Inherited an IRA? The 10-Year Clock Could Reshape Your Family’s Wealth

An inherited retirement account can look like a financial head start. But the balance on the statement is not the same thing as spendable, after-tax wealth. For many heirs, a traditional IRA arrives with both a tax bill on withdrawals and a deadline for distributing the entire account.

As families approach the end of 2026, the useful question is not simply “How much did I inherit?” It is “Which withdrawal rules apply to me, and what must happen before December 31?” This is a current planning checklist, not a claim that the IRS has just introduced a new rule.

The IRS generally requires many non-spouse designated beneficiaries of owners who died after 2019 to empty the account by the end of the tenth year after the year of death. Eligible designated beneficiaries have different options. The details are set out in IRS Publication 590-B.

The deadline is not always permission to wait

A common mistake is reading “ten years” as “no action for ten years.” For a designated beneficiary who is not an eligible designated beneficiary, inheriting from an owner who died on or after the required beginning date generally means annual required minimum distributions during the ten-year period as well as full distribution by the final deadline. If the owner died before that date, the ten-year rule generally does not require annual distributions in years one through nine.