He Turns 73 in June and Won’t Take a Dollar From the IRA This Year. Waiting Until April Is Allowed, and the Decision Is Harder Than the Deadline Makes It Look

He turns 73 in June and would rather leave his IRA alone through December, and while the rules allow that, they don’t tell him whether waiting costs less. The answer usually depends on a Medicare bill that arrives two years after the tax return that triggers it.

A Quick Refresher on the April 1 Option

Required minimum distributions, or RMDs, are annual withdrawals the IRS requires from traditional IRAs and most workplace plans. Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, they begin at age 73. The first one can wait until April 1 of the following year, but the second RMD is still due by December 31 of that same year. If he postpones, both taxable withdrawals land in one year.

Compare Total Tax Over Both Years

Postponing moves income from one year to the next. The useful comparison is total tax across both years under each path. Each year needs four inputs. These are other taxable income (pension, Social Security, wages, interest), any one-time income such as a home sale or severance, the bracket lines each path crosses, and the standard deduction.

For 2026, a single filer’s 22% bracket applies to income over $50,400, and the 24% bracket starts above $105,700. For joint filers, those lines are $100,800 and $211,400. The standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for joint filers. If stacking pushes part of his income from 22% into 24%, the extra tax on that part is what waiting costs.

Medicare’s Income Cliffs Usually Decide It

Medicare adds an income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA, to premiums of higher-income beneficiaries. It’s a surcharge on Part B (doctor and outpatient care) and Part D (drug coverage). It’s based on modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, which Social Security defines as adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest. Every dollar of an RMD counts.

Medicare looks back two years: the 2026 surcharge is set from 2024 tax returns. The stacked year’s income doesn’t hit a premium bill until two years later, well after you file your tax return.

For 2026, the surcharge starts when MAGI goes above $109,000 for individual filers or $218,000 for joint filers, according to CMS. The first level adds $81.20 a month to Part B, raising it from the $202.90 standard premium to $284.10, plus $14.50 a month for Part D. The next level starts above $137,000 for single filers or $274,000 for joint filers.

Each level works like a cliff. Going one dollar over a line brings the full surcharge for that level for the whole year. A single filer whose stacked-year MAGI ends up $1 above the first line faces Part B and Part D add-ons of $1,148.40 for the year. A married couple who both have Medicare and cross the joint line pay $2,296.80 combined. A deferral that saved a few hundred dollars in tax can cost more than that two years later.

Three Side Effects Worth Checking

• Social Security: Up to 85% of benefits can become taxable once income passes base amounts of $25,000 single or $32,000 joint.
• Medical deductions: Itemizers can deduct only medical costs above 7.5% of AGI.
• State tax: Some states exempt retirement income, and others tax it, which can change the math year to year.

When Waiting Until April Comes Out Ahead

Postpones wins when the first year has income that won’t repeat, such as a property sale or severance pay, and it also wins when he stops working partway through the second year, so his wages drop as the double distribution comes. A third case is a known drop into a lower bracket, such as a spouse’s paycheck ending.

When Taking It This Year Is the Safer Choice

Taking the first RMD this year is the more common answer. It fits when income is steady across both years. It also fits when MAGI is already close to an IRMAA line, or when he can’t forecast next year well enough to risk two distributions landing in it. The deeper problem is that a large pre-tax balance eventually becomes a large taxable withdrawal. We mapped out this issue in a free guide to defusing the first-year RMD tax bill before it comes.

Roth Conversions Get Squeezed in the Stacked Year

RMDs can’t be rolled over or converted to a Roth IRA under Treasury Regulation §1.408-8. The required amount must come out first, and only the excess can be converted, so in a stacked year, both RMDs come out before any conversion, leaving less room to convert.

Mechanics and Penalties

If he has several IRAs, he can add up their RMDs and take the total from any one or more of them. You must take RMDs from each 401(k) and similar employer plan separately. A missed RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10% if corrected within 2 years.

Run This Comparison Before December 31

Before year-end, he should project MAGI for both years under each path: take the first RMD now, or wait. He should add up federal and state tax across both years, then compare each year’s MAGI with the IRMAA table, starting at $109,000 single or $218,000 joint. If waiting pushes the stacked year over a line that taking it now would avoid, the deferral has to save more in tax than the surcharge he’ll pay two years later.

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