If you and your brother or sister just inherited an IRA, you've probably heard the headline rule: you have 10 years to empty the account. What almost nobody explains clearly is the second question — do you also have to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) every year during those 10 years, or can you let it sit and pull it all out at the end?

The honest answer is: it depends on three things — how old your sibling was when they died, whether they had already started taking RMDs, and how far apart in age you two were. Get the wrong answer and the IRS can charge a penalty on every year you skip. This guide turns those three variables into a simple decision tree so you can see exactly where you land in 2026.

The 10-Year Rule in Plain English

For most people who inherit an IRA from someone other than a spouse, the SECURE Act replaced the old "stretch IRA" with the 10-year rule. It applies to traditional and Roth IRAs inherited from an owner who died on or after January 1, 2020.

The rule itself is short: the entire inherited account must be fully distributed by December 31 of the 10th year following the year of death. If your sibling died in 2026, your deadline to have the account at zero is December 31, 2036. After that, anything left can be hit with a steep excise tax.

Notice what the rule doesn't say. It does not say "take one-tenth each year." You have flexibility in how you draw the money down — and that flexibility is where smart tax planning lives. The catch is that for some beneficiaries, the IRS layers a second requirement on top of the 10-year deadline: a mandatory annual withdrawal. That's the part people miss.

The Decision Tree: 3 Questions That Decide Your RMDs

Before you do anything with the account, walk through these three questions in order. Your answers tell you exactly which set of rules applies to you as a sibling beneficiary.

Question 1: Are you within 10 years of your sibling's age?

This is the most overlooked exception for siblings. A beneficiary who is not more than 10 years younger than the person who died counts as an eligible designated beneficiary (EDB). Because brothers and sisters are often close in age, many siblings qualify here without realizing it.

If you're older than your sibling, the same age, or up to 10 years younger, you are an EDB — and you can opt out of the 10-year rule completely. Instead, you stretch withdrawals over your own life expectancy, taking a modest RMD each year for the rest of your life. If you're more than 10 years younger, you don't qualify, and you move on to Question 2.

Question 2: Had your sibling already started taking RMDs?

If you're stuck with the 10-year rule, this question decides whether you owe annual withdrawals along the way. The dividing line is your sibling's required beginning date — the point at which they were legally required to start their own RMDs, which under current law is age 73.

• Sibling died before reaching age 73 (had not started RMDs): No annual RMDs are required during the 10 years. You can let the money grow and take it all in year 10 if you want — though that's rarely the smartest tax move (more on that below).
• Sibling died at or after age 73 (was already taking RMDs): You must take an annual RMD in years 1 through 9, and empty the account by the end of year 10. This is the scenario most siblings get tripped up by.

Question 3: Is it a traditional or Roth IRA?

Roth IRA owners are never required to take lifetime RMDs, so a Roth owner technically never reaches a "required beginning date." That means an inherited Roth IRA under the 10-year rule has no annual RMDs — you only need to empty it by year 10. And because qualified Roth withdrawals are generally tax-free, the usual strategy is to let it grow untouched and take it all near the deadline.

Putting it together

The table below summarizes where a sibling lands once you've answered all three questions.

The Close-in-Age Exception, Explained

Because the eligible-designated-beneficiary exception is so common among siblings, it's worth slowing down on. The test is purely about ages: compare your date of birth to your deceased sibling's date of birth. If you are no more than 10 years younger, you qualify — there's no application or election form for the age test itself; it's a matter of fact.

As an EDB, you generally start life-expectancy payments the year after death, using the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table based on your own age. These annual amounts are usually much smaller than what a forced 10-year drawdown would require, which keeps more money growing tax-deferred and can keep your taxable income lower each year. You're not racing a deadline — you're spreading it across decades.

One practical note: this is an option that often has to be set up correctly with your IRA custodian, and the rules interact with how the account is titled and split. If you think you qualify, confirm it in writing with the custodian before the first deadline passes, because switching later can be difficult or impossible.

Split the Account by December 31 — Here's Why It Matters

When two or more siblings inherit the same IRA, the single biggest planning move is to create separate inherited IRAs — one for each beneficiary — by December 31 of the year following the year of death. Miss that deadline and you can be forced to share one set of rules, often the least favorable one.

Splitting matters for two reasons:

• Each sibling can use their own rules. If you're within 10 years of your sibling's age but your younger sibling isn't, separating the accounts in time lets you use the life-expectancy stretch while your sibling follows the 10-year rule. Leave it combined, and both of you may be locked into the same, often worse, treatment.
• Each sibling controls their own taxes. Once the accounts are separate, you decide when to take your money out — independent of what your sibling does. One of you might spread withdrawals evenly to stay in a lower bracket; the other might wait. With a shared account, every withdrawal decision has to be coordinated.

Tell the custodian early that you want separate inherited IRAs established. It's a routine request, but the December 31 deadline is firm.

What "Empty by Year 10" Really Costs You

Even when no annual RMD is technically required, taking nothing for nine years and then a lump sum in year 10 is usually the worst tax outcome with a traditional inherited IRA. Every dollar you withdraw is taxed as ordinary income, so a single large withdrawal can push you into a higher bracket, raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA, and increase the taxable portion of your Social Security.

A more common approach is to spread withdrawals across the full 10 years, aiming to "fill up" your current tax bracket each year without spilling into the next one. If you expect your income to drop — say you're retiring partway through the 10-year window — you might weight more of the withdrawals toward those lower-income years. There's no one right answer; it depends on your other income, and it's a good question for a tax professional.

The Penalty for Missing an RMD (and How to Fix It)

If you're required to take an annual RMD and you skip it, the IRS charges an excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn. Thanks to SECURE 2.0, that penalty was lowered from the old 50% to 25% — and it drops to just 10% if you correct the shortfall within a roughly two-year correction window and file Form 5329.

One more 2026 reality: the IRS had waived enforcement of these annual inherited-IRA RMDs for several earlier years while the rules were being finalized. That relief has ended. For 2025 and beyond, if you fall into the "annual RMD required" box above, the IRS expects those withdrawals on schedule — so don't assume the leniency of past years still applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line — What to Do Next

Before you withdraw a dollar, settle the three questions that decide everything: your age gap, whether your sibling had started RMDs, and traditional versus Roth. Then take these steps in order:

1. Check the age gap — if you're within 10 years of your sibling's age, you may be able to skip the 10-year rule entirely.
2. Ask the custodian to split the account into separate inherited IRAs before December 31 of the year after death.
3. Find out if annual RMDs apply based on your sibling's age at death and the account type.
4. Map out your withdrawals across the 10 years to smooth the tax hit, rather than waiting for one big year-10 distribution.

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This article is general information, not personalized financial or tax advice. Inherited IRA rules are complex, depend on your specific facts, and change over time — including IRS regulations finalized in 2024 and ongoing guidance. Before taking or skipping any distribution, consult a licensed CPA or financial advisor, and verify the current rules with IRS Publication 590-B and your IRA custodian. Information is current as of June 2026.