Can You Take More Than the Required Minimum From an Inherited IRA?
It is December. Your inherited IRA statement says this year's required minimum distribution is $11,200, and you are staring at the number wondering whether taking triple that is allowed, or wise, or some third thing. The short answer to "can you take more than the required minimum from an inherited IRA" is yes, and the longer answer is where the money gets saved or lost. The RMD is a floor. Everything above it is your decision, and the decision is mostly about timing.
Yes, any amount, any year
Nothing in the rules caps your withdrawals at the RMD. You can take double the RMD, ten times the RMD, or the entire account in year 1. The IRS penalizes taking less than required, never more. If the custodian's website makes the RMD look like a fixed installment plan, that is the custodian's interface, not the law.
Every extra dollar is taxable as ordinary income in the year you take it. That makes the real question one of timing: which tax year should bear the income.
The one rule people get wrong
Extra withdrawals count toward this year's RMD but never reduce next year's. Each year's RMD is calculated fresh: prior year-end balance divided by that year's life expectancy factor. There is no prepayment, no carryforward, no credit for last year's generosity.
Why this matters in practice
Say your RMD is $11,200 and you withdraw $40,000 this year. You have satisfied this year's RMD with $28,800 to spare, and next year's RMD is computed on the new, lower balance. That part helps you. What does not happen: next year's required amount dropping by $28,800. It drops only because the balance is smaller, through the normal calculation.
If you are reading this in December trying to decide whether to pull extra before the 31st, that is exactly the right instinct. A distribution on December 30 counts for this tax year; the same distribution on January 2 counts for next year, and that boundary decides which bracket the income lands in.
When taking more is the smart move
The classic case is the low-income year. You are between jobs, retired early, or had a slow business year, and your marginal bracket has room. Pulling extra from the inherited IRA now, at 12% or 22%, beats leaving it to balloon into a year-10 lump sum taxed at 32% or higher. Our bracket-spreading guide works through the full comparison.
The mirror image matters too. Taking extra in a year you are already near the top of a bracket can push dollars into the next one, and large distributions can also raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA or increase the taxable portion of Social Security. The smart version of "take more" is always "take more up to the bracket line," not "take more without looking."
The mechanics nobody mentions
On withholding: custodians typically withhold federal income tax from IRA distributions by default, often at 10% for nonperiodic payments, and you can usually adjust or waive it on the distribution form. If you take a large extra withdrawal in December, check the withholding election before you submit, because the default may not match your actual liability either way.
On the deadline: the 10-year rule does not move. If you are subject to the 10-year rule, the account must be empty by December 31 of year 10 whether you took extra along the way or not. Taking more early shrinks the year-10 balloon; it does not buy an extension. Miss the deadline and the penalties stack on top of the lump sum (see the deadline penalties).
So back to that December evening and the $11,200 on the statement. The number was never a target. It was the minimum the law would accept, and everything above it was a tax-timing decision you get to make once a year, every year, until the account is empty. The beneficiaries who pay the least tax are not the ones who take exactly the RMD. They are the ones who treat the RMD as the floor and plan the ceiling themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take more than the required minimum from an inherited IRA?
Yes. The required minimum distribution is a floor, not a ceiling. You can withdraw any amount above the RMD, up to the entire account, in any year. There is no penalty for taking more; the penalty applies only to taking less than required.
Can I withdraw the entire inherited IRA at once?
Yes, nothing in the rules stops you from emptying the account in year 1. The tradeoff is tax: the entire distribution is taxable as ordinary income in the year you take it, which can push you into a much higher bracket.
Does taking extra reduce next year's inherited IRA RMD?
No. Each year's RMD is calculated fresh from the prior year-end balance and the life expectancy factor. An extra-large withdrawal this year does not prepay or reduce next year's required amount.
Is there a penalty for taking more than the RMD from an inherited IRA?
No. The excise tax applies to amounts you were required to take but did not. Withdrawing more than the minimum is always allowed and never penalized.
Should I take extra from an inherited Roth IRA early?
Usually not. Qualified distributions from an inherited Roth IRA are tax free, and there are generally no annual RMDs, so letting the balance compound until late in the 10-year window is typically the better move. The account still must be emptied by the end of year 10.
Model your own distribution schedule.
Annual RMD amounts, year-by-year balances, and your deadline.
Run your own numbers with the free calculatorRelated: Do You Have to Take Annual RMDs During the 10-Year Rule? · The $55,000 Tax Mistake: Spreading Distributions Across the 10-Year Window · What Happens If You Miss the Inherited IRA 10-Year Deadline · Inherited Roth IRA and the 10-Year Rule
One retirement tax idea a month: subscribe to the newsletter.