First-RMD deadline guide
Your first RMD: the April 1 rule and whether to use it.
Your first RMD is due for the year you reach your applicable age. You may delay only that first payment until April 1 of the following year, but doing so can put two RMDs in one tax year.
Who this applies to
Under the SECURE 2.0 schedule, the applicable RMD age is 73 for anyone born 1951–1959 and 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later. The April 1 exception exists only for the single RMD due in the year you first reach that age — every RMD after that is due Dec 31 of its own year, with no April 1 option.
Source: Congressional Research Service — SECURE 2.0 RMD age schedule.
The April 1 mechanics
The standard deadline for every RMD is Dec 31 of the year it is required. For your first RMD only, the IRS allows a one-time delay to April 1 of the following calendar year. Every subsequent RMD, including the one for that following year, keeps its normal Dec 31 deadline.
Source: IRS retirement topics — RMDs.
The double-RMD-year tax trap
Deferring means both RMDs land in the same tax year. Take an owner born in 1960 ( applicable age 75) with a $500,000 Dec 31 balance the year they turn 75. Deferred to April 1 of the next year, that RMD is $500,000 ÷ 24.6 = $20,325.20. Assume the account is worth $510,000 the second Dec 31 — the regular age-76 RMD due that same Dec 31 is $510,000 ÷ 23.7 = $21,518.99. Both land in the same tax year: $20,325.20 + $21,518.99 = $41,844.19 of taxable distributions in one year, which can push ordinary income into a higher bracket or over a Medicare IRMAA threshold.
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III.
Educational estimate, not tax advice. Verify with a qualified tax professional.
When deferral helps — and when it doesn’t
Deferral can help if the deferral year’s other income will be meaningfully lower than the applicable-age year — for example, a final partial year of wages followed by a first full year of retirement income. It tends to hurt when income is already stable from year to year, because bunching two RMDs into one tax year raises taxable income for that year without lowering it in any other year.
The planner’s “Show the April 1 first-RMD deferral note” toggle flags the year that may carry two RMDs. It does not merge two RMDs into one projected row — run the planner once with the toggle on and once off, using the ages and balances above as a guide, and add the two years’ results for the combined total.
Plain-language answers
First-RMD deadline questions
When is my first RMD due?
For the year you reach your applicable age — 73 if you were born 1951–1959, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. You may delay only that first payment until April 1 of the following year.
Does RMD Compass model the double-RMD-year deferral?
The planner's 'defer first RMD' toggle flags the year that may carry two RMDs, but it does not merge two RMDs into one projected row — see the worked example on this page for the combined total, or run the planner once with the toggle on and once off and add the two figures.
Is deferring my first RMD to April 1 usually a good idea?
It depends on your income in the deferral year. Deferral can help if that year's other income will be meaningfully lower than the applicable-age year. It tends to hurt when income is already stable, because it bunches two RMDs into one tax year and can push you into a higher bracket or over a Medicare IRMAA threshold.