RMD Planning for Married Couples

Two spouses can have two completely separate IRA balances generating two completely separate RMD obligations — but both distributions land on the same joint tax return. That creates one MAGI figure that determines your joint Medicare IRMAA tier. For many couples, the combined income picture is considerably more expensive than either spouse realized when planning individually.

Two Separate RMD Pools, One Joint Tax Return

Each spouse is solely responsible for the RMDs from their own accounts. You cannot use Spouse A's IRA distribution to satisfy Spouse B's RMD obligation — even if both accounts are at the same custodian.¹ The IRA aggregation rules allow pooling across one person's traditional IRAs (you can take one account's total from a single IRA), but they do not extend across spouses.

What this means in practice:

• Both spouses calculate their RMDs independently using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and their own December 31 balances.
• If only one spouse is past RMD age, only that spouse has a distribution requirement.
• Both spouses' RMDs — plus all other income — combine on a single Form 1040, creating one joint MAGI that determines your IRMAA Medicare tier for both people.

One important exception: if the older spouse's IRA names the younger spouse as the sole primary beneficiary and the younger spouse is more than 10 years younger, the older spouse can use the Joint Life Expectancy Table (IRS Table II) instead of the standard Uniform Lifetime Table. This produces a larger divisor and a lower RMD. See the younger spouse exception guide for the math.

The Joint IRMAA Problem — Why Two RMDs Cost More Than You Think

IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) surcharges are assessed per person on Medicare, but the surcharge tier is determined by the joint MAGI when you file married filing jointly. When your combined income crosses a tier threshold, both spouses pay the surcharge — each on their own Medicare premiums.²

The 2026 IRMAA tiers for married couples filing jointly (based on 2024 MAGI):

Source: CMS 2026 Medicare Part B Premium Fact Sheet.² Amounts shown are the surcharge above the $202.90/month base Part B premium, plus Part D surcharge, per person per year. Couple cost assumes both spouses are on Medicare.

Joint QCD Strategy: Up to $222,000 Tax-Free in 2026

Each spouse who has reached age 70½ can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution directly from their own IRA to a qualifying charity — and exclude it from MAGI entirely, including for IRMAA purposes. The 2026 QCD limit is $111,000 per person, indexed annually.³

For a married couple where both spouses are 70½ or older, the combined QCD potential is $222,000 per year — invisible to IRMAA, not reported as income, and counting toward each spouse's RMD obligation. For couples near a tier cliff, targeted QCDs from one or both IRAs can prevent crossing the threshold:

• Each QCD must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity — you cannot receive the funds personally and then write a check. The transfer must come from the custodian.
• QCDs can satisfy the RMD obligation dollar-for-dollar up to the distribution amount. A $15,000 QCD counts as $15,000 toward that spouse's RMD.
• QCDs cannot be made to donor-advised funds (DAFs), supporting organizations, or private foundations — only to IRC §501(c)(3) public charities.
• December 31 is the hard QCD deadline. Unlike some year-end moves, QCDs cannot be extended.

(QCD Calculator — see how much a couple saves by tier →)

Coordinating Roth Conversions When Spouses Are at Different Life Stages

The pre-RMD Roth conversion window is the period between retirement and RMD age — typically the 60s and early 70s — when income is often at its lowest point and conversions are most tax-efficient. For married couples with an age gap, this window isn't the same for both spouses. One may be in active Roth conversion territory while the other is already taking mandatory distributions.

The complication: even if only Spouse B is still in the Roth conversion window, their conversions add to the joint MAGI — on top of Spouse A's RMD income that is already flowing onto the return. The optimal conversion amount when one spouse has active RMDs is almost always smaller than if the converting spouse were planning their income in isolation.

Key interactions to model as a couple:

• IRMAA two-year lookback — a Roth conversion in 2026 doesn't affect 2026 Medicare premiums; it affects 2028 premiums. Plan conversions with the two-year delay in mind.
• Social Security provisional income — Roth conversions increase AGI, which can push more of both spouses' Social Security income into the taxable zone. The interaction with the tax torpedo is nonlinear and can double the effective cost of a conversion.
• Survivor planning — the spouse with the larger traditional IRA balance benefits most from pre-death Roth conversions, because the surviving spouse will file as a single filer (narrower brackets, narrower IRMAA thresholds, smaller standard deduction).

