RMD Deadline 2026: December 31, the April 1 First-Year Rule, and What a Missed One Costs

The deadline for your 2026 required minimum distribution (RMD) is 31 December 2026. The one exception is your very first RMD: if you turn 73 in 2026, you can wait until 1 April 2027 to take it. Every RMD after that is due by 31 December of its own year.

Miss one and the shortfall can be hit with a 25% excise tax, cut to 10% if you fix it within two years. This guide covers the dates, the first-year trap, how the amount is worked out, the rules for inherited IRAs, and when to set your reminders so the money has actually left the account before the year ends.

This is general information from IRS guidance, current in October 2026. It is not tax advice; your account provider or a tax professional can confirm the details for your accounts.

What is a required minimum distribution?

Traditional IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and workplace plans such as 401(k)s let money grow tax-deferred, but not forever. The IRS says you "generally have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 73." The RMD is the smallest amount you must take out each year from then on. You can always take more.

Roth IRAs are the main exception: the IRS says withdrawals are not required from Roth IRAs while the owner is alive.

RMD deadlines for 2026 at a glance

Your situation	Deadline for the 2026 RMD
You turned 73 before 2026 (already taking RMDs)	31 December 2026
You turn 73 in 2026 (born in 1953)	1 April 2027 at the latest, or by 31 December 2026
Still working, money in your current employer's plan, not a 5% owner	That plan's RMDs can wait until you retire
You inherited an account and must take yearly RMDs	31 December 2026

The first-year rule: why waiting until April can cost you

For an IRA, the IRS defines your first deadline (the "required beginning date") as "April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which you reach age 73." After that: "For each year after your required beginning date, you must withdraw your RMD by December 31."

That creates a trap. If you turn 73 in 2026 and push your first RMD to 1 April 2027, your second RMD (for 2027) is still due by 31 December 2027. Two withdrawals land in the same tax year, which raises that year's taxable income. Taking the first one before 31 December 2026 spreads it over two years. Which is better depends on your income in each year, so it is worth a quick check with whoever does your taxes, but decide before December, not in March.

How much is my RMD?

The IRS formula: "the account balance as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year divided by a distribution period from the IRS's 'Uniform Lifetime Table.'" For 2026, that means your balance on 31 December 2025.

The distribution period at age 73 is 26.5 (IRS Publication 590-B, Table III). So, as our own example, a $200,000 IRA balance on 31 December 2025 for someone aged 73 in 2026 gives a 2026 RMD of about $7,547 ($200,000 ÷ 26.5). The divisor gets smaller each year, so the percentage you must take rises as you age. Most providers calculate the figure for you; check it against your year-end statement.

Two rules that catch people out:

• IRAs can be combined; 401(k)s cannot. The IRS says you must work out the RMD separately for each IRA but "can withdraw the total amount from one or more of the IRAs." RMDs from 401(k) and 457(b) plans "must be taken separately from each of those plan accounts."
• Taking extra this year does not count towards next year. Publication 590-B's own example: someone who took $2,150 more than required in 2025 "can't use that $2,150 to reduce the amount he is required to withdraw for 2026."

And an RMD cannot be rolled over into another tax-deferred account; the IRS answer to that question is a plain "No."

What happens if I miss the RMD deadline?

The IRS: "you may have to pay a 25% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required (10% if withdrawn within 2 years)." You report it on Form 5329.

On our $7,547 example, that is about $1,887 at 25%, or about $755 if the shortfall is corrected in time. If the miss was a genuine mistake, Publication 590-B says that when it "is due to reasonable error, and you have taken, or are taking, steps to remedy the insufficient distribution, you can request that the tax be waived" by attaching a statement of explanation to Form 5329.

So if you discover a missed RMD: take the missing amount out as soon as you can, then deal with Form 5329. Do not wait for next year's deadline.

Inherited IRAs: the 10-year rule now usually means yearly withdrawals too

Most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited an account in 2020 or later fall under the 10-year rule: the account must be emptied "by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner's death" (Publication 590-B).

What many beneficiaries miss is the middle years. Under the IRS's final RMD regulations, which apply to RMDs from 2025 onwards (IRS Notice 2024-35), if the original owner had already reached their required beginning date when they died, a beneficiary on the 10-year rule generally must also take an annual RMD in each of the years in between, not just empty the account at the end. The IRS waived penalties for those yearly amounts for 2021 to 2024 while the rules were finalised; that relief has ended, so a 2026 inherited-IRA RMD is due by 31 December 2026.

Spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and beneficiaries no more than 10 years younger than the owner ("eligible designated beneficiaries") have different options. If you are unsure which group you are in, ask the account provider before December.

Giving to charity? A QCD can count towards the RMD

If you are at least 70½, you can send money directly from an IRA to a qualifying charity as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). Publication 590-B says a QCD "will count towards your required minimum distribution," and it is not included in your taxable income up to the annual limit, which the IRS raised from $108,000 to $111,000 for 2026. The money must go straight from the IRA trustee to the charity, and it counts for the year in which it actually leaves the account, so the 31 December deadline applies to QCDs too.

The reminder plan: when to act in October, November and December

31 December is the date the money has to be out, not the date to start. Providers handle a rush of withdrawal and QCD requests in December, and a charity cheque or a transfer can take days. These are the reminders worth setting:

When	Reminder
Mid-October	Find your 2026 RMD figure for each account (provider statement or online account). Check it against the 31 December 2025 balance.
Late October	Decide: lump sum or already on a schedule? QCD for some of it? If you turn 73 this year, take it in 2026 or wait until 1 April 2027?
Early to mid November	Submit the withdrawal or QCD request, and ask your provider for its year-end processing cut-off date.
Early December	Confirm the money has left each account. For a 401(k), check every plan separately.
Two weeks before the provider's cut-off	Last-chance reminder, only if anything is still outstanding.
Inherited IRA	Same plan, plus a long-range reminder for 31 December of the 10th year.

If you look after a parent's finances, these dates belong in your calendar as well as theirs. If they have several old IRAs or 401(k)s, list each one so none is missed.

How ReminderIt can help

ReminderIt places a real phone call at the exact time you choose and reads your reminder in a natural voice, for example "Your IRA required minimum distribution is due by December 31. Submit the request today." If the call is missed, you get a WhatsApp message.

You can set reminders by sending a WhatsApp message (text, voice note or a photo of your statement), such as "Call me on 12 November at 10am to request my RMD", or on the website. There is no app to install. You can also set the call for a parent's own phone so they hear it directly; they confirm the number with a verification call first.

There is a 7-day free trial with 7 free reminder calls (3 if your number is in a country where calls cost more). After that it is one plan, $7 a month (₹299 a month in India), with annual and 2-year options.

The short answer

Your 2026 RMD must be withdrawn by 31 December 2026. Only your first RMD can wait, until 1 April of the year after you turn 73, and doing that means two RMDs in one tax year. The amount is your 31 December 2025 balance divided by the IRS life-expectancy factor (26.5 at age 73). A missed RMD can cost 25% of the shortfall, 10% if corrected within two years, and the IRS can waive it for reasonable error. Inherited IRAs on the 10-year rule usually need a yearly RMD too if the owner had already started theirs. Request the withdrawal by mid-November and confirm it in early December.

Sources: IRS, Retirement topics: Required minimum distributions (RMDs); IRS, Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs; IRS, Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements; IRS, Retirement topics: Beneficiary; IRS, Notice 2024-35; IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-49 (2026 QCD limit).