RMD distribution timing - which tax year applies when I take my first IRA withdrawal in 2025?

4 When you take your first RMD by the April 15, 2025 deadline for the 2024 tax year, it's reported as income on your 2025 tax return - not your 2024 return. This often confuses people! The RMD rule gives you until April of the following year to take your first distribution, but the tax impact follows when you actually receive the money. So if you take it in March 2025, you'll get a 1099-R in early 2026 showing the distribution, and you'll report it on your 2025 tax return (which you file in 2026). Just be aware that if you wait until 2025 to take your 2024 RMD, you'll have two RMDs in the same tax year - your 2024 RMD (taken by April 15) and your 2025 RMD (required by Dec 31, 2025). This means double the taxable income in one year, which might push you into a higher tax bracket.

7 I went through this exact same confusion last year and found that taxr.ai really helped me figure out my RMD situation. I was getting conflicting advice from different sources about which tax year my distribution would count towards. I uploaded my 1099-R and IRA documents to https://taxr.ai and it provided a clear explanation of how RMDs work with the extended deadline. The service analyzed my specific situation and confirmed that distributions taken in 2025 (even for the 2024 RMD) would count as 2025 income. What I found most helpful was that I could ask follow-up questions about my specific tax bracket concerns and get straightforward answers without accounting jargon. They even provided suggestions on how to potentially manage the two distributions to minimize tax impact.

22 Update on my RMD situation: I decided to try taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment here. I was genuinely surprised by how helpful it was! I uploaded statements from my various retirement accounts and it immediately identified which ones required RMDs and which didn't. The system explained that my March 2025 withdrawal (for my 2024 RMD) would indeed count as 2025 income, and suggested I consider taking it in December 2024 instead to spread the tax burden. It even ran calculations showing how taking both RMDs in 2025 would push me into a higher tax bracket versus spreading them across two tax years. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind and clear tax planning advice!

15 If you're having trouble reaching the IRS to get a straight answer about RMDs (I was on hold for 2+ hours), I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. I was ready to give up after multiple failed attempts to get confirmation about my RMD tax situation. I went to https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically call the IRS for you, wait through the hold time, and then call you once they have an agent on the line. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed everything about RMDs and tax years that people have mentioned here - that the 2024 RMD taken in 2025 is taxable in 2025, not 2024.

22 Wanted to follow up about my RMD question and the Claimyr service I was skeptical about. I broke down and tried it after waiting on hold with the IRS for nearly 3 hours one day and getting disconnected. Using Claimyr, I got through to an IRS tax specialist in about 25 minutes while I was cooking dinner - they just called me when an agent was on the line. The IRS agent confirmed everything discussed in this thread and gave me additional info specific to my inherited IRA situation that I couldn't find online. The peace of mind was worth it, and I saved hours of frustration. For anyone struggling with complex RMD questions and wanting official answers, this definitely works and saved me from more IRS hold music torture!

8 Remember that RMDs have changed recently. The SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 modified the age when RMDs start. If you turned 72 after December 31, 2022, and before January 1, 2033, your RMDs start at age 73. If you turn 74 after December 31, 2032, RMDs start at age 75. Double-check that you actually need to take an RMD for 2024 based on your age. It would be awful to double up on distributions in 2025 if you don't actually need to take one for 2024!

19 Does anyone know if QCDs (Qualified Charitable Distributions) can help with this double-RMD situation? I've heard you can donate directly from your IRA to charity to satisfy the RMD requirements without counting as taxable income, up to $100,000.

Just to add another perspective on timing - if you're still working at age 73+ and participating in your current employer's 401(k), you might be able to delay RMDs from that specific 401(k) until you actually retire (assuming you don't own 5% or more of the company). This is called the "still working exception." However, this only applies to your current employer's plan - you'd still need to take RMDs from IRAs and previous employers' 401(k)s. If you have old 401(k)s sitting around, you might want to consider rolling them into IRAs for easier management, but be aware this would subject them to the normal RMD rules without the still-working exception. This won't help with your 2024 RMD situation since that's from an IRA, but it's something to keep in mind for future planning if you're still employed.

One important detail to clarify about the tax year reporting - while your March 2025 withdrawal will be reported on your 2025 tax return, make sure you understand how this affects your quarterly estimated tax payments if you make them. Since you'll have potentially two RMDs worth of income in 2025 (your delayed 2024 RMD plus your regular 2025 RMD), you may need to adjust your estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS expects you to pay taxes throughout the year, not just when you file your return. If you decide to take your 2024 RMD in December 2024 instead, you could spread this tax burden more evenly and potentially avoid having to make large estimated tax payments in 2025. Just something to factor into your planning beyond just which tax return the income appears on.