An adult child who inherits a parent’s IRA generally has to take out the whole balance by the end of the 10th year after the parent’s death. That is the IRS rule for IRA owners and plan participants who die after Dec. 31, 2019. A child who inherits in 2026, for example, has through Dec. 31, 2036.
The rule has been on the books since the SECURE Act took effect for deaths after 2019. It still catches families off guard, because the deadline is the end of the 10th year after the year of the death.
What the IRS says the rule covers
The IRS states the rule in its required minimum distribution FAQs: “the entire balance of the deceased participant’s account must be distributed within ten years.” The page, last reviewed Jan. 29, 2026, says the rule applies whether the owner died before, on or after the date required minimum distributions began.
The agency’s beneficiary page, reviewed Aug. 1, 2026, puts it as emptying the account by the end of the 10th year following the year of the owner’s death. A designated beneficiary is any individual named as the beneficiary of an IRA or retirement plan. One who is not in a protected group follows the 10-year rule.
Adult children land in that group. Someone who is a child of the owner but has reached adulthood and is not disabled or chronically ill has no special status under the rule. That is why the headline number is ten years and not a lifetime of smaller withdrawals.
The year of the death is not one of the ten. A parent who dies in March 2026 leaves the heir the rest of 2026 plus ten more calendar years, with the balance due out by Dec. 31, 2036. An heir can take the money sooner, in one year or spread across several, as long as the account is empty by that date.
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Who gets more time
The IRS lists exceptions. They cover a surviving spouse, a child who has not reached the age of majority, a disabled or chronically ill person, and a person not more than ten years younger than the owner. The IRS calls these people eligible designated beneficiaries.
The question for a family is which category each heir falls into. A surviving spouse, a sibling close in age to the owner, a minor child and an adult child are treated differently, and the beneficiary form on file with the IRA custodian decides who the account goes to. Anyone who is unsure should look at that form before assuming the 10-year clock applies or does not apply.
Yearly withdrawals can be required inside the ten years
Emptying the account by year ten is not always the only requirement. In Notice 2024-35, the IRS wrote that “the beneficiary of an employee who died after the employee’s required beginning date must take an annual RMD,” starting in the first calendar year after the death. The IRS said the final regulations apply to calendar years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
In plain terms, when the parent had already reached the age where required withdrawals begin, the adult child may owe a withdrawal every year and still has to clear the balance by the end of year ten. When the parent died before that point, the IRS pages describe the 10-year deadline as the requirement. The Publication 590-B carries the IRS detail on how the yearly amounts are figured.
The IRS also gave relief for earlier years. Notice 2022-53 said plans would not fail to qualify for missing a specified withdrawal in 2021 or 2022, and Notice 2023-54 extended that to 2023. For 2024, Notice 2024-35 said the IRS “will not assert that an excise tax is due” for the specified withdrawals.
What a missed withdrawal costs
The IRS FAQ says an amount not withdrawn when required may be subject to an excise tax of 25%. The rate drops to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within two years. The penalty can be waived when the owner shows the shortfall resulted from reasonable error and is being fixed, by filing Form 5329 with a letter of explanation.
Roth accounts follow the same distribution timing after death. The IRS beneficiary page says inherited Roth IRAs are generally subject to the same required withdrawal rules as inherited traditional IRAs. It adds that withdrawals of contributions are tax free and most earnings withdrawals are tax free, though earnings may be taxable if the Roth is less than five years old at withdrawal.
That difference matters when an heir plans the ten years. A traditional IRA balance and a Roth IRA balance both have to be emptied by the same deadline, but the tax treatment of what comes out differs, and the IRS page is the place to check it for a particular account.
Who is named on the IRA, and how long will they have?
The 10-year clock starts the year after an owner dies, and it follows whoever the beneficiary form names. A form that is out of date, or that names no backup, can leave an adult child with the shortest deadline and a surprise tax bill.
The Pass It On Checklist gives ten moves for getting what a family owns to the people it chose, starting with every beneficiary form checked, with a primary and a backup named. It also explains the inherited-IRA rules heirs face, including the 10-year rule, and covers a transfer-on-death deed so the house can skip probate in many states.
Get the Pass It On Checklist for beneficiary forms and the inherited-IRA 10-year rule →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
