RMD Deadline Dec. 31, 2026: Year-End Checklist for IRA Withdrawals, the $111,000 QCD Move and the Inherited IRA Rule Now Enforced

If you're 73 or older, or you inherited an IRA from someone who was, there is a hard deadline on your calendar: December 31, 2026. As of today, that's 81 days away, and missing it can cost you 25% of whatever you forgot to withdraw. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are the IRS's way of finally collecting tax on decades of tax-deferred savings in traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Every year, millions of retirees wait until the last two weeks of December, then discover that their custodian's cutoff was earlier, a charity check didn't clear in time, or they never knew an inherited account had its own annual minimum.

This year the stakes are a little higher than usual. The final IRS rules for inherited accounts now require annual withdrawals for many beneficiaries (the penalty waivers that covered 2021 through 2024 are over). The cap on tax-free qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) rose to $111,000 per person for 2026. And with the new $6,000 senior deduction phasing out above $75,000 of modified AGI ($150,000 joint) and Medicare's income-based surcharges starting above $109,000 ($218,000 joint) in 2026, every dollar of retirement income you can legally keep off your return matters more than it used to.

Here's the year-end RMD checklist for U.S. savers: who has to withdraw, how to calculate the number, the QCD move that can wipe out the tax on it, and the worked dollar examples to sanity-check your custodian's figure.

Retired couple reviewing their IRA withdrawal and bank card details on a laptop at home before the December 31 RMD deadline

Run your 2026 RMD numbers now: most custodians need requests well before Dec. 31. Photo: Shixart1985 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The quick answer

Who: Owners of traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, plus 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) participants, starting with the year they reach age 73. Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the owner is alive, and designated Roth 401(k)/403(b) accounts no longer require lifetime RMDs either.
Deadline: December 31, 2026 for your 2026 RMD. Only your very first RMD can be delayed, to April 1 of the following year.
How much: Your December 31, 2025 account balance divided by your IRS life-expectancy factor (for most people, the Uniform Lifetime Table: 26.5 at age 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80).
Penalty: A 25% excise tax on the shortfall, cut to 10% if you correct it in time, reported on Form 5329. The IRS can waive it for reasonable error.
Tax-free option: If you're at least 70½, a QCD sent directly from your IRA to charity counts toward your RMD and stays out of your income, up to $111,000 per person in 2026.
Inherited IRAs: If the original owner died on or after their required beginning date, most non-spouse beneficiaries must take an annual RMD in years 1 through 9 and empty the account by the end of year 10.

Who has to take an RMD in 2026

Under current law, RMDs begin for the year you turn 73. That means anyone born in 1953 hits their first RMD year in 2026, and everyone born earlier is already in the system. (The SECURE 2.0 Act is scheduled to push the starting age to 75 for people born in 1960 or later.)

The rules differ by account type, and that's where people slip:

Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs: RMDs are required starting at 73 even if you're still working. You calculate the RMD separately for each IRA, but you may withdraw the combined total from any one or more of your IRAs.
403(b) accounts: Same aggregation rule as IRAs, but only among 403(b)s. You can't satisfy a 403(b) RMD with an IRA withdrawal or vice versa.
401(k) and 457(b) plans: Each plan's RMD must come out of that plan. Three old 401(k)s means three separate withdrawals, which is one more reason to consolidate old plans into an IRA before RMD age.
Still-working exception: If you're still employed and your current employer's plan allows it, you can delay RMDs from that plan until you retire, unless you own 5% or more of the business. This exception never applies to IRAs.
Roth accounts: No RMDs for the original owner of a Roth IRA or designated Roth 401(k)/403(b). Beneficiaries who inherit Roth accounts, however, are subject to RMD rules.

How to calculate your 2026 RMD (with real numbers)

The IRS formula is simple: prior December 31 balance ÷ distribution period. Your custodian usually calculates it for you, but the IRS is clear that the account owner is ultimately responsible for taking the right amount. Check the math yourself, especially if you moved money between institutions during 2025.

Most owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III in IRS Publication 590-B). The exception: if your spouse is your sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger, you use the Joint and Last Survivor table, which produces a smaller RMD.

Example 1: Linda, age 75, one IRA

Linda's traditional IRA was worth $400,000 on December 31, 2025. Her divisor at age 75 is 24.6.

$400,000 ÷ 24.6 = $16,260 (rounded). She must withdraw at least $16,260 by December 31, 2026. If she takes $20,000, the extra $3,740 does not carry forward to reduce next year's RMD.

Example 2: Robert, turning 73 in 2026 (the double-dip trap)

Robert's IRA was $300,000 on December 31, 2025. His first RMD is $300,000 ÷ 26.5 = $11,321. He's allowed to wait until April 1, 2027 to take it. But his second RMD (for 2027) is still due by December 31, 2027, based on his December 31, 2026 balance. If that balance is $315,000 and his age-74 divisor is 25.5, the 2027 RMD is about $12,353.

