Rules for Inherited IRAs

If you've inherited an IRA, withdrawal rules and taxes depend on your relationship and whether the account is a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA.

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Updated Feb 6, 2026

What is an inherited IRA?

An inherited IRA, also called a beneficiary IRA, is an individual retirement account created when the account’s original owner dies. Inherited IRAs can be opened with inherited assets from traditional, Roth, SIMPLE or SEP IRAs, as well as employer-sponsored retirement plans.

A beneficiary can be anyone, either related to the original owner or not, or even an entity such as an estate or trust. Which rules a beneficiary must follow depend on the relationship to the original owner and their age when they died. Below, we'll detail the inherited IRA rules when the beneficiary is an individual.

» Dive Deeper: Learn more about different IRA accounts

Four main inherited IRA rules

As an individual, the rules on what you can do with an inherited IRA depend on four things:

The type of retirement account you’re inheriting.
Your relationship to the original account owner
When the account owner died and their age at the time of death
Whether the account owner had started taking required minimum distributions (RMDs).

Beneficiaries can withdraw all the money as a lump sum or take annual distributions over a 10-year period. Traditional IRA withdrawals are counted as income and taxed at the beneficiary’s ordinary income tax rate(s). In general, most beneficiaries must deplete the account within 10 years of the account owner’s death.

There are some exceptions to the 10-year rule:

You inherited the IRA from your spouse. In that case, you can either take distributions based on your life expectancy or roll the account over into your own IRA.
You’re a minor child. You can take distributions based on your life expectancy until age 21.
You’re chronically ill or disabled. You can stretch the IRA distributions out over your lifetime.
You’re not more than 10 years younger than the account owner. Withdrawals can be stretched over your lifetime

Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics - Beneficiary. Accessed Feb 5, 2026.
View all sources

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If you inherited IRA assets from someone who died before Dec. 31, 2019, the 10-year rule does not apply, and withdrawals can typically be stretched over the course of your lifetime.

» MORE: What to do with an inheritance

Inherited IRA distribution rules for spouses

If you're the sole beneficiary of your spouse’s IRA, you can take over the account. That's known as a spousal transfer or “assuming” the IRA. By doing this, you can keep making contributions, and the schedule for required minimum distributions is reset so that it's based on your life expectancy.

As the sole beneficiary, you can move the assets into your name in a few different ways:

You can assume ownership by designating yourself the owner of the existing account.
You can roll the assets from the deceased’s account into an existing IRA in your name — just make sure the inherited assets are taxed the same as the account you’re rolling into (either a traditional or Roth IRA).
If you don’t have an existing IRA, you can set up a new account in your name and roll the inherited assets into it.
You can take a lump-sum distribution. However, before taking any distributions, you might want to speak with a tax professional to understand your potential tax consequences.

» MORE: How to find a financial advisor

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Inherited IRA distribution rules for non-spouse beneficiaries

There's a bit more administrative legwork required if you’re a non-spouse inheriting an IRA or a spouse who is not the sole beneficiary.

The IRS doesn’t allow you to roll the money from an inherited IRA into one of your existing accounts. Instead, you have to transfer your portion of the assets into an inherited IRA; for example, (Name of Deceased Owner) for the benefit of (Your Name). This would allow you to stretch out RMDs over your life expectancy.
No additional contributions are allowed in the new, inherited IRA account.
Depending on when the account owner died, you may need to follow an RMD schedule that's based on the life expectancy of the deceased owner.

» Find the best IRA account for you

In July 2024, the IRS clarified some rules that were introduced in the Secure Act of 2019. The final regulations state that if the original account holder had started taking RMDs before death and a non-spouse beneficiary is inheriting the account, the beneficiary must take annual RMDs throughout 10 years and fully deplete the account.

» MORE: How Secure 2.0 changed retirement laws

Other inherited IRA rules

The 5-year rule for an inherited Roth IRA

Roth IRA beneficiaries can withdraw contributions tax-free at any time. Note here that we’re talking about Roth IRA contributions. Earnings from an inherited Roth can also be withdrawn tax-free, as long as the account has been open for at least five years at the time the account holder died.

The five-year rule is critical: If the Roth IRA was less than five years old at the original owner’s death, you’ll owe taxes on the earnings you withdraw.

It’s also important to note that while the original owner of a Roth IRA does not have to take RMDs over the course of their lifetime, beneficiaries who inherit a Roth IRA do have to take an RMD to avoid penalties. The penalty for missing an RMD can be as high as 50% of the account value, so make sure you understand the RMD schedule.

» Learn more: How the 5-year rule for Roth IRA withdrawals works

Taxes on withdrawing money from an inherited IRA

As tempting as it might be to cash out an inherited IRA (called a lump-sum distribution), tread carefully. Going this route could leave you owing a hefty sum when it’s time to file your taxes. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA are generally taxable as income at your ordinary income tax rate(s).

» See the breakdown: Federal income tax brackets and rates

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Article sources

NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines.

1. Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics - Beneficiary. Accessed Feb 5, 2026.
2. IRS.gov. Correcting required minimum distribution failures. Accessed Feb 6, 2026.

About the authors

Dayana Yochim

Dayana is a former NerdWallet authority on investing and retirement. She has written for The Associated Press, The Motley Fool, Woman’s Day, Real Simple, Newsweek, USA Today and more. She has written and contributed to several personal finance books and has been interviewed on the "Today" Show, "Good Morning America," NPR, CNN and other outlets.

June Sham

June Sham is a lead writer on NerdWallet’s investing and taxes team covering retirement and personal finance. She is a licensed insurance producer, and previously was an insurance writer for Bankrate specializing in home, auto and life insurance. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.