What age do required withdrawals start, 73 or 75?
Which age applies to you
| Birth year | RMD start age | First-year divisor | First RMD on a $1,000,000 IRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1958 | 73 | 26.5 | ≈ $37,700 |
| 1959 UNCONFIRMED | 73 in this model | 26.5 | ≈ $37,700 |
| 1960 or later | 75 | 24.6 | ≈ $40,700 |
Why "later" isn't automatically better
Two extra years of deferral sounds like a win, but an untouched pre-tax account keeps compounding, and so does the eventual forced income. A $1M IRA growing at 7% becomes about $1.4M in five years; the first RMD grows with it, stacking on top of Social Security and pensions, potentially pushing you into higher brackets and across Medicare premium thresholds you'd stayed under all through your 60s.
That's the required-withdrawal wave: the years between retirement and your RMD age are often the lowest-tax-rate years you will ever have, and they expire.
The rules that trip people up
- The first-year delay trap. You may delay your first RMD until April 1 of the following year, but then you take two RMDs in one tax year, often a bracket-and-IRMAA mistake.
- The penalty. Missing an RMD carries a 25% excise tax on the shortfall (10% if corrected quickly).
- Roth accounts are exempt. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs, and (since 2024) Roth 401(k)s don't either, one reason conversions before RMD age matter.
- Charity can absorb RMDs. From age 70½, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) can satisfy RMDs without the income ever touching your return or the income Medicare sees.
- Each account type differs. IRA RMDs can be aggregated across IRAs; 401(k)s must generally be taken from each plan separately.
Planning in the gap years
The window between retiring and your RMD age is when Roth conversions, 0% capital-gains harvesting, and withdrawal-order choices are often compared, filling low brackets in a model now so the later wave is smaller. Model it year by year rather than guessing: compare amounts that fill a bracket without crossing a Medicare threshold, including holding steady.
See this computed from your own tax return. The free check takes five minutes, runs in your browser, and shows your required-withdrawal forecast, real marginal rate, and conversion stops to compare, no account needed.
Run my free check →Common questions
What is the RMD age if I was born in 1960?
Age 75. Anyone born in 1960 or later starts required minimum distributions at 75; those born 1951–1958 start at 73 in this model. The RMD age for birth year 1959 is UNCONFIRMED.
How is my first RMD calculated?
Divide your pre-tax retirement balance as of December 31 of the prior year by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor, 26.5 at age 73 or 24.6 at 75. That's roughly 3.8–4.1% of the account.
Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?
No. Roth IRAs have no required distributions during the owner's lifetime, and Roth 401(k)s are also exempt as of 2024. Heirs, however, generally must empty inherited accounts within 10 years.
What's the penalty for missing an RMD?
A 25% excise tax on the amount not taken, reduced to 10% if you correct it within the correction window.