Inherited Roth IRA: Which Beneficiary Rules Apply to You?

The post-SECURE 2019 rules classify Roth IRA beneficiaries into three groups with radically different distribution rules: Eligible Designated Beneficiaries (EDBs), Designated Beneficiaries (DBs, subject to the 10-year rule), and non-designated beneficiaries (estates, trusts without look-through provisions, and charities — subject to the 5-year rule). This tool walks through the classification test and returns your group, your distribution deadline, and whether you qualify for life-expectancy treatment.

The classification matters enormously because the three groups face different arithmetic. An EDB can still "stretch" distributions over their remaining life expectancy — potentially 30+ years of continued tax-free Roth growth. A plain DB must empty the inherited Roth by December 31 of the tenth year following the owner's death — a much shorter compounding window. A non-designated beneficiary faces a 5-year deadline, which is shorter still. Getting the classification right determines how much tax-free growth you get and, in some cases, whether distributions are taxable at all.

Who should use this tool

Anyone who inherited a Roth IRA (or Traditional IRA) from 2020 onward. Pre-2020 inheritances follow the old "stretch" rules — if the original owner died before January 1, 2020, you don't need this tool; you can continue taking life-expectancy distributions under the pre-SECURE regime that was grandfathered in.

It's also useful before death — for Roth owners designing their beneficiary designations, this tool clarifies which of their intended beneficiaries will face the 10-year rule and which will qualify as EDBs. Knowing this can change beneficiary selection, trust design, and sometimes lifetime conversion planning.

Walking through the inputs

Relationship to the decedent. Spouse, minor child of the original owner, disabled/chronically ill individual, someone less than 10 years younger than the original owner, or "other." Each category triggers different rules. Spousal beneficiaries have the most options — they can treat the inherited Roth as their own, remain a beneficiary under the 10-year rule, or (depending on timing and age) use life-expectancy distributions.

Your age and the decedent's age at death. These feed the "less than 10 years younger" EDB test, one of the most commonly relevant EDB categories. For example, a sibling 8 years younger qualifies as EDB; a sibling 11 years younger does not.

Year of death. Pre-2020 deaths still use the old stretch rules; post-2019 deaths use the post-SECURE classification. The July 2024 final regulations (TD 10001) clarified several edge cases, so the tool uses those rules for all post-2019 deaths.

Whether the Roth was open at least five years at the owner's date of death. Affects whether earnings distributed to you are qualified (tax-free) or subject to the "clock-completes" rule. Most inherited Roths satisfy this; newer accounts may not.

If disabled or chronically ill, medical documentation status. EDB classification for disability requires meeting the §72(m)(7) standard, which is stricter than Social Security's definition. The tool flags this and suggests a CPA consult.

If the beneficiary is a trust, whether the trust has "look-through" provisions. A trust with qualifying look-through language can use the beneficiaries' ages for the classification test; a trust without must use the 5-year rule. Most trust-as-beneficiary arrangements need a review by an estate attorney.

How to read the result

The tool returns your classification (EDB, DB, or non-designated), the exact distribution deadline, whether you can take life-expectancy distributions, and a link to the relevant planning tool — the 10-Year Schedule for DBs, separate planning for EDBs, or a trust-professional referral for complex non-designated situations.

It also produces a "what to do first" checklist: retitling the inherited account correctly, naming your own successor beneficiary, and setting calendar reminders for the deadline (whether 5 years, 10 years, or annual life-expectancy RMDs).

