RMD Calculator

Calculate your required minimum distribution from an IRA or 401(k) with the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, the SECURE 2.0 start age of 73 or 75 and the deadline.

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About this tool

What is the RMD Calculator?

Once you reach a certain age, the IRS requires you to start taking money out of traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and similar tax-deferred accounts each year. The amount is the required minimum distribution (RMD). The RMD Calculator works it out the way the IRS does: your account balance on December 31 of the previous year divided by the distribution period for your age in the Uniform Lifetime Table.

Enter the balance, your year of birth and the year you are calculating for. The calculator finds your age in that year, your RMD start age under SECURE 2.0, the factor from the table, the RMD and its deadline, including the special April 1 deadline for your first one. A projection table then estimates future RMDs year by year from an expected rate of return, so you can see how the required amount climbs as a share of the account.

If you have not reached your start age yet, it tells you which year your first RMD is due and projects from there. All calculations run in your browser.

  • IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Pub 590-B, 2022 and later) for ages 72 to 120+
  • SECURE 2.0 start age of 73 or 75 from your birth year
  • First-year April 1 deadline and later December 31 deadlines
  • Year-by-year RMD projection with an expected return
  • Warning for a much younger spouse (Table II)
  • Copy, share link and in-browser calculation
Read the guide: Required Minimum Distributions: Start Age, Table and Deadlines

How to use the RMD Calculator

  1. Enter the account balance on December 31 of the year before the distribution year. Your year-end statement shows it.
  2. Enter your year of birth and the year you want the RMD for (for example 2026).
  3. Set an expected annual return and the number of years if you want the projection.
  4. Tick the spouse box if your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, which switches on a warning that Table II applies.
  5. Read the RMD, your age, the factor, the deadline and the projected RMDs, then copy or share the result.

Worked examples

Age 75 in 2026

Input

Born 1951, $500,000 on December 31, 2025, RMD for 2026

Output

Factor 24.6; RMD $20,325.20; due by December 31, 2026

$500,000 / 24.6 = $20,325.20, about 4.07% of the balance. The same factor appears in the owner RMD example in Publication 590-B.

First RMD at 73

Input

Born 1953, $400,000 on December 31, 2025, RMD for 2026

Output

Factor 26.5; RMD $15,094.34; can wait until April 1, 2027

2026 is the first RMD year. Delaying to April 1, 2027 means taking both the 2026 and 2027 RMDs in 2027, which can push you into a higher bracket.

Born in 1962

Input

Born 1962, $400,000, RMD for 2026, 5% expected return

Output

No RMD until 2037 (age 75); projected first RMD about $27,810 on a balance grown to about $684,136

Under SECURE 2.0, people born in 1960 or later start at 75. The projection grows the balance untouched until then.

How the RMD rises with age

Input

Born 1951, $500,000, 5% return, 15-year projection

Output

RMD $20,325 at 75, $21,294 at 76, $22,210 at 77, and about $36,427 at 89

At 89 the factor is 12.9, so 7.75% of the balance must come out. With a 5% return, the balance starts to shrink in the mid-80s.

Background and insight

The RMD rules come from section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code. The SECURE Act of 2019 moved the starting age from 70 1/2 to 72, and SECURE 2.0 (2022) raised it again: to 73 for people who reach 72 after 2022, and to 75 for people who reach 74 after 2032. Read with the IRS proposed regulations of July 2024, that means age 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959 and age 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. People born in 1950 or earlier started at 72 (or 70 1/2 if born before July 1, 1949) and are already taking RMDs.

The calculation is simple. Most owners use Table III, the Uniform Lifetime Table, in Appendix B of IRS Publication 590-B; updated life expectancy tables took effect in 2022. Find the distribution period next to the age you reach on your birthday in the distribution year and divide the prior December 31 balance by it. At 73 the factor is 26.5, so the RMD is 1/26.5, about 3.77% of the balance; at 80 it is 20.2 (4.95%); at 90, 12.2 (8.20%). The factors fall every year, so the percentage you must withdraw rises with age.

Deadlines matter. The first RMD may be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach your start age, but the second RMD is still due by December 31 of that same year, so waiting puts two taxable distributions in one tax year. Every later RMD is due by December 31. Missing one triggers an excise tax of 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct it within the correction window, under the SECURE 2.0 changes described in Publication 590-B.

There are exceptions. If your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, you use the Joint and Last Survivor table (Table II), which gives a smaller RMD. Roth IRAs have no RMDs for the original owner, and since 2024 neither do Roth accounts in 401(k) and 403(b) plans. If you are still working and do not own 5% or more of the company, your current employer's plan may let you delay RMDs from that plan until you retire. Inherited accounts follow separate rules, including the 10-year rule.

Common use cases

  • Taking this year's RMD

    Check the amount your custodian quotes, or work it out yourself for an account the custodian does not calculate.

  • Deciding when to take the first RMD

    See the first-year deadline and the effect of doubling up distributions in the following year.

  • Retirement tax planning

    Project future RMDs to judge whether Roth conversions or earlier withdrawals before your start age make sense.

  • Planning charitable giving

    Size qualified charitable distributions, which count toward the RMD, against the amount required.

Tips and limitations

  • Calculate each IRA's RMD separately, then take the total from any one or more of your IRAs. 403(b) accounts can also be combined with each other, but each 401(k) must pay its own RMD.
  • The balance to use is December 31 of the prior year, even if the account has moved since.
  • Withdrawals above the RMD do not count toward future years.
  • RMDs are taxed as ordinary income and cannot be rolled over to another IRA or plan.
  • A qualified charitable distribution from an IRA (age 70 1/2 or older) counts toward the RMD and is excluded from income, up to the annual limit.
  • The projection assumes a steady return and that the RMD is taken at the end of each year. Actual balances and RMDs will differ.

Frequently asked questions

How is the RMD calculated?

Divide the account balance on December 31 of last year by the distribution period for your age this year in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. A $500,000 balance at age 75 (factor 24.6) gives an RMD of $20,325.20.

At what age do RMDs start?

Under SECURE 2.0, age 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959 and age 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. People born in 1950 or earlier have already started, at 72 or 70 1/2.

When is the first RMD due?

By April 1 of the year after the year you reach your start age. Every later RMD is due by December 31. If you wait until April 1 for the first one, you take two RMDs in that year.

What happens if I miss an RMD?

The shortfall is subject to a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if you take the missed amount and file a corrected return within the correction window. You report it on Form 5329 and can ask the IRS to waive it for reasonable error.

Do Roth IRAs have required minimum distributions?

No, not for the original owner. Since 2024, Roth accounts inside 401(k) and 403(b) plans are also exempt while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries who inherit Roth accounts do have distribution rules.

Which table should I use if my spouse is much younger?

If your spouse is the sole beneficiary for the whole year and more than 10 years younger, use Table II (Joint and Last Survivor) from Publication 590-B. It gives a longer distribution period and a smaller RMD than this calculator shows.

Can I take my RMD from just one account?

For IRAs, yes: compute each IRA's RMD and withdraw the total from any of them. The same applies across 403(b) accounts. Each 401(k) or 457(b) plan must distribute its own RMD.

Is there an in-depth guide to the RMD Calculator?

Yes. “Required Minimum Distributions: Start Age, Table and Deadlines” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.

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