Summary: Here’s a not-so-festive item on the holiday to-do-list of anyone age 70 ½ or older: take withdrawals from your retirement accounts by Dec. 31. The IRS calls these required minimum distributions, and they’re counted in your taxable income for the year. You’ll pay a steep fine for blowing the deadline (unless it’s your first year taking them, in which case you have a grace period until the spring). So make some time amid the season’s merriment to get it done.