Common mistakes this tool prevents

• Assuming the 10-year rule applies to everyone. It doesn't. EDBs can still stretch distributions over their life expectancy. If you qualify as an EDB, confirming it in writing (the tool provides a summary) can save decades of post-death compounding.
• Treating a spouse beneficiary as a non-spouse. Spouses have multiple options that no other beneficiary has, including treating the inherited Roth as their own (which resets the five-year clock from when the decedent first funded the account). Choosing between spousal-rollover, spousal-beneficiary, and life-expectancy treatment is often a meaningful tax-planning decision and depends on the surviving spouse's age.
• Missing the minor-child transition. A minor child of the original owner is an EDB only until age 21, then converts to the 10-year rule with the clock starting on the 21st birthday. Planning should anticipate this transition.
• Using the 5-year rule when the 10-year rule applies. The 5-year rule applies only to non-designated beneficiaries (estates without look-through trust provisions, or pre-RBD deaths without a designated beneficiary). Most individual beneficiaries use the 10-year rule.
• Assuming disability qualifies automatically. The §72(m)(7) definition is narrower than Social Security's definition, and documentation requirements are stricter. Plan for medical review.
• Missing the "less than 10 years younger" edge case. Siblings, cousins, and close-age partners are the most common EDBs under this provision. Always run the age arithmetic precisely — 9 years 11 months younger qualifies; 10 years 1 month younger does not.
• Forgetting to name a successor beneficiary on the inherited account. If you die before emptying the inherited Roth, your successor beneficiary completes the original 10-year clock — they don't get a fresh 10 years. Naming a successor correctly preserves what's left of the tax-free growth for your heirs.

After classification

If you're a DB subject to the 10-year rule, use the Inherited Roth 10-Year Schedule tool to build an optimal distribution schedule. If you're an EDB, contact a CPA or tax attorney — the rules are narrow and the planning opportunities are large. If you're a non-designated beneficiary (e.g., an estate), work with the estate attorney on the 5-year distribution schedule.

The Inherited Roth IRA pillar covers each classification in depth, including the 2024 final regulations and several worked examples spanning common family structures.

Worked example: siblings inheriting from a parent

Three adult children — Lydia (age 55), Marcus (age 52), and June (age 48) — inherit equal one-third shares of their father's $900,000 Roth IRA when he dies in 2026 at age 78. The father had the Roth open for 22 years. Each child is a Designated Beneficiary (DB) subject to the 10-year rule, because none of them qualifies as an Eligible Designated Beneficiary (EDB) under any of the five EDB categories:

• Not a spouse.
• Not a minor child of the original owner (the "minor child" category applies only to the decedent's own minor children, not adults).
• Not disabled or chronically ill under the §72(m)(7) standard.
• Not less than 10 years younger than the decedent — Lydia at 55 was born 23 years after her father; Marcus 26 years after; June 30 years after. Even if one of them had qualified, the sibling-sized age gap to the decedent is what matters, and 23+ years exceeds the 10-year threshold.
• Not "any other person" under any narrower category.

Each child must empty their $300,000 share by December 31, 2036 (the tenth year after the year of death). All distributions are federal-tax-free because the original Roth was open more than five years at the decedent's death.

Note: This is an inherited Roth IRA. Unlike inherited Traditional IRAs, there are NO annual RMDs required during years 1–9 of the 10-year window — regardless of the original owner's age at death. Roth owners have no required beginning date (RBD) under IRC §408A(c)(5), so the at-least-as-rapidly trigger from TD 10001 never applies to inherited Roth IRAs. The only requirement is to empty the account by December 31, 2036.

Lydia, earning a high income and on Medicare, uses the 10-year schedule tool to determine that equal-annual distributions minimize her IRMAA exposure. Marcus, with moderate income and no Medicare concern, uses back-loaded distributions to maximize tax-free growth. June, still working full-time at age 48 and planning retirement at 55, uses a custom schedule: minimum required RMDs through age 54, then a large distribution in year 7 (when she's retired and in a lower bracket) to capture most of the balance. Each sibling's strategy is different because each situation is different; the tool handles all three.

What all three siblings share: the classification (DB, 10-year rule) and the deadline (December 31, 2036). The beneficiary-type tool flagged this immediately, so each one knew which downstream tool to use. Without the classification step, a spouse-inheritance flowchart or EDB life-expectancy flowchart would produce wrong answers.