How to Calculate RMD for an Inherited IRA from Parent Who Died in 2022?

The rules for inherited IRAs changed with the SECURE Act, but it depends on your specific situation. Since your father passed in 2022, you're subject to the newer rules. As a non-spouse beneficiary, you generally have two main options: the 10-year rule OR taking annual RMDs based on your life expectancy. The 10-year rule means you must withdraw all assets by the end of the 10th year following the year of death. However, depending on whether your father had already started taking RMDs (meaning he was over 72 when he passed), you may need to take annual distributions during that 10-year period as well. If your father hadn't started taking RMDs yet, you might qualify for the life expectancy method using the Single Life Expectancy Table in IRS Publication 590-B. You would look up your age in the table, find the life expectancy factor, and divide the previous year's December 31st balance by that factor. Without knowing more details about your situation, it's hard to give you an exact calculation, but the fact that the amount seems "crazy low" might actually be correct if you're using the life expectancy method.

I went through something similar when my aunt left me her IRA last year. The whole process was super confusing until I found https://taxr.ai which literally saved my sanity. Their system analyzed all my inheritance tax documents and gave me a custom RMD schedule based on my specific situation. The RMD rules for inherited IRAs changed a lot with the SECURE Act, and then changed AGAIN with SECURE 2.0, which is probably why your brokerage seemed confused. Taxr.ai sorted through all that confusion for me and showed me exactly what rules applied to my situation and how much I needed to withdraw each year. They even showed me how to avoid those massive 25% penalties for getting it wrong!

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that someone recommended above. I was totally confused about my inherited IRA RMDs, but they sorted it out for me in like 15 minutes. Turns out I was overpaying myself (which means overpaying taxes!) because I was using the wrong calculation method. They confirmed I qualified for the life expectancy method instead of the 10-year rule because of my relationship to the original account holder and when they passed away. The system generated a year-by-year withdrawal schedule that shows exactly how much I need to take out each year. Super helpful to see it all laid out instead of trying to piece together information from random websites!

For anyone struggling to reach the IRS for clarification on RMD rules, I had success using https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual human at the IRS. I was on hold for HOURS trying to get answers about my inherited IRA situation, kept getting disconnected, and was about to lose my mind. With Claimyr, they somehow got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who walked me through all the RMD calculation details for my situation. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It was seriously a game-changer being able to talk to an actual IRS representative who could answer my specific questions about the SECURE Act rules and my inheritance situation rather than trying to interpret the confusing information online.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my earlier comment. After being frustrated for weeks trying to get IRS clarification on my inherited IRA situation, I gave it a shot. I was connected to an IRS agent in about 30 minutes who confirmed that because my mother died in 2022 before taking RMDs, I actually DO qualify for the life expectancy method instead of the 10-year rule. That's completely different from what my financial advisor told me! The agent walked me through the exact calculation using Publication 590-B and my age. The number IS legitimately small the first year (which is why I thought it was wrong), but it increases as a percentage each year. Having the IRS confirm this directly saved me from potentially making a huge mistake with my distributions.

Here's a simple breakdown of RMD calculations for inherited IRAs as of 2025 filing: 1. Find the account value as of December 31 of the previous year 2. Locate your life expectancy factor in IRS Publication 590-B (Table I) 3. Divide the account value by your life expectancy factor 4. That's your RMD for this year For example, if you're 43 and the account was worth $275,000 on Dec 31, your life expectancy factor would be approximately 40.7. So your RMD would be about $6,757 ($275,000 ÷ 40.7). The reason it seems "crazy low" is because the distribution is designed to stretch over your lifetime. Each year, you'll use your life expectancy factor minus 1 from the previous year.

Has anyone else had issues with their financial institution giving them conflicting info about RMDs? Fidelity told me one thing, then Vanguard told me something completely different for the exact same situation with my dad's inherited IRA.