To avoid an additional tax, participants in retirement plans must begin taking a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) by a specified date. That date is April 1 of the calendar year that follows the later of two events—the year the taxpayer:

• Reached age 73 or retires, whichever is later
• For traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, it does not matter whether the taxpayer has retired.

These rules do not apply to Roth IRAs.

Note: In some cases, the taxpayer's plan may require them to begin to receive distributions by April 1 of the year that follows the year in which they reach age 73, even if they haven’t retired.

RMDs are reported on Form 1099-R and are included on the return. Review Publication 4491, Retirement Income lesson to review Required Minimum Distributions (RMD).