Which rules apply to you
The rules below are for IRAs whose owner died after 2019; earlier deaths follow older rules. Two questions decide your path: which kind of beneficiary you are, and whether the owner died before or after their required beginning date, the April 1 after the year they reached RMD age, covered in required minimum distributions.
| Beneficiary | Main options |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Treat the IRA as your own (name yourself owner or roll it into your own IRA or certain employer plans), or stay a beneficiary and take life expectancy payments; if the owner died before their required beginning date, payments can wait until the year the owner would have reached it |
| Other eligible designated beneficiary: the owner's minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner | Life expectancy payments from the year after the death, or the 10-year rule if the owner died before their required beginning date. A minor child switches to the 10-year rule on reaching the age of majority |
| Any other individual designated beneficiary | The 10-year rule: the account must be empty by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the death. If the owner had reached the required beginning date, yearly RMDs are also due in years 1 to 9 |
| Not an individual, such as an estate | If the owner died before the required beginning date, the 5-year rule; otherwise payments over the owner's remaining life expectancy |
An eligible designated beneficiary who takes life expectancy payments must generally start in the year after the death. When such a beneficiary dies, or a minor child reaches majority, the 10-year rule takes over for what is left, ending December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of that event. The IRA's own documents can set which option applies by default, so Publication 590-B suggests checking them with the custodian.
The 10-year rule in practice
- Deadline: December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner's death. A 2025 death means the end of 2035.
- Owner died before the required beginning date: no withdrawal is required before the 10th year, though you may take money out at any time.
- Owner died on or after it: yearly RMDs in years 1 to 9, using the longer of your single life expectancy from Table I or the owner's remaining life expectancy, reduced by 1 each year, and the rest by the end of year 10.
Worked example
An owner dies in 2025 at 80, past the required beginning date, leaving $200,000 to an adult child who turns 51 in 2026. The child's Table I life expectancy is 35.3; the owner's remaining one would be 10.2, so the child's, the longer, sets the divisor, which drops by 1 each year. No growth is assumed to keep the arithmetic visible.
| Year | Divisor | Required withdrawal | Balance after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35.3 | $5,666 | $194,334 |
| 2027 | 34.3 | $5,666 | $188,668 |
| 2028 | 33.3 | $5,666 | $183,002 |
| 2029 | 32.3 | $5,666 | $177,336 |
| 2030 | 31.3 | $5,666 | $171,670 |
| 2031 | 30.3 | $5,666 | $166,004 |
| 2032 | 29.3 | $5,666 | $160,338 |
| 2033 | 28.3 | $5,666 | $154,672 |
| 2034 | 27.3 | $5,666 | $149,006 |
| 2035 | all that is left | $149,006 | $0 |
The minimums in years 1 to 9 are small, so most of the account is left for 2035 unless the beneficiary takes more earlier; spreading withdrawals can matter because each one counts as income in its year. Had the owner died before the required beginning date, the yearly minimums would not apply and only the 2035 deadline would.
If you inherit from your spouse
A surviving spouse has the widest choice. Treating the IRA as your own makes your own RMD rules apply and uses the Uniform Lifetime Table. Staying a beneficiary uses Table I, and if your spouse died before their required beginning date and you are the sole beneficiary, you need not start until the end of the year your spouse would have reached it. A spouse can also elect the 10-year rule when the owner died before the required beginning date.
Inherited Roth IRAs and taxes
- Roth IRAs: the same distribution rules apply as though the owner died before the required beginning date, so a beneficiary under the 10-year rule has no withdrawal due before year 10. Whether withdrawals are tax free depends on whether they are qualified distributions, which turns on the Roth IRA's 5-year period.
- Traditional IRAs: taxable distributions count in the beneficiary's gross income, which can move them into a higher bracket in federal income tax brackets 2026.
- No early withdrawal penalty: distributions to a beneficiary after the owner's death are free of the 10 percent additional tax, one of the cases in early withdrawal penalty exceptions.
- Missed withdrawals: 25 percent excise tax on the shortfall, 10 percent if corrected within the correction window.
The retirement savings calculator shows how an inherited sum fits a longer plan, and estate tax exemption 2026 covers the estate side.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?
For IRA owners who died after 2019, most individual beneficiaries who are not eligible designated beneficiaries must empty the account by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the owner's death, per IRS Publication 590-B. An owner who died in 2025 means a deadline of December 31, 2035.
Do I have to take yearly withdrawals within the 10 years?
It depends on whether the owner had reached their required beginning date. If they died before it, no distribution is required before the 10th year. If they died on or after it, a designated beneficiary takes yearly required minimum distributions based on the longer of their own life expectancy or the owner's, and the account still has to be empty by the end of the 10th year.
Who is an eligible designated beneficiary?
The owner's surviving spouse, the owner's minor child, a disabled individual, a chronically ill individual, or any other individual who is not more than 10 years younger than the IRA owner, according to Publication 590-B. They can generally stretch payments over their life expectancy instead of following the 10-year rule.
Are inherited IRA withdrawals taxed?
Taxable distributions from an inherited traditional IRA count in the beneficiary's gross income. The 10 percent additional tax on early distributions does not apply to distributions to a beneficiary after the owner's death. For an inherited Roth IRA, tax depends on whether a distribution is a qualified distribution.
What happens if I miss an inherited IRA withdrawal?
The amount not withdrawn as required may be subject to a 25 percent excise tax, reduced to 10 percent if it is corrected within the correction window, per the IRS.
Sources
- IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements: What if you inherit an IRA, spouse options, eligible designated beneficiaries, owner died on or after or before the required beginning date, the 5-year and 10-year rules, life expectancy payments, Roth IRA distributions after the owner's death, the 25% and 10% excise tax, and Table I (Single Life Expectancy) in Appendix B
- IRS: Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs (the 10-year rule for owners who die after December 31, 2019, its exceptions, the 5-year rule for earlier deaths, Roth beneficiaries, the 25% and 10% excise tax)
General information based on the sources above, not tax, legal or financial advice.