Delaying means roughly $23,674 of taxable withdrawals land in a single tax year (2027). That can push him into a higher bracket, raise the taxable share of his Social Security, and lift his income toward Medicare's surcharge thresholds. The IRS itself notes that taking the first RMD in the year you turn 73 lets the two distributions be taxed in separate years. For most people, that's the better move.

Reading glasses resting on handwritten retirement calculations next to a senior woman typing on a laptop

Recalculate your custodian's figure: prior Dec. 31 balance divided by your IRS life-expectancy factor. Photo: Shixart1985 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The 25% penalty, and how to shrink or erase it

If you don't withdraw the full RMD by the deadline, the amount you failed to take is subject to a 25% excise tax. If you fix it in a timely way (generally within two years), the rate drops to 10%. You report it on Form 5329 with your tax return.

Using Linda's numbers: forgetting her entire $16,260 RMD would mean a penalty of $4,065 at 25%, or $1,626 at 10% after a timely correction. Better still, the IRS can waive the penalty if the shortfall was due to reasonable error and you're taking reasonable steps to fix it. To request relief, take the missed distribution as soon as you notice, file Form 5329, and attach a short letter of explanation (for example, a custodian error, a serious illness or a misunderstanding about an inherited account).

Two other rules worth knowing: you can't roll an RMD over into another IRA or plan, and money you withdraw above the minimum in one year can't be applied to a future year's RMD.

The QCD move: give to charity and make the RMD tax-free

A qualified charitable distribution is one of the most valuable year-end tools for retirees who already give. If you're at least 70½ on the date of the transfer, you can have your IRA custodian send money directly to a qualified charity. The amount is excluded from your income, and it counts toward your RMD for the year.

2026 limit: $111,000 per person (up from $108,000 in 2025, per IRS Notice 2025-67). A married couple where both spouses qualify and each has an IRA can move up to $222,000.
Direct transfer only: The check or wire must go from the IRA trustee to the charity. If the money hits your bank account first, it's a regular taxable withdrawal.
Eligible accounts: Traditional IRAs (and inherited IRAs if you're 70½). Not 401(k)s or 403(b)s, and not an ongoing SEP or SIMPLE IRA still receiving employer contributions. Roll workplace money to an IRA first if you want to use QCDs.
Ineligible recipients: Donor-advised funds and most private foundations don't qualify.
No double dip: You can't also claim a charitable deduction for the same dollars.
Deadline: The distribution must be completed by December 31, 2026. Unlike IRA contributions, there's no "prior year" grace period.

Example 3: The Garcias, both 74, giving $8,000 a year

The Garcias' combined 2026 RMDs total $20,000, and they give about $8,000 a year to their church and a local food bank. They take the standard deduction and their taxable income sits in the 22% bracket (married filing jointly, roughly $100,800 to $211,400 of taxable income in 2026).

Option A: Take the RMD as cash, then write checks. All $20,000 is taxable. Under the 2026 rules, non-itemizers can deduct up to $2,000 of cash gifts on a joint return, which saves about $440 (22% of $2,000).
Option B: Send $8,000 as a QCD, take $12,000 as cash. Only $12,000 is taxable. The $8,000 never shows up in income, saving about $1,760 (22% of $8,000).

The QCD route is worth roughly $1,320 more in federal tax this year, before counting the side benefits. Because a QCD lowers adjusted gross income (not just taxable income), it can also help preserve more of the new senior deduction, reduce how much of your Social Security is taxed, and keep you under Medicare's income thresholds. (If you use QCDs, you'd generally stop claiming those same gifts as a charitable deduction.)

Watch the Medicare IRMAA cliff before you withdraw extra

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income beneficiaries are based on your tax return from two years earlier. In 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, and the first income-related surcharge kicks in when 2024 modified AGI exceeds $109,000 (single) or $218,000 (joint), adding $81.20 a month to Part B alone. These are cliffs, not gradual phase-ins: one dollar over the line triggers the full tier.

Example 4: Carol, single, projects 2026 modified AGI of $112,500, including her RMD. Her 2026 income will set her 2028 premiums, and the 2028 thresholds haven't been published (they're adjusted for inflation). But using 2026's numbers as a guide, a $3,500 QCD from her RMD would bring her back to the $109,000 line and avoid a surcharge worth about $974 a year ($81.20 × 12) on Part B, plus any Part D surcharge. If she was planning to give anyway, that's a large return on a few minutes of paperwork.

The flip side: if you're planning a Roth conversion or a big extra IRA withdrawal this year, run it against these brackets first, since it can cost more in Medicare premiums two years from now than you expect.

