Federal tax law gives retired couples a specific dollar amount they can pull from traditional IRAs each year without owing any federal income tax. For 2026, that number comes to roughly $47,500 for a married couple where both spouses are 65 or older.
Back in 2025, the figure was $46,700, and it has since climbed thanks to inflation adjustments and the OBBB senior deduction stacking on top. Most retirees leave that space unused, and they end up paying tax later on withdrawals that could have been zero.
Where the Number Comes From
The math stacks in layers. The 2026 standard deduction for married filing jointly is $32,200. Add the additional standard deduction of $1,650 per spouse for taxpayers 65 and older, for a total of $3,300 for a couple.
Then layer the temporary senior deduction created by the One Big Beautiful Bill: $6,000 per qualifying individual age 65 or older, in effect from 2025 through 2028. Two seniors capture $12,000. The combined shield reaches roughly $47,500 of ordinary income before the 10% bracket even starts.
The OBBB senior deduction phases out at higher income levels, with the reduction beginning at $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income for joint filers and fully disappearing at $250,000.
For a couple relying on Social Security and modest IRA withdrawals, the phase-out rarely applies. Ordinary income up to the combined deduction total, including traditional IRA distributions, is subject to a 0% federal rate.
Why Most Retirees Leave the Space Unused
The reason ties to the sequence of retirement income. Social Security typically starts between ages 62 and 70. Pensions are still common in this cohort. Required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s do not begin until age 73. Between roughly ages 65 and 72, many households reach their lowest taxable income in decades. That window is when the deductions do their most work, and many households leave those years untouched, waiting for RMDs to force their hand.
Once RMDs kick in, they have a compounding effect. A $1.5 million traditional IRA at age 73 produces a first-year RMD of roughly $56,600, and that gets layered right on top of Social Security and any pension income.
A couple that used the tax-free window from 65 to 72 to draw down the pretax balance or convert pieces to a Roth IRA ends up facing smaller RMDs and a lower lifetime tax bill. A couple that did nothing, by contrast, ends up paying 12%, 22%, or even higher on distributions that could have moved out at 0%.
The Social Security Wrinkle
Social Security benefits complicate the tax math because a portion of benefits becomes taxable once combined income exceeds certain thresholds, with up to 85% of benefits taxable at higher income levels.
Retirees stacking a large IRA withdrawal on top of Social Security may push more of the benefit into the taxable column, which shrinks the effective tax-free space. The 2026 Social Security COLA of 2.8% added to benefit amounts across the board, further tightening the room for couples at the margin.
What the Space Actually Covers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports average annual expenditures of $78,535 in 2024. A retired couple pulling $47,500 tax-free from IRAs, combined with Social Security and any pension income, can cover a large share of typical household spending without dipping into the 12% bracket. Inflation cuts the other way.
Headline PCE inflation ran 3.7% year over year in June 2026, and services inflation, which hits retirees hardest through healthcare and housing, held at 3.7%. The tax-free space shrinks in real terms every year it goes unused.
How the Window Gets Used
Two strategies fit inside the deduction ceiling. The first is a direct withdrawal from a traditional IRA up to roughly $47,500 in ordinary income for couples both 65 or older in 2026. Everything under that line arrives without federal income tax, though state tax rules vary. The second is a Roth conversion of the same size, moving pretax dollars into a Roth IRA and paying $0 in federal tax on the conversion, with future growth compounding tax-free.
Before pulling either lever, it pays to model how Social Security interacts with the withdrawal. One large distribution can push benefits into taxable territory and quietly eat away at that tax-free space.
The window closes on two different schedules. Age 73 is when RMDs remove the choice entirely, and 2029 is when the OBBB senior deduction is set to expire unless Congress steps in to extend it. From now until then, the space remains available. Whether it actually gets used depends on each household’s specific situation.
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