(Roth conversion sizing calculator — find the optimal couple amount →)

The Younger Spouse Exception: When Table II Reduces Your RMD

If Spouse B is more than 10 years younger than Spouse A and is named as the sole primary beneficiary of Spouse A's IRA on December 31, Spouse A can use the IRS Joint Life Expectancy Table (Table II) instead of the standard Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III). Table II produces a larger divisor — meaning Spouse A's required distribution is smaller each year.¹

Example at a 20-year age gap (Spouse A age 75, Spouse B age 55): Table II divisor is 31.1 vs. Table III's 24.6. On a $2M IRA, that's $85,366 required under Table III vs. $68,852 under Table II — a $16,514/year reduction in taxable income. At 24% federal + 5% state, the annual tax savings exceed $4,700.

Requirements: Spouse B must be the sole primary beneficiary. If adult children are listed alongside Spouse B as primary beneficiaries, Table II does not apply. If Spouse B is named as sole primary beneficiary but remarries or is changed, the election is lost for that year. (Full guide with Table II divisors by age →)

When One Spouse Is Still Working

The still-working exception allows a participant in a current employer's qualified plan (401k, 403b) to defer RMDs from that plan only as long as they remain employed and own less than 5% of the company. This exception does not apply to:

• IRAs — IRA RMDs begin at age 73 (or 75 for born 1960+) regardless of employment status. The still-working spouse still owes RMDs on their own traditional IRA at the standard age.
• Old employer plans — a 401k from a prior employer owes RMDs even if the participant is still working elsewhere.
• 5%+ owners — even working owner-employees must begin RMDs at the standard age if they own 5% or more of the business.

If Spouse B is still working and has both a traditional IRA and a current-employer 401k, their IRA RMD is not deferrable — only the 401k is. One strategy: if the current-employer plan accepts rollovers, Spouse B can consolidate old IRA funds into the plan before RMD age, then defer the entire balance as long as they remain employed. (401(k) still-working exception guide →)

Surviving Spouse: What Happens to Two IRAs Becoming One

When one spouse dies, the survivor typically has three choices for the deceased spouse's IRA:

• Spousal rollover — roll the inherited account into the survivor's own IRA. The account becomes the survivor's own and is subject to their own RMD schedule (starting at 73 or 75, as applicable). This is usually optimal for a surviving spouse who is already past 59½ and doesn't need the money immediately — it extends tax deferral and preserves future Roth conversion options.
• Inherited IRA election — keep the account as a separate inherited IRA. RMDs begin using the Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I) starting the later of December 31 of the year following death or the year the deceased would have turned 73. Useful if the surviving spouse is under 59½ and needs income without the 10% early withdrawal penalty that applies to their own IRA.
• SECURE 2.0 §327 spousal election — a newer option that allows the surviving spouse to "delay" treating the inherited IRA as their own, retaining the deceased's RMD schedule temporarily. Designed for edge cases where the deceased had a later RMD age than the survivor. (Full surviving spouse options guide →)

1. IRS Publication 590-B (2025 edition) — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) and Joint Life Expectancy Table (Table II) from T.D. 9930, effective January 1, 2022. irs.gov/publications/p590b
2. CMS 2026 Medicare Part B Premium and Deductible Fact Sheet — 2026 IRMAA tier thresholds and Part B/Part D surcharge amounts for all five tiers. cms.gov
3. IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and IRS Notice 2024-2 — 2026 QCD limit of $111,000 per person, indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0 Act §307. irs.gov
4. SECURE 2.0 Act (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023), §107 — RMD age increase to 73 for born 1951–1959 and 75 for born 1960+; §327 — surviving spouse spousal election option. congress.gov
5. Kitces.com — "IRMAA surcharges and the widow's tax penalty: how marriage and death affect Medicare costs" — secondary analysis of MFJ vs. single filer IRMAA bracket narrowing after spousal death. kitces.com