The Estate Desk

Last verified 2026-10-23; facts checked against the primary sources below

Inherited IRA RMD rules in 2026 under the 10-year rule

Last verified: October 23, 2026

The short answer: It depends on one date: whether the owner died before or after they had to start their own required minimum distributions (RMDs). If the owner had started, most non-spouse beneficiaries must take an RMD every year, including 2026, and empty the account by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death (IRS final regulations; IRS Publication 590-B). If the owner had not started, there is no annual RMD under the 10-year rule; only the final deadline applies (IRS Publication 590-B). The IRS penalty relief for missed annual amounts covered 2021 through 2024 and has ended (IRS final regulations).

This is federal tax law, so it is the same in every state. It applies to IRA owners who died after 2019 (IRS).

Which rule applies to you?

Your situation Annual RMD in 2026? Final deadline Source
Not an eligible designated beneficiary; owner died on or after their required beginning date Yes, every year after the year of death December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death IRS final regulations; Pub. 590-B
Not an eligible designated beneficiary; owner died before their required beginning date No. No distribution is required for any year before the 10th year December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death Pub. 590-B
Eligible designated beneficiary taking life expectancy payments Yes, based on life expectancy None while the payments continue; a 10-year period starts at the beneficiary's death, or when a minor child reaches the age of majority Pub. 590-B
Eligible designated beneficiary who chose the 10-year rule (owner died before the required beginning date) No December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death Pub. 590-B
The estate or another non-individual; owner died before the required beginning date No annual RMD December 31 of the year containing the 5th anniversary of the death (the 5-year rule) Pub. 590-B
The estate or another non-individual; owner died on or after the required beginning date Yes, over the owner's remaining life expectancy Set by that life expectancy Pub. 590-B

Are you an eligible designated beneficiary?

The IRS lists five kinds of eligible designated beneficiary (IRS Publication 590-B):

Eligible designated beneficiary Note
The owner's surviving spouse Has extra options; see below
The owner's minor child Only until the child reaches the age of majority; then the 10-year rule applies to what is left (Pub. 590-B)
A disabled individual
A chronically ill individual
Any other individual not more than 10 years younger than the owner

Everyone else named as a beneficiary, such as an adult child or a grandchild, is a designated beneficiary who is not eligible. That beneficiary must empty the IRA by the 10th anniversary of the owner's death (IRS Publication 590-B). An eligible designated beneficiary's status is fixed as of the date of the owner's death (IRS final regulations).

Had the owner started RMDs?

The owner's required beginning date is April 1 of the year after the year they reached their RMD age (IRS Publication 590-B):

When the owner reached the age RMD age Required beginning date
Reached age 72 after December 31, 2022 73 April 1 of the year after reaching 73
Reached age 70½ after December 31, 2019, but not 72 before January 1, 2023 72 April 1 of the year after reaching 72
Reached age 70½ before January 1, 2020 70½ April 1 of the year after reaching 70½

Died on or after that date: the owner had started RMDs, and annual beneficiary RMDs continue. Died before it: the owner had not. An owner who died after reaching 73 but before the required beginning date had no RMD due for the year of death (IRS Publication 590-B).

Why annual RMDs are required now: the end of the penalty relief

Many beneficiaries expected the SECURE Act's 10-year rule to require no withdrawals until year 10 (Notice 2024-35). The IRS final regulations, published July 19, 2024, say otherwise when the owner died on or after the required beginning date: annual distributions continue, and the account must still be fully distributed by the end of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death (IRS final regulations, T.D. 10001).

Year Status of the annual RMD for affected beneficiaries Source
2021 and 2022 Not penalized (Notice 2022-53) IRS final regulations
2023 Not penalized (Notice 2023-54) IRS final regulations
2024 Not penalized (Notice 2024-35) Notice 2024-35
2025 Required. The final regulations apply to RMDs for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2025 IRS final regulations
2026 Required, by December 31, 2026 IRS final regulations; Pub. 590-B

Notice 2024-35's relief covered a beneficiary of an owner who died in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023, on or after the owner's required beginning date, where the beneficiary was not taking life expectancy payments. It also covered the beneficiary of an eligible designated beneficiary who died in those years while taking life expectancy payments (Notice 2024-35). The notices waived the tax on missed annual amounts. They did not move the 10-year deadline.

