I inherited an IRA from my sister who was less than 10 years older than me. Is my distribution window 10 years or can that distribution window be extended?

[kiehlp]

I inherited an IRA from my sister who was less than 10 years older than me. Is my RMD distribution window 10 years or can that distribution window be extended?

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

MarilynG1's reply is incorrect.  The 5-year rule does not apply unless your sister died before her required beginning date for RMDs and there was no designated beneficiary (which would generally mean that your sister's estate would be the beneficiary).

I assume that your sister died after 2019.  Because you are not more than 10 years younger than your sister, you are an eligible designated beneficiary.  As an EDB, you are not subject to the 10-year rule unless your sister died before her required beginning date for RMDs and you elect the 10-year rule.  Instead you are just subject to annual RMDs based on the life-expectancy factor from the Single Life Expectancy table for your age attained in the year following the year of your sister's death, reduced by 1 each subsequent year.

If your sister died after her required beginning date for RMDs and had not completed her year-of-death RMD, you as beneficiary are required to complete that RMD.  You have until the due date of the year-of-death tax return, including extensions, to do that.