According to IRS publication 590-B, the required minimum distribution for an inherited IRA (for beneficiaries who are not more than 10 years younger) may be calculated by dividing the value of the IRA at the end of the year the person died by the life expectancy of the beneficiary at that time. So if the person died in 2020, for 2021 the RMD would be the value of the IRA at the end of 2020 divided by the life expectancy of the beneficiary. The instructions also state to "Reduce the life expectancy by 1 for each year after the year of death." Does that mean that for all the following years, the calculation would still use the original value from the end of 2020 or would it be the value of the IRA for the preceding year? This is an important distinction because the value could fluctuate. Also, the life expectancy used in the calculation will always be the original life expectancy minus the number of years that passed, right?
