Since the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries fall under a 10-year rule — the account must be emptied within 10 years — and, per finalized regulations, annual distributions can also be required during that window, not only a lump sum at the end.
How it works
When the original owner had already reached their required beginning date, an annual RMD is required during the 10-year window, computed the same way an owner’s own RMD is: account balance divided by a life expectancy factor from the IRS’s Single Life Expectancy Table.
What this does not include
This calculator models the annual-RMD-during-the-10-years case for a non-spouse beneficiary whose original owner had reached their required beginning date — it doesn’t model the spousal exception, minor-child exception, or disabled/chronically-ill beneficiary exception, each of which follows different rules.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the inherited account’s prior year-end balance and your life expectancy factor from the IRS table.
Frequently asked questions
Do all beneficiaries face the 10-year rule?
No — per the IRS source, a surviving spouse, a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner are exceptions with different rules.
What if the original owner hadn’t reached their required beginning date?
Then no annual RMD is required during the 10-year window — only the full balance must be distributed by the end of year 10, a lump-sum-timing case this calculator doesn’t compute.
What happens if the annual RMD is missed?
Missed RMDs can trigger an IRS excise tax penalty on the amount not distributed — the IRS has offered relief in various years for the 10-year-rule annual RMD requirement specifically, so current guidance should be checked.
