Inherited IRA Rules for Beginners: What to Know When You're Under 50

You're right about the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs from non-spouse beneficiaries. Since the SECURE Act passed, most non-spouse beneficiaries (like you) must empty inherited retirement accounts by the end of the 10th year following the year of death. For your specific questions: You don't need to take a distribution immediately when you roll it over to an inherited IRA. You have flexibility in how you withdraw the money during that 10-year period. You can take uneven distributions, skip years entirely, or even wait until year 10 to take it all out in one lump sum - as long as the account is completely emptied by the deadline. And yes, you can absolutely deplete it faster than 10 years if that makes more sense for your situation. Some people spread it out to manage the tax impact, while others prefer to take it all at once. The fact that you just discovered the account doesn't change your 10-year timeframe - it still runs from your uncle's date of death. However, since he passed at 76, you should verify if he was already taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). If he was, you'll need to continue taking those annually IN ADDITION to emptying the account within 10 years.

I went through this exact situation last year when my mom passed away and left me her IRA. The paperwork was overwhelming until I found https://taxr.ai which literally saved me thousands in potential mistakes. I uploaded my inheritance documents and the service analyzed everything, telling me exactly what distributions I needed to take, when to take them, and how to minimize my tax burden. It even flagged that my mom hadn't taken her RMD for the year she died, which I would have completely missed. The system creates a customized withdrawal plan that shows you year-by-year what to take out based on your tax situation. Way better than the generic advice I was getting that didn't account for my specific circumstances.

I have to eat my words about taxr.ai. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it with my mother's inherited IRA that I've been stressing about for months. The analysis showed me I was about to make a massive mistake with the distribution schedule. I was planning to wait until year 10 to withdraw everything, but the system flagged that my mother had already started RMDs, meaning I needed to continue taking annual distributions while ALSO emptying the account in 10 years. It generated a year-by-year withdrawal plan that minimizes my tax hit over the decade instead of getting slammed in one year. Honestly wish I'd found this months ago before all the stress and confusion.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about your inherited IRA, you might want to call the IRS directly. I know, sounds like torture right? I was trying for WEEKS to get someone on the phone about my inherited IRA situation. Then I found https://claimyr.com which basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to pick up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had complex questions about my inherited IRA that weren't covered in any of the general advice articles, especially since the rules changed so much recently. Got through to an IRS rep in about 30 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I spent on previous attempts (most ending in hangups). The agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed and confirmed my understanding of the distribution requirements.

I need to publicly apologize for my skeptical comment about Claimyr. After posting that, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to someone about my inherited IRA questions. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I put my number in around 1pm, went about my day, and got a call about 45 minutes later connecting me directly to an IRS agent. No hold time on my end whatsoever. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to know about my specific situation with distributions from my dad's IRA. Turns out I had misunderstood several key requirements that could have resulted in penalties. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind alone.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - you should check if the inherited IRA is Traditional or Roth, because it makes a HUGE difference in how you handle it tax-wise. If it's a Traditional IRA, all distributions will be taxed as ordinary income when you withdraw. If it's a Roth IRA that was established more than 5 years before your uncle's death, distributions can be completely tax-free!

Just a warning from someone who went through this - if your uncle passed away 14 months ago and was already required to take RMDs, make sure you check if he took his final year's RMD before passing. If not, you might need to take that RMD and pay any penalties. Also, don't forget that any Traditional IRA withdrawals count as income and might affect things like your eligibility for certain tax credits or even Medicare premiums if you're close to retirement age yourself.