RMD Calculator
Work out the required minimum distribution from an IRA or 401(k) for any year, using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and the SECURE 2.0 starting ages.
Result
Required minimum distribution: $4,065.04
Uses the Uniform Lifetime Table. If your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary, the Joint Life table gives a smaller RMD.
- Distribution period (Uniform Lifetime Table)
- 24.6
- Age reached in the distribution year
- 75
- Share of the balance
- 4.07%
- Deadline
- Due by 31 December 2026.
https://calcgallery.com/retirement-planning/rmd-calculator/
Results are arithmetic on the returns, rates and horizons you enter, not a forecast and not investment, tax or retirement advice. The site supplies no expected return, inflation rate, contribution limit, tax rate or withdrawal rate. Real returns vary from year to year, and fees, taxes and the order of returns all change the outcome. Check anything that matters with a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the RMD Calculator
- Enter the account's value on 31 December of the year before the one you are working out. For a 2026 RMD that is the 31 December 2025 balance on your statement.
- Enter your year of birth and the year the distribution is for.
- Read the required minimum distribution, the distribution period it used and the deadline.
The calculation
An RMD is one division. The balance comes from the end of the year before, so the figure is fixed on 1 January and does not change with the market during the year.
RMD = balance on 31 December of last year ÷ distribution period for this year's ageThe distribution period comes from the Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B. It starts at 27.4 at age 72 and falls each year, to 2.0 from age 120. Because the divisor shrinks, the share of the account you must take grows every year: about 3.8% at 73, 5% at 80 and 6.3% at 85.
Several accounts
Work out the RMD for each IRA separately and add them up. The total can come from any one or more of the IRAs. A 401(k) or 403(b) RMD has to be taken from that plan, except that 403(b) RMDs can be totalled across 403(b) accounts the same way.
With your numbers
- $100,000.00 ÷ 24.6 = $4,065.04
Quick reference
Uses the Uniform Lifetime Table. If your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary, the Joint Life table gives a smaller RMD.
| Example | Required minimum distribution |
|---|---|
| $100,000, turning 75 | $4,065.04 |
| $500,000, turning 73 | $18,867.92 |
| $250,000, turning 78 | $11,363.64 |
| $1,000,000, turning 85 | $62,500.00 |
| Born 1960, in 2026 | $0.00 |
| $50,000, turning 95 | $5,617.98 |
Where the numbers come from
The fixed figures this calculator relies on, and the published source each one was checked against. How the calculators are built and checked
3 sources
IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Appendix B, Table III, https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b
Used for
- Rows in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, ages 72 to 120 and over. Verifying this verifies every factor in the table.
26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v)(I), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/401: "attains age 72 after December 31, 2022, and age 73 before January 1, 2033, the applicable age is 73"; 1959 births per the proposed regulations, 89 FR 58644 (19 July 2024)
Used for
- Age required minimum distributions start for IRA owners born 1951 to 1959.
26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v)(II): "attains age 74 after December 31, 2032, the applicable age is 75"
Used for
- Age required minimum distributions start for IRA owners born 1960 or later.
Common questions about the RMD Calculator
- When do required minimum distributions start?
- At 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later, under the SECURE 2.0 Act. The first one may be taken as late as 1 April of the following year. Every later one is due by 31 December.
- How is the RMD worked out?
- Divide the account's balance on 31 December of the previous year by the distribution period for the age you reach in the distribution year. The periods come from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table: 26.5 at 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80 and 16.0 at 85, for example.
- What happens if I delay my first RMD to April?
- You then take two RMDs in the same calendar year, the delayed first one by 1 April and the second by 31 December. Both count as income for that year, which can push you into a higher bracket or raise your Medicare IRMAA two years later.
- What if my spouse is much younger?
- If your spouse is more than 10 years younger and the sole beneficiary for the whole year, you use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor table instead. It gives a longer distribution period and so a smaller RMD. This page uses the Uniform Lifetime Table, which covers everyone else.
- What is the penalty for missing an RMD?
- An excise tax of 25% of the amount not taken, cut to 10% if you correct it within two years.
- Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?
- Not while the owner is alive. Since 2024 Roth accounts in workplace plans such as a Roth 401(k) don't either. Inherited accounts have their own rules, which this page does not cover.