The IRS eventually requires you to start withdrawing from most tax-deferred retirement accounts, whether you need the money or not. Here's when, roughly how much, and what happens if you miss one.
Money in traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar accounts grew tax-deferred for a reason: the IRS eventually wants its share. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are the mechanism that forces that — a minimum amount you must withdraw and pay tax on each year, starting at a certain age, whether or not you actually need the income.
The RMD starting age has changed in recent years under the SECURE 2.0 Act. As of current law:
Because the exact rule depends on your specific birth year and the law has changed more than once this decade, confirm your personal RMD start age directly with the IRS or a tax professional rather than assuming.
This is a common point of confusion — plenty of people assume all retirement accounts work the same way, and are surprised to learn Roth accounts are treated differently.
Your RMD isn't a fixed dollar amount — it's recalculated every year based on two things: your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year, and a life-expectancy factor from an IRS-published table that corresponds to your age. The IRS updates these tables periodically, so the exact factor for your age is best pulled directly from current IRS guidance (irs.gov) or through your account custodian, who typically calculates it for you automatically.
Missing an RMD, or not withdrawing enough, triggers an excise tax on the shortfall. SECURE 2.0 significantly reduced this penalty from where it stood previously — and reduces it further if you correct the mistake within a defined correction window. Because penalty percentages and correction windows are exactly the kind of detail that can shift with future legislation, verify the current penalty structure with the IRS or a tax professional rather than relying on an old number you may have heard.
If you're charitably inclined and RMD age or older, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) lets you send some or all of your RMD directly to a qualifying charity, which can count toward satisfying your RMD without adding to your taxable income. It's a structural option worth being aware of — not a recommendation, since whether it makes sense depends entirely on your personal tax situation.
RMDs aren't optional, and the rules around them — starting age, calculation method, and penalties — have genuinely changed multiple times in the past few years. Treat any specific number you read (including in this article) as a starting point for a conversation with a tax professional or a check against current IRS guidance, not a final answer.
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Take the Free QuizThis article is for general education only and is not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Program rules change over time — always confirm current details at ssa.gov or irs.gov, or with a qualified professional, before making decisions.