Who sends it: Your IRA company or retirement plan, usually early in each year a withdrawal is required.
What this letter is
A required minimum distribution, or RMD, is the smallest amount you must withdraw each year from traditional IRAs and most workplace retirement plans once you reach the starting age. The withdrawal is usually taxed as income.
IRA companies must remind you each year, usually by January 31, that a withdrawal is due. They either tell you the amount or offer to figure it for you. You are still the one responsible for taking the right amount on time.
When RMDs start
Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the owner is alive, and starting with 2024 neither do Roth accounts inside a 401(k) or 403(b). Inherited accounts follow different rules, so ask the account company or a tax preparer.
- Born 1951 through 1959: RMDs start at age 73.
- Born 1960 or later: RMDs start at age 75.
- Born before 1951: you reached your starting age under earlier rules, so you take one every year.
The deadlines
- Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach your starting age.
- Every RMD after that is due by December 31 of each year.
- If you wait until April 1 for the first one, you take two in that same year, which can raise your taxes that year.
- If you still work and are in your employer's plan, you may be able to wait until you retire to take RMDs from that plan, unless you are a 5% owner of the business. This does not apply to IRAs.
What to do
- Check the amount in the letter, or ask the company to figure it.
- Decide which account to take it from. If you have more than one traditional IRA, you can add up their RMDs and take the total from one or more of them. Workplace plans like 401(k)s generally each need their own withdrawal.
- Decide how much tax to have withheld.
- Ask for the withdrawal well before the deadline, so the company has time to process it.
- Keep the confirmation with your tax papers. The withdrawal will show on a Form 1099-R.
If you miss one
There is an excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have taken. It drops to 10% if you fix it in time, generally within two years. You can also ask the IRS to waive it for a reasonable error by taking the missed amount and filing Form 5329 with an explanation. A tax preparer can help with this.
How to tell a real one from a fake
A real RMD letter comes from the company that already holds your account, and matches what you see when you sign in by typing their website yourself. Nobody legitimate needs you to move your RMD into a new safe account, buy gold, or pay a fee to release it. If a caller pushes an investment for your RMD, hang up and call the number on your statement.
Have one in front of you?
Take a clear photo and text it to Uncle at +1 208 214 0093. He tells you in plain words what it says, what it wants from you, and anything that looks wrong. How to take a clear photo.
This page explains what this kind of letter usually means. Your letter is the final word on your dates and amounts. For a decision about taxes, health coverage or a legal matter, call the office that sent it, using the number on its official website, or ask a professional you trust.
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Written by the Textuncle team. Last updated October 3, 2026.
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