By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst
QUESTION:
My client turns age 73 in November 2026. If he takes his first required minimum distribution (RMD) in December 2026 rather than waiting until April 1, 2027, what balance is used to do the RMD calculation?
Thanks
ANSWER:
Since his first RMD is for 2026, he will use the December 31, 2025, balance for the calculation. Even if he delayed his first RMD until early 2027, he would still use the 2025 year-end balance and his age in 2026 to calculate the RMD amount. The factor for a 73-year-old from the Uniform Lifetime Table is 26.5. Divide 26.5 into the 2025 year-end balance, and that amount is his 2026 RMD. (This assumes he is not eligible to use the Joint Life Table.)
QUESTION:
As a married couple, can my spouse and I do a $216,000 qualified charitable distribution (QCD) for 2025 using only my IRA?
Bill
ANSWER:
Bill,
The maximum QCD amount for 2025 is $108,000 per IRA owner. However, a married couple cannot combine QCDs and take the consolidated total from only one or their IRAs. Each IRA owner is deemed to be an individual, despite tax filing status. So, as a couple, you can still reach the total desired QCD amount of $216,000, but only if you take $108,000 from your own IRA and your spouse takes that amount from her IRA. (Of course, each spouse must be eligible to do a QCD, i.e., age 70½ or older.)
If you have technical questions you would like to have answered, be sure to submit them to mailbag@irahelp.com, to be answered on an upcoming Slott Report Mailbag, published every Thursday.
https://irahelp.com/first-time-required-minimum-distributions-and-qualified-charitable-distributions-todays-slott-report-mailbag/