURE Act, an eligible designated beneficiary is the owner's surviving spouse, the owner's child who has not reached the age of majority, a disabled individual, a chronically ill individual, or anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. The final regulations set the age of majority at 21.
Eligible designated beneficiaries can take withdrawals over their life expectancy instead of emptying the account within 10 years. A minor child switches to the 10-year rule at 21 and must finish by the end of the 10th year after reaching 21.
Source: IRS Publication 590-B; 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-4(e)(3).
How is an inherited IRA RMD calculated?
Divide the account balance on December 31 of the previous year by the applicable life expectancy. A non-spouse beneficiary looks up their age in the year after the owner's death in IRS Table I (Single Life Expectancy), then subtracts 1 for each later year.
If the owner died on or after their required beginning date, you use the longer of your own life expectancy and the owner's remaining life expectancy (the owner's Table I figure in the year of death, minus 1 per year). A surviving spouse looks up their age in Table I again every year.
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B.
What are the rules for an inherited Roth IRA?
Roth IRA owners never have required minimum distributions, so beneficiaries follow the rules for an owner who died before the required beginning date. A non-eligible beneficiary has no yearly RMD but must empty the account by the end of the 10th year after the year of death.
Eligible designated beneficiaries can take life expectancy payments instead. A spouse who is the sole beneficiary can treat the Roth IRA as their own, which removes RMDs, or delay distributions until the year the owner would have reached RMD age.
Qualified withdrawals from an inherited Roth IRA are generally tax-free. Source: IRS Publication 590-B, chapter 2.
Should a surviving spouse treat an inherited IRA as their own?
A spouse who is the sole beneficiary can either treat the IRA as their own or keep it as an inherited IRA. Treating it as their own means RMDs follow the Uniform Lifetime Table from the spouse's own RMD age, which usually gives smaller withdrawals if the spouse is younger.
Keeping it inherited lets a spouse under 59½ take withdrawals without the 10% early-withdrawal tax, and, if the owner died before their required beginning date, delay RMDs until the year the owner would have reached RMD age. This calculator models the inherited option; see the RMD calculator for the treat-as-your-own path.
Source: IRS Publication 590-B.
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