after loss

The Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule

By Jason Su · Updated October 23, 2026

Most people who inherit a retirement account from someone who is not their spouse now have to empty it within ten years. This is the 10-year rule, and it replaced the older “stretch” approach that let many heirs spread withdrawals over their own lifetime. Whether it applies to you depends on who you were to the person who passed.

The rule sets a deadline, not a monthly plan. Most of the work is deciding how to spread the withdrawals across the ten years you have.

What the rule says

Under current law, most non-spouse beneficiaries must withdraw the entire inherited IRA by December 31 of the tenth year after the year the original owner passed. The account does not have to be emptied in one move, but it does have to be empty by the deadline.

For the broader picture of how the account gets to you in the first place, see what happens to a 401(k) or IRA when someone dies.

Who gets an exception

A short list of people still gets the older, gentler treatment:

• A spouse.
• A minor child of the original owner, until they reach adulthood.
• Someone who is disabled or chronically ill.
• A person who is not more than ten years younger than the original owner.

Everyone else is on the ten-year clock. The list is short on purpose.

What a spouse can do instead

A surviving spouse has choices nobody else has. The most common, and usually the best, is to roll the account into the spouse’s own IRA. From then on it is their account, with their own withdrawal schedule.

The alternative is to keep it as an inherited account and take it as a spouse beneficiary. That can make sense in a few situations, such as needing the money before the usual early-withdrawal age, but it is a narrower path. Rollover is the default most people want.

Ten years, but when do the withdrawals happen?

The rule sets a deadline, not a payment schedule. For many heirs, the only requirement is to have the account empty by the end of year ten, and they can wait until then to withdraw.

Whether you must take some out each year inside those ten years depends on whether the original owner had already reached the age where required withdrawals begin. This is the detail that trips people up, and it is worth confirming with the provider or a tax professional rather than guessing.

What happens if you miss it

Missing the deadline is expensive. The amount that should have been withdrawn but was not is hit with a penalty, and it can run to tens of percent of the missed amount.

The practical advice is simple: pick a withdrawal plan, set a reminder, and do not let year ten sneak up on you. A tax professional can map the ten years against your own income so the withdrawals do not land all at once and push you into a higher bracket.

Roth vs traditional

The clock is the same, but the tax bill is not:

Account	How withdrawals are taxed
Traditional inherited IRA	As ordinary income in the year you withdraw
Roth inherited IRA	Generally tax-free, if the account has met the holding rules

So a Roth is a quieter inheritance, and a traditional account is a tax bill spread across the ten years. The ten-year window applies to both.

A pension and an annuity do not follow this rule. They are income with their own survivor rules, not an account balance — see what happens to a pension or annuity when someone dies.

Frequently asked

Does the 10-year rule apply to a spouse?

No. A spouse has other options, the main one being a rollover into the spouse’s own IRA. The ten-year clock is for most people who are not the spouse.

Do I have to take money out every year, or just by year ten?

It depends on whether the original owner had already started required withdrawals. For many heirs, only the ten-year deadline applies and they can wait. Confirm your specific case with the provider or a tax professional.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

The amount that should have come out is subject to a penalty, which can be a large share of the missed withdrawal. Set a reminder now and do not let it lapse.

Is a Roth inherited IRA taxed differently?

Yes. Withdrawals from an inherited Roth are generally tax-free if the holding rules are met, while a traditional inherited IRA is taxed as ordinary income. The ten-year window is the same for both.

Next step

If you just inherited an IRA, write down which year your ten-year window ends, and whether the original owner had already started required withdrawals. Those facts decide your whole plan.

Record the account in the Retirement Account Inventory, and put the deadline on your calendar now.