A quiet tool

April 1 postpones the first one. Not the second.

The law lets you delay your first required withdrawal into the next year, but the second is still due that December. Enter the balance and the household's income and see what stacking two in one year costs against taking one each year.

The RMD record; the 2026 return · Last reviewed September 6, 2026 · Facts · The table · Methodology

https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing

IRA balance on December 31 of the year before your first required withdrawal

All your pre-tax IRAs added together. A 401(k) has its own required withdrawal, worked out on its own balance.

Year of birth

Your required withdrawals start at 73. The first one is for 2026 and can be delayed as late as April 1, 2027.

Yearly growth on the balance

How much the balance grows from one year end to the next.

Other income each year

Pensions, interest, dividends, and wages. The tool uses the same figure both years.

Social Security benefits each year

Filing status

SingleMarried filing jointly

The tool assumes everyone on the return is on Medicare.

Taking each withdrawal in its own year saves

$754

Your first required withdrawal is $30,189 and the second is $31,698. Taking the first in 2026 and the second in 2027, the two years cost $31,127 in federal tax. Delaying the first to April 1 puts both withdrawals in 2027, and the two years then cost $31,881. The doubled-up year also raises your Medicare premiums to tier 2 instead of tier 1, two years later.

First required withdrawal: $30,189; The balance divided by 26.5, the IRS life-expectancy factor at 73
Tax over two years, each withdrawal in its own year: $31,127; $15,388 in the first year, then $15,740
Tax over two years, first withdrawal delayed: $31,881; $8,348 in the first year, then $23,533

The April 1 deadline delays only the first required withdrawal. The second is still due by the end of its own year, so a delay puts two withdrawals into one year. Doubling up can push income into a higher bracket and make more of your Social Security benefit taxable. It can also cross a Medicare income tier, which raises premiums for a full year two years later. Delaying tends to win only when the first year's other income is unusually high and the second year's will be lower.

This uses the starting age for required withdrawals and the IRS life-expectancy table, and works out the federal tax each year with the 2026 brackets, deductions, Social Security taxation rules, and Medicare premium tiers, held the same for both years. It assumes your other income is the same both years and the balance grows at the rate you set. It leaves out state tax, capital gains, and a 401(k)'s separate balance. Hypothetical; educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

Built by Joshua Mangoubi, CFA, MBA. By using this tool you agree to the tool terms, which include that results vary with each use and over time. Cite this tool, or take a table or chart

How it counts. The two distributions from the Uniform Lifetime Table, then four federal returns from the shared helper, one for each year under each pattern, with the Social Security taxation rule, the deductions, the brackets, and the Medicare tier.

What it assumes. The same other income both years. That is the case where spreading wins; when the first year is unusually high from a last paycheck or a sale, the delay can win, and that is the case to run with a CPA and the actual figures.

Where we fit in. We integrate tax considerations into your investment strategy and collaborate with estate attorneys and CPAs to ensure your plan is coordinated. We are not a law firm or accounting firm, so we do not provide legal or tax advice. Everything in this material is for educational purposes, based on primary sources. Before taking any action, please consult the appropriate professionals to apply these ideas to your situation.

The facts, in one place.

Six quotable sentences on the first required distribution.

The first required distribution is for the year you reach the applicable age (73, or 75 for those born in 1960 or later), but it may be taken as late as April 1 of the following year (§ 401(a)(9)(C)). Every later one is due by December 31 of its year.
Delaying the first one does not skip it: the second is still due that same December, so the following year carries two distributions and one year's worth of tax on both.
The amount is the prior December 31 balance divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age: 26.5 at 73, 25.5 at 74. A delayed first distribution leaves the balance larger, so the second is larger too.
Example: $800,000 at 73, with $60,000 of other income and $30,000 of Social Security. Taking each distribution in its own year costs $31,127 of federal tax over the two years; delaying the first into the second year costs $31,881: $754 more.
The stacked year can also cross a Medicare tier (the return sets premiums two years later) and pull more of the Social Security benefit into income; in the example the second year lands in tier 2 delayed against tier 1 spread.
Delay makes sense in one situation: when the first year's other income is unusually high, from a final salary or a sale, so the distribution would be taxed at a higher rate than the following year's stack.

