Which accounts to
withdraw from first?
The order you tap your retirement accounts isn't just a preference — it's a tax decision. Getting it right can mean tens of thousands of dollars less in lifetime taxes.
The three
account types
Before thinking about withdrawal order, you need to understand how each account type is taxed — because they're taxed very differently.
No special tax treatment. Contributions were made with after-tax money. Withdrawals of your original cost basis aren't taxed. Gains above that are taxed as long-term capital gains (0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your total income) if held more than a year. Dividends are taxed annually as they're received.
Contributions were pre-tax. Every dollar you withdraw is taxed as ordinary income — the same rate as wages. No capital gains treatment. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) begin at age 73 or 75 (depending on your birth year under SECURE 2.0), forcing you to take money out whether you need it or not.
Contributions were made with after-tax money. Qualified withdrawals — both contributions and earnings — are completely tax-free. No RMDs for Roth IRAs during your lifetime. The most tax-efficient source of retirement income.
Why order
matters
Every dollar you withdraw from a tax-deferred account increases your ordinary income for that year. That income affects three things at once: your marginal tax bracket, how much of your Social Security benefit gets taxed (up to 85% is taxable depending on "combined income"), and whether you owe capital gains tax at 0%, 15%, or 20% on brokerage withdrawals in the same year.
The sequence matters: tapping accounts in one order can keep you in a lower bracket, while a different order pushes you into a higher one. Over a 20–30 year retirement, the cumulative difference can easily exceed $100,000 in total taxes paid.
The conventional wisdom is to spend taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred (401k/IRA), then Roth. This preserves the most tax-advantaged growth for longest. But it's a starting point, not a rule — and blindly following it ignores some important dynamics.
Once RMDs begin at 73 or 75, you're forced to take distributions from tax-deferred accounts whether you want to or not. If your 401(k) has grown substantially by then, those RMDs could push you into a higher bracket and make more of your Social Security taxable. Three strategies can help:
- Draw down tax-deferred early — take voluntary withdrawals during low-income years to fill the 10% and 12% brackets, shrinking the balance before RMDs force larger distributions at higher rates.
- Roth conversions — move tax-deferred money into a Roth during the same low-income window. You pay tax now at a low rate, and the money grows tax-free with no future RMDs.
- Blend Roth withdrawals to cap your bracket — in any given year, take tax-deferred money only up to a bracket ceiling (say, the top of 12%) and cover the rest from the Roth. This doesn't shrink your future RMD burden, but it keeps each year's tax bill as low as possible.
The conventional
approach
The textbook withdrawal order is: (1) taxable brokerage, (2) tax-deferred (traditional 401k/IRA), (3) Roth. The logic: let tax-advantaged accounts compound as long as possible, and use taxable money first since it's already been taxed.
This approach works reasonably well when: your tax-deferred balance is moderate, your RMDs won't push you into a high bracket, you don't have large unrealized gains in your taxable account, and you're in a higher tax bracket now than you expect to be later.
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Tax-optimized
ordering
A tax-optimized strategy fills your lower tax brackets deliberately rather than withdrawing from accounts in a fixed sequence. The goal is to use the cheapest tax "space" available each year:
The 0% capital gains bracket: In 2026, married couples filing jointly with taxable income under roughly $96,700 owe 0% in long-term capital gains tax. If your total income (wages, Social Security, traditional withdrawals) keeps you under that threshold, you can realize gains from your taxable brokerage completely tax-free. Many retirees in the first years of retirement, before Social Security and RMDs kick in, have a window to harvest gains at 0%.
Filling the 12% bracket with conversions: During the gap between retirement and age 73 or 75 (when RMDs begin), many people have lower income than they will later. That's a window to convert traditional IRA/401(k) money to Roth at the 12% rate — essentially pre-paying tax at a lower rate than you'd otherwise face in the RMD years. This is called a Roth conversion strategy.
Coordinating with Social Security timing: Claiming Social Security at 62 creates immediate income that fills your lower brackets. Delaying to 70 gives you a higher benefit but means a longer window with lower income — and more room for tax-efficient conversions or capital gains harvesting.
RMDs change
the math
Required Minimum Distributions are the IRS's way of eventually collecting tax on all that pre-tax money in your 401(k) and traditional IRA. Starting at age 73 or 75, you must withdraw a percentage of your tax-deferred balance each year, based on IRS life expectancy tables.
If your tax-deferred balance is large — say $1.5 million — your RMD at 73 might be $60,000 or more. That $60,000 is added to Social Security income, any pension income, and other withdrawals to determine your tax bracket and how much Social Security is taxable. For many people, this creates a tax spike in their 70s that could have been reduced with earlier planning.
Drawdown Arc models RMDs automatically in every projection. You can see the year each RMD begins, how much it is, and what it does to your tax bill in that year and forward. This is one area where a simple retirement calculator will completely miss the picture.
Comparing strategies
side by side
The only reliable way to find your optimal withdrawal order is to model multiple strategies and compare the outcomes. The key metrics to look at:
Across all years of retirement, how much do you pay in federal income tax? A tax-optimized strategy should reduce this number compared to conventional withdrawal order.
When (or if) does your portfolio run out? A strategy that depletes your accounts 3 years later is objectively better — all else equal.
How large are your RMDs at 73, 80, and 85? Larger RMDs mean more forced income and less flexibility. A good strategy minimizes this.
Roth assets pass to heirs tax-free. A strategy that preserves more Roth balance is better for legacy planning.
Drawdown Arc Pro lets you run two additional strategies — Tax-Optimized and Roth Conversion — and compare them side by side on the Roth Analysis tab. The comparison shows you the difference in total taxes, depletion age, and year-by-year cashflow across strategies.
Try it
yourself
The best way to understand how withdrawal order affects your plan is to run your own numbers. Enter your account balances, income sources, and spending target, and Drawdown Arc will show you a year-by-year projection with full tax detail.
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