What is the 10-year rule?

Most beneficiaries who are not the owner's spouse must empty an inherited IRA by 31 December of the 10th year after the year of death. It applies when the owner died in 2020 or later.

Do I have to take money out every year?

Under the 10-year rule, only if the owner had already reached their required beginning date when they died. Then a yearly minimum applies in years 1 to 9, from 2025: the IRS waived the penalty for earlier years. If the owner died before that date, or it is a Roth IRA, there is no yearly minimum, only the deadline.

Who can stretch withdrawals over their life?

An eligible designated beneficiary: the owner's spouse, someone disabled or chronically ill, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. The owner's own child under 21 can stretch until 21, then has 10 years.

What happens if I miss a yearly minimum or the deadline?

An excise tax of 25% of what should have come out, cut to 10% if you correct it within the correction window.

Inherited IRA RMD calculator

Find which rule applies to the IRA you inherited, whether you must take money out every year, the deadline to empty it, and the amounts year by year.

The rule for you:

Empty it by 31 December 2035, with a minimum every year before

The owner died on or after their required beginning date (1 April 2019), so the 10-year rule comes with yearly minimums in years 1 to 9: the balance divided by the Single Life Table figure for your age in 2026, one less each year (or the owner's remaining figure when that is longer). Whatever is left comes out in 2035.

First required withdrawal: $13,123 in 2026.

The owner had reached their required beginning date, so an RMD was due for 2025 as well, and it is not in the table. If they had not taken all of it, the beneficiary takes the rest. If that is still outstanding, take it as soon as you can: the tax on a missed year-of-death RMD can be waived when it is made up promptly.

You are the owner's

Account

Traditional IRARoth IRA

Balance on 31 December 2025The account at the end of the year the owner died. From 0 to 100,000,000.$Year the owner diedFrom 2020 to 2030.Month the owner died (1 to 12)June. Matters only in the year of their required beginning date.Year the owner was bornFrom 1910 to 2010.Month the owner was born (1 to 12)June. Matters only for owners born in 1948 or 1949.Year you were bornFrom 1910 to 2030.Yearly return on the account, %Your assumption. Not a forecast. From 0 to 12, up to 2 decimal places.

Year by year at 5% a year, before tax. The minimum is the least you must take; the even column spreads the account evenly so it is empty by the deadline.
Year	Your age	Balance, minimum route	Minimum	Even
2026	48	$500,000	$13,123	$61,669
2027	49	$511,220	$13,780	$61,669
2028	50	$522,313	$14,469	$61,669
2029	51	$533,237	$15,192	$61,669
2030	52	$543,947	$15,952	$61,669
2031	53	$554,395	$16,749	$61,669
2032	54	$564,528	$17,587	$61,669
2033	55	$574,289	$18,466	$61,669
2034	56	$583,614	$19,389	$61,669
2035	57	$592,436	$592,436	$61,669

For owners who died in 2020 or later (the SECURE Act rules). Not modeled: income tax on withdrawals, trusts and estates as beneficiaries, several beneficiaries on one account, 401(k)s with their own plan rules, the Roth five-year rule for earnings, and a spouse's rollover. Withdrawals are treated as taken at the start of each year. The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.

Who you are decides the rule

The law sorts beneficiaries into groups. A spouse has the most choice, including treating the account as their own. A disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, or one not more than 10 years younger than the owner, can spread withdrawals over their life expectancy. Everyone else, which includes most adult children, has 10 years.

The owner's age matters too. If they had reached their required beginning date, 1 April of the year after their RMD age, the account was already paying out, and that has to continue each year while you work toward the deadline.

Ten years leaves room to plan the tax

Withdrawals from an inherited traditional IRA are ordinary income. Leaving it all until year ten can put a large sum into one tax year; spreading it, as the even column does, keeps more of it in lower brackets. Years with lower income, such as after you stop work, are often cheaper years to take more.

For your own accounts, see the RMD calculator and the Roth conversion calculator.

Questions people ask

What is the 10-year rule?: Most beneficiaries who are not the owner's spouse must empty an inherited IRA by 31 December of the 10th year after the year of death. It applies when the owner died in 2020 or later.
Do I have to take money out every year?: Under the 10-year rule, only if the owner had already reached their required beginning date when they died. Then a yearly minimum applies in years 1 to 9, from 2025: the IRS waived the penalty for earlier years. If the owner died before that date, or it is a Roth IRA, there is no yearly minimum, only the deadline.
Who can stretch withdrawals over their life?: An eligible designated beneficiary: the owner's spouse, someone disabled or chronically ill, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. The owner's own child under 21 can stretch until 21, then has 10 years.
What happens if I miss a yearly minimum or the deadline?: An excise tax of 25% of what should have come out, cut to 10% if you correct it within the correction window.

Sources: 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-5 (beneficiary rules), 1.401(a)(9)-9 (Single Life Table), IRC §401(a)(9), IRC §4974 and IRS Publication 590-B.