RMD Deadline: Take Required Withdrawals by December 31, 2026

Missing a deadline can be costly, so this post explains who must take an RMD, the special rule for the first year, how the amount is figured and what the IRS says about the penalty. It is general information, not advice for your account.

Who has to take an RMD

The IRS says the RMD rules apply to traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs, and to employer plans such as 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and profit-sharing plans.

• IRA owners must begin once they reach age 73, even if they are retired.
• Workplace plan participants can delay RMDs from that plan until the year they retire, unless they own 5% or more of the business that sponsors the plan. The plan document can also set its own rules, so check with your plan.
• Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) do not require withdrawals while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of Roth accounts are subject to RMD rules.

The first-year rule

The IRS says you must take your first RMD for the year you reach age 73, but you can delay it until April 1 of the following year. If you wait, you will have two required withdrawals in that second year: one by April 1 and one by December 31. The IRS also notes that you can make your first withdrawal by December 31 of the year you turn 73 instead of waiting, which keeps the two distributions in separate tax years.

Applying the IRS's own examples to current years:

• If you reached age 73 in 2025, your first RMD (for 2025) was due by April 1, 2026, and your RMD for 2026 is due by December 31, 2026.
• If you reach age 73 in 2026, your first RMD (for 2026) can wait until April 1, 2027, and your RMD for 2027 is due by December 31, 2027.

Each of these is a general reading of the IRS rule, not an answer for your situation, so check your own dates in Publication 590-B.

How the amount is figured

The IRS says an RMD for a year is generally the account balance at the end of the previous year (December 31) divided by a life-expectancy factor from the IRS tables in Publication 590-B. Which table you use depends on your situation:

• Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) for unmarried owners, and for married owners whose spouse is not more than 10 years younger or is not the sole beneficiary.
• Joint Life and Last Survivor Table (Table II) if your spouse is the sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger.
• Single Life Table (Table I) for beneficiaries of an inherited account.

The divisors in the Uniform Lifetime Table for several ages are below. Use your age as of your birthday in 2026 for a 2026 RMD.

The IRS says the account owner is ultimately responsible for taking the right amount, even though the custodian or plan administrator may calculate it.

More than one account

The IRS explains that the rules differ by account type:

• If you own several traditional IRAs, you figure the RMD separately for each one, but you can add them up and withdraw the total from one or more of them.
• A similar rule applies to 403(b) contracts.
• RMDs from 401(k) and 457(b) plans must be taken separately from each plan.

You can withdraw more than the minimum, but the IRS says an extra amount in one year cannot be applied toward a future year's RMD. RMD amounts also cannot be rolled over into another tax-deferred account.

How RMDs are taxed

Withdrawals are included in your taxable income, except for any part that was already taxed (your basis) or that can be received tax-free, such as qualified distributions from designated Roth accounts. That is why an RMD can raise your adjusted gross income, which may affect other items on your return. Our page on adjusted gross income explains why AGI matters, and the page on how Social Security is taxed shows one place it comes up.

Publication 590-B also says a qualified charitable distribution, which is made directly from an IRA trustee to an eligible charity, counts toward your RMD. You must be at least 70½ when it is made. The rules and limits are in the publication.

The penalty for missing an RMD

If you do not withdraw the full RMD by the due date, the IRS says the amount not withdrawn may be subject to a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if you correct the shortfall within two years. You report it on Form 5329, filed with your federal return for the year the RMD was required.

The IRS also says the penalty may be waived if the shortfall was due to reasonable error and you are taking reasonable steps to fix it. To ask for that relief, you file Form 5329 and attach a letter of explanation.

What to do before year-end

Check your account statements for your December 31, 2025 balances and confirm which accounts you hold. Ask each custodian or plan administrator whether it will send an RMD figure and how long a withdrawal takes to process. Our year-end tax planning checklist lists other items to review before the calendar turns.

The IRS version is the one that counts. Review the RMD FAQs, the RMD topic page and Publication 590-B in the sources list before you decide anything, and use the official worksheets for your numbers.

Sources

Figures, dates and rules in this post were checked against these official pages on October 18, 2026. Open them to confirm the current numbers before you act.

• IRS: Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs
• IRS: Retirement topics, required minimum distributions (RMDs)
• IRS: Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
• IRS: About Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts
• IRS: Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans)