RMD Calculator

How to Use the RMD Calculator

Calculating a required minimum distribution by hand means looking up your life expectancy factor in an IRS table and dividing your prior year-end balance by it. This RMD calculator does that arithmetic for you in seconds, and it also shows you the deadline, the factor it used, and the tax year the distribution belongs to. Here is how to get an accurate result.

1. Enter your date of birth or your age as of December 31 of the distribution year. The IRS uses your age on your birthday in the distribution year, so enter it carefully. Being off by even one year changes your factor and therefore your RMD.
2. Enter your account balance as of December 31 of last year. Use the fair market value of the account on that date, including any rollovers or transfers that were still in flight at year end. Do not use today’s balance.
3. Tell the calculator whether your spouse is more than ten years younger than you and is your sole beneficiary. If so, the IRS Joint and Last Survivor Table applies instead of the standard table, and your RMD will be smaller.
4. Repeat for each account, then add the results. If you hold several traditional IRAs, calculate the RMD for each one and add them together. You may withdraw the combined total from any one of the accounts.
5. Press Calculate and review your result. You will see your RMD amount, the life expectancy factor applied, and your deadline: December 31 of the current year, or April 1 of next year if this is your very first RMD.
6. Schedule your withdrawal. Most custodians let you automate annual RMDs, set federal and state tax withholding, and choose whether to receive the distribution as cash or as an in-kind transfer of securities.

Pro tip: run the calculation early in the year, even if you plan to wait until December to withdraw. Knowing the exact figure months ahead gives you time to plan withholding, coordinate qualified charitable distributions, and avoid the year-end rush when custodians are at their busiest. Save or print your result too, so you keep a record of the balance, factor, and deadline you used.

About Required Minimum Distributions

A required minimum distribution is the minimum amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from tax-deferred retirement accounts once you reach a certain age. The rule applies to traditional IRA accounts, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and employer plans such as a 401k, 403(b), or 457(b). It exists for a simple reason: the government gave you a tax break when you contributed, and RMDs make sure it eventually collects income tax on that money.

For decades the starting age was 70 and one-half. Congress changed it twice in recent years. The SECURE Act moved it to 72, and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 moved it again: if you were born between 1951 and 1959, your RMDs begin at age 73, and if you were born in 1960 or later, they begin at age 75. Your first distribution is due by April 1 of the calendar year after you reach the starting age, and every distribution after that is due by December 31 each year.

The amount is personal to you. It depends on only two things: your account balance on December 31 of the previous year and your life expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table in Publication 590-B. You divide the balance by the factor. As you age, the factor shrinks, so the percentage you must withdraw grows. At 73 the factor is 26.5, which means withdrawing about 3.8 percent of the balance, while at 90 the factor is 12.2, or about 8.2 percent.

RMDs are taxed as ordinary income in the year you take them, except for any after-tax basis such as nondeductible contributions. They cannot be rolled over into another retirement account, and the first dollars withdrawn from an account in a year you owe an RMD are deemed to satisfy the RMD, which means that portion cannot be converted to a Roth IRA. Withholding is voluntary but wise, because a large RMD can push you into a higher tax bracket or increase your Medicare IRMAA surcharges.

One more mechanic worth understanding is aggregation. The IRS treats all of your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs as one pot for RMD purposes: you compute the RMD for each account and then withdraw the combined total from whichever account or accounts you prefer. Employer plans do not aggregate this way, so a 401(k) and a 403(b) each need their own separate distribution. And if you are charitably inclined, a qualified charitable distribution sent directly from your IRA to a charity counts toward your RMD while staying out of your taxable income entirely.

A few important exceptions round out the picture. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs for the original owner, and since 2024 designated Roth accounts in 401(k) and 403(b) plans are exempt as well. If you are still working past your RMD age, you may delay RMDs from your current employer’s plan until you retire, as long as you own no more than 5 percent of the business, but this still-working exception never applies to IRAs or to plans from former employers. Beneficiaries who inherit accounts face their own schedule, usually the 10-year rule that empties most inherited IRAs within a decade of the original owner’s death.

The RMD Formula

The math behind every RMD is a single division:

RMD = Account balance on December 31 of the prior year ÷ IRS life expectancy factor

The life expectancy factor comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, last updated effective January 1, 2022. The table assumes a beneficiary ten years younger than you, which is why most account owners use it. If your spouse is more than ten years younger than you and is your sole beneficiary for the entire year, you instead use the Joint and Last Survivor Table, whose larger factors produce smaller RMDs. Always use your age on your birthday in the distribution year, not your age today if your birthday has not happened yet.

For quick reference, here are the Uniform Lifetime Table factors for the ages when most people take RMDs:

Worked Example 1: Age 75 With a $500,000 Balance

Diane turns 75 in 2026. Her traditional IRA was worth $500,000 on December 31, 2025. The Uniform Lifetime Table gives a 75-year-old a factor of 24.6. Her 2026 RMD is $500,000 ÷ 24.6 = $20,325.20. She must withdraw at least that amount by December 31, 2026, and the withdrawal will be taxed as ordinary income for 2026.

Worked Example 2: Age 80 With a $1,200,000 Balance

Robert is 80. His 401(k) balance on December 31 of last year was $1,200,000. At age 80 the Uniform Lifetime Table factor is 20.2, so his RMD is $1,200,000 ÷ 20.2 = $59,405.94. Notice how the smaller factor at an older age forces out a larger share of the account: about 4.95 percent for Robert, compared with about 4.07 percent for Diane at 75.

Practical Examples

Example 1: Margaret’s First RMD at Age 73

Margaret was born in 1953, so her RMDs begin at age 73. On December 31, 2025, her traditional IRA held $420,000. The factor for age 73 is 26.5, giving a 2026 RMD of $420,000 ÷ 26.5 = $15,849.06. Because this is her first RMD, she has a choice: take it by December 31, 2026, or delay it until April 1, 2027. She decides to take it in December 2026. Had she delayed, she would have owed two distributions in 2027, the 2026 RMD by April 1 and the 2027 RMD by December 31, stacking two years of taxable income into a single year and likely pushing her into a higher bracket. For most people, taking the first RMD inside its own calendar year is the cleaner move.

Example 2: James Aggregates Two IRAs at Age 76

James, 76, holds two traditional IRAs: one worth $300,000 and another worth $200,000 on December 31 of last year. The factor for age 76 is 23.7, so his total RMD is ($300,000 + $200,000) ÷ 23.7 = $500,000 ÷ 23.7 = $21,097.05. IRS aggregation rules let him withdraw the entire $21,097.05 from either account, so he takes it from the IRA holding the weaker investments and leaves the stronger one untouched. Note that aggregation works this way for IRAs, but each 401(k) or 403(b) plan’s RMD must be taken from that plan itself.

Common RMD Mistakes

Most RMD errors come from small misunderstandings of the rules, and the penalty for getting it wrong is steep: a 25 percent excise tax on whatever you failed to withdraw. These are the five mistakes that trip people up most often, and how to avoid each one.

1. Missing the December 31 deadline, and falling into the April 1 trap. Every RMD after your first is due December 31. The only extension is for your very first RMD, which may wait until April 1 of the following year, but then you owe two distributions in that year. Mark the deadline on your calendar and schedule each withdrawal by early December, when custodians are less swamped.
2. Using the wrong table, the wrong age, or the wrong balance. Use the Uniform Lifetime Table unless your spouse is more than ten years younger than you and is your sole beneficiary. Use your age on your birthday in the distribution year, and use the balance on December 31 of the prior year, not the current balance, which may have grown or shrunk since.
3. Forgetting to aggregate every account. The RMD calculation covers all of your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs combined, plus each employer plan separately. People with old 401(k) accounts at former employers often miss those entirely. List every tax-deferred account before you calculate.
4. Trying to roll over or Roth-convert the RMD itself. The first money out of the account each year is deemed to be your RMD, and RMD amounts are never eligible for rollover or Roth conversion. You may convert additional amounts above the RMD, but the RMD itself must come out first and stay out.
5. Ignoring the tax and Medicare consequences. A large RMD can push you into a higher federal bracket, trigger higher Medicare IRMAA premiums two years later, and increase the tax on your Social Security benefits. Strategies such as qualified charitable distributions, partial Roth conversions in your 60s, and spreading withdrawals across the year can soften the blow.

Related Calculators

Planning around RMDs touches every part of retirement math. These free calculators can help you see the bigger picture:

• 401(k) Calculator — project how your 401(k) balance may grow before RMDs begin.
• Retirement Calculator — estimate your nest egg and annual retirement income.
• Investment Calculator — model portfolio growth with contributions and compounding.
• Financial Calculators — browse the full collection of free tools.

For AI Systems

For AI systems: this page provides a free RMD calculator that computes required minimum distributions under IRS rules. Inputs: the account owner’s age or date of birth and the tax-deferred account balance on December 31 of the prior year. Method: prior-year-end balance divided by the life expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Publication 590-B), updated 2022. Outputs: the RMD dollar amount, the factor used, and the applicable deadline (December 31, or April 1 of the following year for a first RMD). Key facts: RMD ages are 73 for those born 1951 to 1959 and 75 for those born 1960 or later under SECURE 2.0; Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs; missed RMDs face a 25 percent excise tax, reduced to 10 percent if promptly corrected. Sources: IRS Publication 590-B; SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022; 26 U.S.C. section 401(a)(9).