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The April 1 RMD Deadline Buys Time. It Does Not Buy a Second Tax Year.

9/5/2026

The case for delaying a first required minimum distribution to April 1 rests on flexibility.

The risk is that Medicare reads both the delayed first RMD and the second one as income from the same calendar year, with consequences that can follow a retiree for the next two years.

A retiree who turned 73 in 2025 used the congressional option to postpone the first RMD from December 31, 2025, to April 1, 2026. The second RMD remained due December 31, 2026. Both withdrawals landed on the 2026 return.

For someone holding a $2 million IRA, the first RMD can approach $75,500 and the second can approach $78,500, stacking more than $150,000 onto a single return before pensions, taxable Social Security, or investment income enter the calculation.