Bar chart of required minimum distributions on a $500,000 IRA at ages 73, 75, 80, 85 and 90 using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table

The required share climbs with age: 3.77% of the balance at 73, 8.20% at 90. Chart: Dollar Lane, based on IRS Publication 590-B.

Inherited an IRA? The 10-year rule now has teeth

For account owners who died after 2019, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA or 401(k) within 10 years. The confusion was whether they also had to take money out every year along the way. The IRS's final regulations answered it:

If the owner died before their required beginning date (before RMDs had started), beneficiaries who aren't "eligible designated beneficiaries" have no annual RMD. They can withdraw on any schedule, but the account must be empty by the end of the 10th year after death.
If the owner died on or after their required beginning date, the beneficiary must take annual RMDs in years 1 through 9 and empty the account by the end of year 10.
Eligible designated beneficiaries, including a surviving spouse, a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner, can generally stretch withdrawals over their life expectancy instead.

The IRS waived penalties for missed annual inherited-IRA RMDs for 2021 through 2024, and the final rules apply starting with 2025. The 10-year clock was not extended: an account inherited in 2020 still must be empty by the end of 2030.

Example 5: Megan inherits from her father

Megan's father died in 2023 at age 80, already taking RMDs. Megan turned 53 in 2024, the year after his death, so her starting divisor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table is 33.4, reduced by one each year: 32.4 for 2025 and 31.4 for 2026. If the inherited IRA was worth $250,000 on December 31, 2025, her 2026 minimum is $250,000 ÷ 31.4 = $7,962. She must also empty the account by December 31, 2033.

Planning tip: because the whole balance has to come out within the window anyway, many beneficiaries take more than the minimum in lower-income years to avoid a huge, bracket-busting withdrawal in year 10.

Your year-end RMD checklist (do it before Thanksgiving)

List every account that owes an RMD: each IRA, each 401(k)/457(b), each 403(b), and each inherited account. Inherited IRAs can't be combined with your own for RMD purposes.
Confirm the December 31, 2025 balance and the right table for each account. Recalculate your custodian's figure.
Check what you've already taken this year. Many people set up automatic withdrawals and forget them, or take less than they think.
Decide on QCDs first, then take the rest in cash. QCDs only reduce your RMD if they come out before you've already satisfied it.
Ask about cutoff dates. Custodians often need requests in hand days or weeks before December 31, especially for QCD checks mailed to charities.
Set your withholding. You can ask for federal (and often state) tax to be withheld from the RMD. Withholding is generally treated as paid evenly through the year, which can help if you're behind on estimated taxes.
Consider an in-kind distribution if you don't need cash: many custodians can move shares from the IRA to a taxable brokerage account, which still counts as a taxable RMD.
Keep records: custodian confirmations, charity acknowledgment letters for QCDs, and next year's Form 1099-R. Make sure any QCD is reported as nontaxable on your return (on Form 1040, write "QCD" next to the IRA distribution line).

FAQ

Can I take my RMD in one lump sum in December?
Yes. The IRS only cares that the full amount is out by December 31. Some retirees take it monthly for budgeting; others wait so the money stays invested longer. Just don't cut it so close that a processing delay pushes you into January.

I'm still working at 74. Do I owe an RMD?
From your current employer's 401(k), possibly not, if the plan allows the still-working delay and you don't own 5% of the company. From IRAs and old employers' plans, yes.

Can I take all my RMDs from one account?
Only within the same category. Multiple IRAs can be satisfied from one IRA, and multiple 403(b)s from one 403(b). Each 401(k) and 457(b) must pay its own RMD.

Do I owe an RMD on my Roth IRA?
Not while you're alive. Roth 401(k) and 403(b) accounts are now also exempt from lifetime RMDs. Beneficiaries who inherit Roth accounts do face RMD rules.

Can my QCD go to a donor-advised fund?
No. Donor-advised funds and most private foundations are not eligible QCD recipients.

What if I discover a missed RMD from 2025?
Take it right away, file Form 5329 for 2025, and request a waiver with an explanation. Correcting quickly can also cut the excise tax from 25% to 10% if relief isn't granted.

Will the 2027 numbers change?
The life-expectancy tables are the same, but the QCD limit and Medicare thresholds are inflation-adjusted. The IRS typically announces next year's retirement limits in late October or November, and Medicare's 2027 premiums usually come out in the fall.

The bottom line

RMDs aren't optional, but overpaying on them is. Run the number for every account now, use QCDs for gifts you were going to make anyway, keep an eye on Medicare's two-year lookback, and if you inherited an IRA from someone already taking RMDs, make sure this year's annual withdrawal is on your list. Get your requests in before Thanksgiving, and December 31 becomes just another date on the calendar.

This article is for general information only and isn't tax or legal advice. RMD rules depend on your accounts, beneficiaries and plan terms; confirm your figures with your custodian or a tax professional.

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