IRS Announces Anticipated Applicability Date for Future RMD Rules
Published February 24, 2026
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury issued Announcement 2026-7 anticipating that certain portions of final rules relating to required minimum distributions (RMDs) under section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code will apply for the distribution calendar year that begins no earlier than 6 months after the date that final rules are issued in the Federal Register.
The Treasury Department and IRS previously published proposed rules regarding RMDs under section 401(a)(9) and related provisions in the Federal Register on February 24, 2022 (87 FR 10504). The 2022 proposed rules reflected changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), enacted on December 20, 2019. After the 2022 proposed rules were issued, the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0 Act) was enacted, which included a number of provisions relating to RMDs. After considering the comments received in response to the 2022 proposed rules and reviewing the changes made in the SECURE 2.0 Act, the Treasury Department and IRS determined that certain of those changes could be included in final rules, but that other changes should be addressed in new proposed rules. On July 19, 2024, the Treasury Department and IRS published final rules regarding RMDs under section 401(a)(9) and related provisions in the Federal Register (89 FR 58886) and also published proposed rules under section 401(a)(9) and related provisions (89 FR 58644).
In response to comments, IRS said final rules amending §§ 1.401(a)(9)-4, 1.401(a)(9)-5, and 1.401(a)(9)-6, issued pursuant to the 2024 proposed rules, are anticipated to apply for purposes of determining RMDs for the distribution calendar year that begins no earlier than 6 months after the date that final rules are issued in the Federal Register.
For periods before the applicability date of these rules, taxpayers must continue to apply a reasonable, good-faith interpretation of the statutory provisions underlying the rules.