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Inherited an IRA? The ten-year rule, plainly
Most people who inherit an IRA now have ten years to empty it. When you take the money matters more than most people think.
Written by
Dev Reddy
If you inherited an IRA from someone other than your spouse after 2019, the account usually has to be emptied by the end of the tenth year after their death. In many cases you must also take something every year along the way.
That sounds simple, but the timing changes the tax you pay. Ten equal withdrawals are rarely the best answer. Low-income years, retirement, a move to a lower-tax state: each can make a year a better or worse time to take more.
Dev builds a ten-year schedule for every inherited account we look after, and updates it when your life changes. If someone has recently left you an account, start by doing nothing, and call us before you move it.
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