Required minimum distributions (RMDs): the 2026 guide
Every guide on required minimum distributions from IRAs and workplace plans, with the 2026 figures and their sources.
Monte Climb2 min readRequired minimum distributions are the withdrawals that tax-deferred savings eventually ask of you. After years of letting an IRA or workplace plan grow, there comes a point when some of that money has to start coming out. This guide brings together everything on the subject: when distributions begin, how the first one is figured, what happens if one is missed, how charitable giving can fit in, and how inherited accounts work. It's for anyone nearing that stage, already taking distributions, or helping a parent or partner sort through theirs.
The 2026 figures
| RMDs start (born 1951–1959) | at 73 1 |
| RMDs start (born 1960 or later) | at 75 1 |
| Uniform Lifetime Table divisor at 73 | 26.5, so a $1,000,000 IRA owes about $37,736 that year 2 |
| Qualified charitable distributions (2026 limit, per person) | $111,000 3 |
| QLAC premium limit (2026) | $210,000 4 |
| Inherited IRA (most non-spouse heirs) | empty it within 10 years 5 |
What this guide answers
- When do RMDs start?
- How is the first RMD worked out?
- What happens if an RMD is missed?
- Can a charitable gift count toward the RMD?
- What are the rules for an inherited IRA?
What this means for your plan
Required distributions don't happen in isolation. Each withdrawal adds to taxable income, and that can shape tax brackets, the cost of health coverage, and how long the rest of your savings lasts. Looking at them early, next to Social Security timing, Roth conversions and charitable plans, turns a yearly chore into part of a bigger picture. Monte Climb runs these rules on your own plan, so you can see how required distributions play out over the years ahead, together with everything else you've built.
Sources
- IRS, Required minimum distribution FAQs (SECURE 2.0 §107: the starting age by birth year)
- IRS Publication 590-B: the Uniform Lifetime Table
- IRC §408(d)(8): qualified charitable distributions (indexed by SECURE 2.0 §307)
- IRS Notice 2025-67: the 2026 contribution, QCD and QLAC limits
- SECURE Act §401 (IRC §401(a)(9)(H)): most heirs empty an inherited IRA within ten years
Figures read by code from Monte Climb's 2026 tables. General information, not advice.
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