Inherited IRA: which rule applies, and what a withdrawal costs

Two separate questions, and most tools only answer half of one. Which rule governs your account — and what a withdrawal you choose actually costs once it lands on top of everything else you are taxed on.

This page does not tell you how much you must withdraw.

That figure turns on facts a form cannot see, and the rules changed under everyone in 2024 — the IRS waived penalties for several years while one central question was unsettled, which is why so much of what you will find written about this is now wrong. What this gives you instead is which rule applies and the statute it comes from, and then the part that is safe to compute and that almost nothing else shows you: what taking money out actually costs.

Who inherited it

Your relationship to the person who died This decides which rule applies, and the categories are narrower than they sound.

Had they started their own required withdrawals? Their required beginning date is 1 April of the year after they reached their starting age. This is the fork that the 2024 rules settled.

What a withdrawal costs you

You choose the amount. This works out what it adds to your tax — including the Social Security it drags into the taxable column beside it, which is the part that surprises people.

Amount you plan to withdraw this year Nothing you type here leaves your browser.

Filing status

Your other income this year Wages, pension, interest, other withdrawals — before this one.

Social Security this year The full annual amount before tax. Leave at $0 if not claiming yet.

Tax-exempt interest Municipal bond interest. It is not taxed, but it still counts when working out how much of your Social Security is.

People 65 or older on this return Affects the deduction, and how many Medicare premiums a surcharge would apply to.

What this covers, and what it does not

It covers which rule applies and what a withdrawal costs in federal tax. It does not compute a required amount, and that is deliberate — see the note at the top.
Trusts are their own subject. A trust that qualifies as a see-through can change the answer entirely, and whether yours qualifies is a question for whoever drafted it.
State tax is not included. States vary too much to guess, and most do not tax Social Security at all — which is a separate question from how they treat a withdrawal.
For required withdrawals from your own account rather than an inherited one, use the RMD calculator.

Where these rules come from

Also on this site: the Social Security calculator, the married-couple and survivor figures, the required withdrawal calculator, the Roth conversion calculator, and why one more dollar of withdrawal can be taxed at more than your bracket.

Estimates and general information only — not tax, investment, or legal advice, and not a substitute for your own tax professional. Not affiliated with the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or any government agency. Nothing you type here leaves your browser. These rules changed in 2024 and guidance published before then is often stale; check against current IRS materials before acting.