How Much Will a 73-Year-Old With $2.4 Million in an IRA Have to Withdraw in 2026?

A 73-year-old with $2.4 million in a traditional IRA owes a first required minimum distribution (RMD) of about $90,566 for 2026. The bigger choice is when to take it. Dec. 31 is seven weeks away, and the IRS lets a first-year RMD wait until April 1, 2027. Waiting comes with a catch: two taxable withdrawals land in one tax year, and that can push up both the federal tax bill and future Medicare premiums.

Below is the math for a hypothetical married couple filing jointly. One spouse is 73 and the other is 70. The older spouse has the IRA, which held $2.4 million on Dec. 31, 2025. Households like this one control a large share of U.S. wealth. Americans age 70 and older held 33.6% of household-sector net worth in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve.

How the 2026 RMD Is Calculated

The spouse is only three years younger, so the couple can’t use the Joint Life and Last Survivor table. That table is only for an IRA owner whose spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger. They use Table III (Uniform Lifetime) in IRS Publication 590-B instead, where the factor for age 73 is 26.5.

• Balance on Dec. 31, 2025: $2,400,000
• Table III factor at age 73: 26.5
• 2026 RMD: $90,566

If the older spouse has more than one traditional IRA, each account’s RMD is figured separately. The total can then be take from any one of them or split across several. The RMD sets a minimum. Taking more doesn’t earn a credit toward future years, because Publication 590-B says you won’t receive credit for the additional amount.

April 1 Deadline Creates a Two-RMD Year

Because this is the first RMD, it can wait until April 1 of the year following the year the owner turns 73. Every RMD after that is due by Dec. 31. If the couple waits until April 2027, the 2027 RMD is still due by Dec. 31, 2027. That puts both withdrawals in tax year 2027.

The 2027 amount is based on the Dec. 31, 2026 balance and the age-74 factor of 25.5. This example assumes the balance stays at $2.4 million, which gives a 2027 RMD of $94,118. Both withdrawals together come to $184,684 of ordinary income in a single year.

Federal Tax Cost of Doubling Up

To keep the comparison clean, the figures below assume the RMDs are the couple’s only income. They use the tax year 2026 married-filing-jointly schedule for both years: a $32,200 standard deduction, 10% on taxable income up to $24,800, 12% up to $100,800, and 22% above that up to $211,400. The extra standard deduction for people 65 and older and the senior deduction from the One Big Beautiful Bill are left out. Both would lower these numbers.

Taking the two RMDs in separate years keeps every dollar in the 10% and 12% brackets. Combining them pushes about $52,000 into the 22% bracket, and the extra federal tax comes to roughly $9,528. Real households also have Social Security, interest and dividends on top of the RMD, so the doubled year would climb higher in the brackets (we walked through how a large pre-tax balance becomes a first-year tax hit, and how to defuse it years early, in a free guide here).

IRMAA Exposure Arrives 2 Years Later

Social Security decides Medicare surcharges using the most recent federal tax return the IRS provides, which usually means the return from two years earlier. That makes 2027 income the likely basis for 2029 premiums. Brackets for future years haven’t been set, so the 2026 brackets serve as a yardstick. In 2026, joint filers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) above $218,000 pay more than the standard Part B premium of $202.90.

• RMDs in separate years: A single $90,566 RMD leaves $127,434 of other income before MAGI reaches the 2026 threshold.
• Two RMDs in one year: $184,684 leaves only $33,316. Social Security and portfolio income could use that up.

Crossing into the first 2026 tier adds $81.20 a month to Part B and $14.50 a month to Part D. Each spouse on Medicare pays it, so the couple would owe about $2,296.80 more for the year. The next tier begins above $274,000 and raises the Part B surcharge to $202.90 a month.

Social Security Taxes Rise With RMD Income

The RMD also counts toward the income test for taxing Social Security. For joint filers, benefits start to become taxable above a base amount of $32,000. Up to 85% of benefits can be taxed once half of benefits plus all other income exceeds $44,000. These thresholds aren’t adjusted for inflation. A $90,566 RMD alone puts this couple far above the top threshold, so either timing choice likely leaves them in the 85% zone. The extra cost of doubling up shows up mainly in the bracket and IRMAA math above.

4 Ways to Change These Numbers

1. Take the First RMD by Dec. 31, 2026

This splits the income across two tax years and keeps each year’s MAGI lower. In exchange, the couple pays tax on the 2026 RMD about a year sooner.

2. Wait Until April 1, 2027

The tax is pushed back a year, but tax year 2027 includes both withdrawals and higher IRMAA risk. This choice can make sense if 2026 income is unusually high, for example because of a large capital gain or a final year of salary.

3. Give Through Qualified Charitable Distributions

If the couple already gives to charity, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends IRA money straight from the custodian to a charity. The amount stays out of income, and the owner must be at least age 70½. A QCD will count towards your required minimum distribution. The tax year 2025 limit was $108,000 per person, indexed for inflation from a statutory base of $100,000. At that level, the whole $90,566 RMD could go to charity, which would lower the AGI that drives tax brackets, Social Security taxation and IRMAA. The younger spouse can make QCDs from their own IRA after reaching 70½.

4. Set Withholding on Purpose

IRA custodians withhold 10% from nonperiodic distributions unless the owner elects not to have tax withheld. On the 2026 RMD, the default comes to $9,056.60. The owner can also ask for a higher rate. Withholding from a late-year RMD can cover a shortfall in estimated payments, because the IRS treats withholding as paid evenly through the year.

Cost of Missing the Deadline

Any RMD amount not withdrawn on time faces an excise tax of 25% of the shortfall. Skipping the entire 2026 RMD would cost $22,641.50. The tax drops to 10% for taxpayers who meet extra correction requirements.

Retirees who are a few years from age 73 have one more option: Roth conversions before RMDs begin reduce the balance that future RMDs are based on. For a couple facing a first RMD now, the near-term choices are December versus April, QCDs and withholding. Running each option against the couple’s full income picture shows which tax year can take in the withdrawal best.

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