WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers who turned 70½ during 2013 that in most cases they must start receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and workplace retirement plans by Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

The April 1 deadline applies to owners of traditional IRAs but not Roth IRAs. Normally, it also applies to participants in various workplace retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans.

The April 1 deadline only applies to the required distribution for the first year. For all subsequent years, the RMD must be made by Dec. 31. So, for example, a taxpayer who turned 70½ in 2013 and receives the first required payment on April 1, 2014 must still receive the second RMD by Dec. 31, 2014.

Affected taxpayers who turned 70½ during 2013 must figure the RMD for the first year using their life expectancy on Dec. 31, 2013 and their account balance on Dec. 31, 2012. The trustee reports the year-end account value to the IRA owner on Form 5498 in Box 5. Worksheets and life expectancy tables for making this computation can be found in the Appendices to Publication 590.

Most taxpayers use Table III (Uniform Lifetime) to figure their RMD. For a taxpayer who turned 71 in 2013, for example, the first required distribution would be based on a life expectancy of 26.5 years. A separate table, Table II, applies to a taxpayer married to a spouse who is more than 10 years younger and is the taxpayer’s only beneficiary.

Though the April 1 deadline is mandatory for all owners of traditional IRAs and most participants in workplace retirement plans, some people with workplace plans can wait longer to receive their RMD. Usually, employees who are still working can, if their plan allows, wait until April 1 of the year after they retire to start receiving these distributions. See Tax on Excess Accumulations in Publication 575. Employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations with 403(b) plan accruals before 1987 should check with their employer, plan administrator or provider to see how to treat these accruals.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to begin planning now for any distributions required during 2014. An IRA trustee must either report the amount of the RMD to the IRA owner or offer to calculate it for the owner. Often, the trustee shows the RMD amount in Box 12b on Form 5498. For a 2014 RMD, this amount would be on the 2013 Form 5498 that is normally issued in January 2014.

More information on RMDs, including answers to frequently asked questions, can be found on IRS.gov.

WASHINGTON — For 57 million Americans, the refund check is no longer in the mail; it’s already in the bank.

So far this year, the Internal Revenue Service has issued direct-deposit refunds valued at more than $170 billion, as a growing number of taxpayers are choosing the speed and convenience of direct deposit, rather than receiving a paper check. So far this year, almost 85 percent of all refunds have been directly deposited into taxpayers’ bank accounts.

Taxpayers can have their refunds directly deposited when they e-file or by including their account information on their paper tax return..

Banks, mutual funds, brokerage firms and credit unions are all eligible to receive direct deposits. Before making this choice, however, taxpayers should make sure the financial institution accepts direct deposits for the type of account chosen.

Taxpayers also have the option and flexibility of splitting refund deposits among two or three different accounts or financial institutions. For instance, a refund could be split between a savings account, a checking account or an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA). Taxpayers can split their refunds when they e-file or by filing Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account.

A taxpayer’s refund should only be deposited directly into accounts that are in the taxpayer’s own name; the taxpayer’s spouse’s name or both if it’s a joint account.

Those who choose direct deposit get their refunds at least a week sooner, and direct deposit eliminates the chance of a lost, stolen or undeliverable refund.

[The filing season statistics table follows.]

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