Delay Your First RMD and the IRS Makes You Take Two in One Year. These 3 ETFs Keep the Tax Hit From Compounding
Taking your first RMD in April instead of December feels like a win until the IRS hands you the bill for two distributions on the same tax return, and most retirees never see the second deadline coming until it is…
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You turned 73 last year, looked at your traditional IRA balance, and decided to push your first Required Minimum Distribution to the April 1 deadline instead of taking it by December 31. Smart in theory. The problem: that April 1 grace period only applies to your first RMD. Your second RMD is still due by December 31 of that same calendar year, so the IRS collects two distributions in one tax year. Your taxable income spikes, your Medicare IRMAA surcharges jump a tier or two, and Social Security taxation climbs with it. Three ETFs can help you build the cash and income runway to absorb that hit without selling growth assets at the wrong moment: Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEARCA:VIG), JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (NYSEARCA:JPST), and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD).
The April 1 Trap in Plain English
Doubling up distributions in one year is the tax equivalent of pouring two years of ordinary income into a single 1040. You cannot undo the doubling once it happens, but you can control what you sell and what generates the cash (we walked through how to defuse that first-year RMD tax bomb years before it lands in a free guide here). The right mix produces income you were going to withdraw anyway, keeps a stable pile of dollars ready for the December check, and lets your long-term equity compound without being forced into a down-market sale.
VIG: Quality Dividend Growth for the Ordinary-Income Year
VIG tracks U.S. companies with a record of raising dividends and screens out the highest-yielding names that often carry balance-sheet stress. The expense ratio is just 0.04%, meaning roughly $9,996 of every $10,000 you invest stays working for you. Fund assets stood at about $124.7 billion as of April 30, 2026, so liquidity is not a concern when you need to trim.
VIG pays quarterly, with a trailing 12-month distribution of $3.5813 per share and an annualized forward rate of $3.9952. Shares closed at $245 on August 19, 2026, with a 12.39% year-to-date total return and 245% over ten years. Rising dividends give you a growing cash stream to earmark for the ordinary-income bucket, which is exactly where your RMDs land.
JPST: The December Check-Writer
JPST holds ultra-short investment-grade corporate debt, asset-backed paper, and money-market-style instruments. Recent holdings include Capital One Financial, Athene Global Funding, AbbVie, and Caterpillar Financial Services. Fund assets total roughly $38.4 billion.
Volatility is minimal. JPST returned 2.25% year to date and 3.98% over the past year, with a share price hugging $50.52. Distributions arrive monthly: the August 3, 2026 payment was $0.16957 per share, with a trailing 12-month total of $2.11451. That yield tracks the front-end Treasury curve, where the 13-week bill yield averaged 3.80% and the 52-week averaged 3.98% on August 19, 2026. Park the dollars you know you owe the IRS here, and you will not lose sleep over a bad Tuesday in the equity market.
SCHD: Higher Current Yield to Feed the Bucket
SCHD screens for U.S. companies with strong cash-flow return on invested capital and consistent dividends. Top positions include QUALCOMM at 6.74%, Texas Instruments at 5.90%, UnitedHealth at 5.09%, plus Coca-Cola, Merck, Chevron, Verizon, and Procter & Gamble. Net assets stood at roughly $94.9 billion as of May 31, 2026.
SCHD pays quarterly, with a trailing 12-month distribution of $1.048. Shares closed at $35.09 on August 19, 2026, up 29.99% year to date and 244.7% over ten years. In a double-RMD year, that higher current payout gives you more cash to redirect toward the tax bill without touching principal.
The Trade-Off
None of this eliminates the tax hit. Two RMDs still hit one Form 1040, and the ordinary-income rate on those distributions does not care how efficiently the cash was raised. VIG and SCHD are equity funds, so their prices can drop the week you need to sell. JPST holds credit risk and its yield will fall if the Fed cuts. What this trio does is give you options: a growing dividend stream from VIG, a stable dollar bucket from JPST that mirrors T-bill yields, and a higher current payout from SCHD. Used together, you fund the surprise second distribution without liquidating your best long-term compounders at a bad price.
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Ryne Mauck is an investment writer covering exchange-traded funds, retirement planning, and portfolio strategy. Through his work at 24/7 Wall St. and other investment platforms, including Seeking Alpha, he aims to provide clear, research-driven insights that help investors make more informed decisions while maintaining a long-term approach to investing.
Ryne holds a B.Sc. in Finance and an M.A. in Political Science. He is a formerly registered Municipal Advisor Representative and has passed the Series 50, Series 63, and Series 65 exams. His articles are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, financial advice.