Worked examples

Example 2026 RMD? Account must be empty by
Mother died in 2023 at 80, already taking RMDs. Her son, 50, inherits Yes. 2024 was covered by relief; 2025 and 2026 are required December 31, 2033
Father died in 2025 at 68, before his required beginning date. His daughter, 40, inherits No December 31, 2035 (Pub. 590-B uses this deadline for a 2025 death)
Aunt died in 2020 at 85, taking RMDs. Her niece, 40 years younger, inherits Yes. 2021 through 2024 were covered by relief December 31, 2030

Each year's RMD for a beneficiary when the owner had started RMDs is based on the longer of the beneficiary's single life expectancy (Table I) or the owner's remaining life expectancy (IRS Publication 590-B). Ask the IRA custodian for the figure and check it against Table I in Pub. 590-B.

What about the year the owner died?

If the owner died on or after the required beginning date, the beneficiaries must take whatever part of the owner's RMD for the year of death the owner had not already taken (IRS Publication 590-B). It is figured as if the owner lived the whole year. If the owner died before the required beginning date, there is no RMD for the year of death (IRS Publication 590-B).

What can a surviving spouse do?

A spouse has choices no other beneficiary has (IRS Publication 590-B):

Choice What it means
Treat the IRA as your own Designate yourself as the account owner
Roll it over into your own IRA Or, to the extent it is taxable, into a qualified employer plan, 403(a), 403(b), or governmental 457 plan
Stay a beneficiary Take beneficiary RMDs. If the owner died before the required beginning date and you are the sole beneficiary, you do not have to start until the end of the year the owner would have reached their required beginning date
Elect to be treated as the owner (sole beneficiary) RMDs are then figured as if you were the owner, starting with the year you elect
Choose the 10-year rule Available if the owner died before the required beginning date (IRS)

Two traps. A sole spouse beneficiary who misses a required beneficiary RMD by December 31 is deemed the owner of the IRA. And an RMD can never be rolled over; a rollover of an RMD is subject to the 6% tax on excess contributions (IRS Publication 590-B).

What can a non-spouse beneficiary not do?

You cannot treat an inherited IRA as your own, contribute to it, or roll money into or out of it. You can move it by trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA set up in the deceased owner's name for your benefit (IRS Publication 590-B). Do not take a check intending to redeposit it.

What is the penalty for a missed RMD?

Rule Detail
Excise tax 25% of the amount not distributed as required (Pub. 590-B)
Reduced tax 10% if you take the missed amount during the correction window and file a return reflecting the tax (Pub. 590-B)
Correction window ends The earliest of: the date a deficiency notice is mailed, the date the tax is assessed, or the last day of the second taxable year that begins after the year the tax is imposed (Pub. 590-B)
Form Form 5329 (Pub. 590-B)
Waiver If the shortfall was a reasonable error and you are fixing it, attach a statement to Form 5329 asking for a waiver (Pub. 590-B)
Missed final deadline Anything left in the IRA after December 31 of the 10th-anniversary year is subject to the same excise tax (Pub. 590-B)

What should you do now?

  1. Find the owner's date of birth and date of death. Compare them to the required beginning date table above.
  2. Work out your beneficiary type. Spouse, eligible designated beneficiary, or neither.
  3. Ask the custodian for the year-of-death RMD status if the owner died on or after the required beginning date.
  4. Take the 2026 RMD by December 31, 2026, if one applies to you.
  5. Write down your final deadline. December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death.
  6. If you missed 2025, take the amount now and file Form 5329; the reduced 10% rate and the waiver request both depend on correcting it.

Frequently asked questions

My mother died in 2022, already taking RMDs, and I have taken nothing. Do I owe a penalty?

Not for the 2023 and 2024 beneficiary RMDs, which the IRS relief covered (Notice 2024-35). The 2025 RMD was required, and the 2026 RMD is due by December 31, 2026 (IRS final regulations). The account must be empty by December 31, 2032. Separately, if she had not taken her full 2022 RMD before she died, that year-of-death amount was due from the beneficiaries (IRS Publication 590-B). Take what was missed and file Form 5329.

Does the 10-year rule apply to an inherited Roth IRA?

Yes. After a Roth IRA owner dies, the entire interest generally must be distributed by the end of the 5th or 10th calendar year after the year of death, unless an eligible designated beneficiary takes it over their life expectancy (IRS Publication 590-B).

Is an inherited IRA distribution taxed?

Beneficiaries include taxable distributions in gross income (IRS Publication 590-B). The 10% additional tax on early distributions does not apply to an IRA paid to a beneficiary after the owner's death (IRS Publication 590-B).

What if the inherited account is a 401(k), not an IRA?

The same federal 10-year rule applies, but the plan's own terms can require faster payment. See what happens to a 401(k) after death.

This is general tax information, not tax advice. Trusts named as beneficiaries, multiple beneficiaries, and disability or chronic-illness claims have extra rules; review them with a tax professional.

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Primary sources