The first two factors.

The divisor for the first distribution and the second.

Uniform Lifetime Table factors for the first two distribution years, by applicable age (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c))
First distribution year	Factor, first year	Factor, second year
Age 73 (born 1951 through 1959)	26.5	25.5
Age 75 (born 1960 or later)	24.6	23.7

How the April 1 rule works.

The first required distribution is for the year the applicable age is reached, but the law gives until April 1 of the following year to take it. It gives nothing else: the second distribution, for that following year, is still due by its own December 31. So the choice is between one distribution in each of two years and two in the second, and the arithmetic of brackets, the taxable share of Social Security, and the Medicare tiers almost always favors spreading.

The exception is a first year with unusually high other income: a last salary, a bonus, a sale. Then the first distribution would be taxed at a higher rate than the following year's stack, and the delay is worth taking. The calculator runs both patterns through the shared return helper for the two years and reports the difference, with the Medicare tier each year sets.

Methodology.

Inputs. The balance on the December 31 before the first distribution year, the year of birth, other income and Social Security taken as the same both years, filing status, and growth on the balance.
The distributions. The first is the balance over the Uniform Lifetime Table factor at the applicable age; the second is the following December's balance over the next factor. A delayed first distribution leaves the balance larger, so the second is larger too.
The returns. Four federal returns from the shared helper: each year under each pattern, with the § 86 Social Security computation, the standard deduction with the age-65 additions and the senior deduction, the brackets, and the Medicare tier.
The comparison. Two-year tax delayed less two-year tax spread; a positive figure favors spreading.
Validation. The applicable age and first year for a 1953 birth, the first distribution against the table, that spreading never costs more with level other income, and that tiny distributions inside the zero bracket come out equal. A transcription error fails the build.
Not modeled. Different other income in the two years (the case where delay wins), state tax, capital gains, a 401(k)'s separate balance, and the excise tax on a missed distribution. Educational, not advice.

Sources.

1. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 26 CFR § 1.401(a)(9)-9 — Life expectancy and distribution period tables. The Uniform Lifetime Table in paragraph (c), every age from 72 to 120 and over, in effect for distribution calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. Also the Single Life Table (paragraph (b)) for ages 40 through 70, used by the 72(t) tool. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
2. Internal Revenue Service, Retirement topics — Required minimum distributions (RMDs). Age 73 as the current beginning age; the April 1 deadline for the first distribution and December 31 for later ones; two distributions falling in one year when the first is delayed; the 25 percent excise tax, reduced to 10 percent if corrected within two years. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
3. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 401(a)(9)(C) — Required beginning date; applicable age. The applicable age: 73 for those who attain 72 after 2022 and 73 before 2033; 75 for those who attain 74 after 2032 (SECURE 2.0 § 107). Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
4. Federal Register, Required Minimum Distributions — proposed regulations, 89 FR 58886 (July 19, 2024). That the applicable age for individuals born in 1959 is 73, resolving the overlap in the statute's two clauses. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
5. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 86(c) — Base amount and adjusted base amount for taxing Social Security benefits. The $25,000 / $32,000 and $34,000 / $44,000 thresholds, which are not indexed. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (fact sheet, November 14, 2025). The Part B standard premium and deductible, the Part A inpatient deductible, and every row of the Part B and Part D income-related adjustment tables. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
7. Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments (§ 4.14 standard deduction; § 4.42 gift exclusion). The standard deduction amounts, the additional amounts for age or blindness, the $19,000 gift exclusion, and the $194,000 non-citizen-spouse exclusion. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.

Revision history.

This tool reads the RMD and annual records; the RMD record's history is below.

September 6, 2026: Added the Single Life Table for ages 40 through 70 from the same regulation, for the 72(t) periodic payment tool.
September 4, 2026: First release: the Uniform Lifetime Table from 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c), the SECURE 2.0 applicable ages by birth year with the 1959 resolution from the 2024 proposed regulations, and the RMD calculator built on them.

Canonical address: https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing

A first conversation

When you are ready, this is worth an unhurried conversation.

A first call with an advisor, just to get to know each other. No preparation needed, and no obligation on either side.

Schedule a conversation See if you're a fit