Required distributions for beneficiaries under the final 2024 regulations
Updated October 2026
| Beneficiary | Payout rule | Annual RMDs? |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Treat the IRA as your own, or keep it inherited and stretch over your life expectancy (recalculated each year) | Yes as a beneficiary; as owner, from your own RMD age |
| Other eligible designated beneficiary: minor child of the owner, disabled or chronically ill person, or anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner | Stretch over life expectancy; may elect the 10-year rule if the owner died before the required beginning date | Yes (a minor child switches to a 10-year deadline at 21) |
| Designated beneficiary who is not eligible (most adult children, grandchildren, friends) | 10-year rule: empty by Dec 31 of the 10th year after death | Only if the owner died on or after the required beginning date |
| Not an individual (estate, charity, most non-see-through trusts) | 5-year rule if the owner died before the required beginning date; owner’s remaining life expectancy if after | Only in the second case |
The owner’s required beginning date is April 1 of the year after they reach their RMD age (73 for people born 1951 to 1959). The beneficiary is fixed on September 30 of the year after the death, so disclaimers and cash-outs before then can change which rule applies.
RMD = account balance on December 31 of last year ÷ divisor from the Single Life Table (Table I of Pub. 590-B, the table in Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-9(b)).
The calculator reproduces both Pub. 590-B examples: an eligible beneficiary who is 57 in the first distribution year uses 29.8; a beneficiary whose father died in 2021 and who was 55 in 2022 uses 27.6 for 2026 (31.6 − 4).
Illustration only: it assumes the account earns 5% a year after each withdrawal. It starts from the $300,000 balance on December 31, 2025 (the 2025 RMD of 36.2 was already taken); the last year takes everything that is left.
| Year | Divisor | Balance on Dec 31 of prior year | Minimum withdrawal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35.2 | $300,000 | $8,523 |
| 2027 | 34.2 | $306,051 | $8,949 |
| 2028 | 33.2 | $311,957 | $9,396 |
| 2029 | 32.2 | $317,689 | $9,866 |
| 2030 | 31.2 | $323,214 | $10,359 |
| 2031 | 30.2 | $328,497 | $10,877 |
| 2032 | 29.2 | $333,501 | $11,421 |
| 2033 | 28.2 | $338,184 | $11,992 |
| 2034 | n/a (final year) | $342,501 | $342,501 |
Taking only the minimum leaves most of the money for year 10, which can push that year’s income into a much higher bracket. Many heirs spread withdrawals more evenly; anything above the minimum is allowed but does not count toward later years.
Each starts from a $300,000 balance on December 31, 2025.
| Beneficiary | 2026 divisor | 2026 RMD | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult child, 50, inherits $300,000 from a parent who died in 2024 at 78 (default; 2026 RMD) | 35.2 | $8,522.73 | Dec 31, 2034 |
| Same child, parent died in 2024 at 60 (before RMDs began) | none | $0 | Dec 31, 2034 |
| Surviving spouse, 70 in 2025, owner died 2024 at 75, keeps it as inherited | 18.0 | $16,666.67 | Life expectancy |
| Disabled beneficiary, 40 in 2025, owner died 2024 at 75 | 44.7 | $6,711.41 | Life expectancy |
| Minor child, 12 in 2025, owner died 2024 at 45 | 71.9 | $4,172.46 | Life expectancy |
| Estate as beneficiary, owner died 2024 at 68 | none | $0 | Dec 31, 2029 |
| Brother 3 years younger (eligible), 75 in 2025, owner died 2024 at 77 | 13.8 | $21,739.13 | Life expectancy |
It handles one beneficiary per account. Multiple beneficiaries who did not split the account by the end of the year after death, trusts, successor beneficiaries, inherited 401(k) plans with their own terms, the spouse election to be treated as the deceased owner, and owners who died before 2022 with the earlier tables (except the reset shown above) are not modeled. Taxes on the withdrawals are not estimated. For an estate or trust beneficiary, or a large account, an estate attorney or CPA familiar with the 2024 regulations should confirm the schedule.