Roth IRA Required Minimum Distributions: When You Must Withdraw

Roth IRAs do not require you to take withdrawals during your lifetime

A Roth IRA has no required minimum distribution (RMD) while you are alive. You can leave the money in the account for as long as you want, withdraw it whenever you choose, or never touch it at all. This is one of the defining features that separates a Roth IRA from a traditional IRA, which does require withdrawals starting at age 73 (as of 2023).

The absence of an RMD during your lifetime means you have complete control over when and how much you take out. You can let the account grow tax-free for decades without any penalty for not withdrawing. This flexibility is especially valuable if you do not need the money when ready or if you want to leave the account to your heirs.

Key Takeaways

• You are never required to withdraw from your own Roth IRA while you are alive, regardless of your age.
• Your beneficiaries who inherit a Roth IRA after your death must follow new withdrawal rules that depend on their relationship to you and when you died.
• Non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited a Roth IRA after 2019 must empty the account within ten years, though they can withdraw at any pace during that period.
• Spouse beneficiaries can treat an inherited Roth IRA as their own, which means they also have no RMD requirement during their lifetime.

What happens to a Roth IRA after you die

The RMD rules change once the account passes to your beneficiaries. The rules depend on who inherits the account and when you died. The IRS treats spouse beneficiaries differently from non-spouse beneficiaries, and the rules shifted in 2020 with the find Act.

If your spouse inherits your Roth IRA, they can treat it as their own account. This means they also have no RMD requirement during their lifetime. They can leave the money untouched for as long as they want, just as you could.

If a non-spouse beneficiary (such as an adult child, sibling, or friend) inherited your Roth IRA after 2019, they must withdraw all the money within ten years of your death. They can take the money out in any amounts and at any pace during those ten years — they just cannot leave anything in the account after the important date passes. If they do not empty it by the important date, they owe a 25 percent penalty on the amount still remaining (reduced to 10 percent if they correct it within two years).

Non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited before 2020

If you inherited a Roth IRA from someone who died before January 1, 2020, the rules are different. You must take a required minimum distribution each year, calculated using IRS life expectancy tables. The calculation is the same as for a traditional IRA: divide the account balance on December 31 of the prior year by your life expectancy factor.

You must take your first RMD by December 31 of the year after the original account owner died. After that, you take one each year for the rest of your life. If you do not take the full RMD in any year, you owe a 25 percent penalty on the shortfall (or 10 percent if you correct it within two years).

The advantage of inheriting a Roth IRA under the old rules is that the withdrawals themselves are tax-free, even though you are required to take them. With a traditional IRA inherited under the same rules, the withdrawals are taxable income.

How to calculate and track your beneficiary RMD

If you are a non-spouse beneficiary of a Roth IRA that the original owner inherited before 2020, your financial institution should send you an RMD notice each year showing the amount you must withdraw. The notice will include the account balance as of December 31 of the prior year and the life expectancy factor the IRS provides for your age.

You can request the calculation from your IRA custodian if you do not receive a notice, or you can calculate it yourself using IRS Publication 590-B. Divide the prior year-end balance by the life expectancy factor for your age in the year you must take the distribution. The result is your RMD for that year.

You must withdraw at least this amount by December 31 each year. You can withdraw more without penalty. Any amount you withdraw is tax-free because it came from a Roth IRA, but you still must take the full RMD or face the penalty.

Inherited Roth IRAs and the ten-year rule

If you inherited a Roth IRA from someone who died in 2020 or later, and you are not their spouse, the ten-year rule applies to you. You have ten years from the date of death to withdraw all the money. You do not have to take a specific amount each year — you can take nothing one year and everything the next year, as long as the account is empty by the important date.

The ten-year important date is December 31 of the tenth year after the original owner's death. For example, if the original owner died on June 15, 2023, you must empty the account by December 31, 2033. Any money still in the account on January 1, 2034 is subject to a 25 percent penalty (10 percent if corrected within two years).

Because the withdrawals are from a Roth IRA, they are tax-free. This makes the ten-year rule more favorable than the same rule would be for a traditional IRA, where withdrawals are taxable income.

Roth conversions and RMD rules

If you converted money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, the conversion itself does not create an RMD requirement. You still have no RMD during your lifetime. However, if you still own a traditional IRA (separate from the Roth), you must take an RMD from the traditional IRA starting at age 73.

The RMD from a traditional IRA can be satisfied by withdrawing from either the traditional IRA or a Roth IRA, but the Roth IRA itself has no RMD. This means you could take your traditional IRA RMD from your Roth IRA if you wanted to, though most people withdraw from the traditional IRA directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withdraw from my Roth IRA without paying a penalty?

You can withdraw your contributions (the money you put in) at any time without penalty or tax. Withdrawals of earnings are tax-free and penalty-free if you are age 59½ and have owned the Roth IRA for at least five years. Before age 59½, earnings withdrawals are subject to income tax and a 10 percent penalty, with some exceptions for disability, medical expenses, or first-time home purchase.

What if I inherit a Roth IRA from my parent?

If your parent died in 2020 or later, you must withdraw all the money within ten years. You can take it out in any amounts during that time. If your parent died before 2020, you must take a required minimum distribution each year for your lifetime. Either way, the withdrawals are tax-free because they come from a Roth IRA.

Do I have to withdraw from my Roth IRA at age 73?

No. You have no age-based withdrawal requirement from your own Roth IRA. You can leave the money in the account for your entire life. This is different from a traditional IRA, which requires withdrawals starting at age 73.

What happens if my beneficiary misses the ten-year important date?

Any money remaining in the account after the ten-year important date is subject to a 25 percent penalty on the amount not withdrawn. The penalty is reduced to 10 percent if the account is corrected within two years. The beneficiary should contact their IRA custodian when ready if they miss the important date.