IRS Publication 590-B, in plain English

If you have looked up how IRA withdrawals are taxed, when you have to start taking money out, or what happens to an inherited IRA, you have probably landed on IRS Publication 590-B, "Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements." It is the IRS's reference for everything about taking money out of an IRA, both traditional and Roth. It does not cover putting money in, that is Publication 590-A. This page is the plain-English map of what 590-B covers, with each part linked to its full walkthrough here.

Required minimum distributions. Publication 590-B is where the RMD rules live, including the required beginning date and the life expectancy tables in Appendix B used to calculate each year's amount. See the RMD topic page for how RMDs work, and the RMD Mistakes and Fixes guide if you missed one or took the wrong amount. To compute your amount for a given year, use the free RMD Calculator.

The 10 percent early distribution tax. Take money out of a traditional IRA before age 59½ and a 10 percent additional tax generally applies, unless you meet an exception. See the Traditional IRA guide for how withdrawals and the exceptions work.

Inherited IRA distributions. The rules differ sharply depending on who inherited and when the owner died, including the 10-year rule for most beneficiaries and special treatment for eligible designated beneficiaries. See the Inherited IRA guide for individual beneficiaries, the pre-2020 Inherited IRA guide for older inheritances, and the non-person beneficiary guide for estates and trusts. The free Inherited IRA Calculator determines which distribution rule applies to a specific inheritance and outputs a year-by-year schedule.

Roth IRA distributions. Roth withdrawals follow their own ordering rules and are not subject to lifetime RMDs. See the Roth IRA guide.

Qualified charitable distributions. From age 70½, you can send IRA money directly to charity and have it count toward your RMD without adding to taxable income. See the QCD guide.

The missed-RMD excise tax. If you do not take enough, an excise tax applies to the shortfall, reported on Form 5329. See the RMD Mistakes and Fixes guide and the Form 5329 guide.

Publication 590-B is the rulebook for IRA withdrawals. These pages are the translation.