RMD calculator

How is a required minimum distribution calculated?

Divide the account balance on December 31 of the previous year by the factor for your age from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The IRS example: $100,000 at age 75, factor 24.6, gives an RMD of $4,065.

When do RMDs start?

At 73 for people who turn 72 after 2022, and at 75 for people born in 1960 or later under the final IRS regulations. The first RMD may wait until April 1 of the following year.

Which accounts have RMDs?

Traditional IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and most employer plans such as 401(k)s. Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the owner is alive.

What if my spouse is much younger?

If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, the IRS uses a different table (Table II), which gives a smaller RMD. This calculator uses Table III.

How does the table look ahead?

It repeats the calculation for the next 10 years, taking out each RMD and growing the rest at the return you enter.

What is the penalty for missing an RMD?

The excise tax on the amount not withdrawn is 25% under SECURE 2.0, reduced to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within the allowed correction window. The IRS can waive it for a reasonable error if you fix the shortfall and file Form 5329 with an explanation.

Can I take my RMD from any of my IRAs?

You calculate the RMD for each traditional IRA separately, but the total can be taken from any one or more of them. RMDs from 401(k) and similar employer plans are calculated and taken plan by plan.

The formula and the table

The required minimum distribution for a year is the account balance on December 31 of the previous year divided by the distribution period from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for the age you reach in the current year. The divisor falls as you age: it is 26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 12.2 at 90 and 6.4 at 100, so the share withdrawn rises from about 3.8% to 15.6% of the balance.

A worked example

Suppose the balance on December 31, 2025 was $500,000. In the year you turn 76, the divisor is 23.7, so the RMD is $500,000 ÷ 23.7 = $21,097. At 80 the divisor is 20.2 and the RMD is $24,752, and at 90 it is 12.2, giving $40,984. If you were born in 1960 or later, the first RMD year is the one in which you turn 75; at 75 the divisor is 24.6, an RMD of $20,325 on the same balance. People born from 1951 to 1959 start at 73.

Common mistakes

Using the current balance rather than the balance at the end of the previous year gives the wrong amount. Using the age you are now instead of the age you reach by December 31 is another. Delaying the first RMD to April 1 of the next year is allowed, but then two RMDs fall due in that second year, which can push income into a higher bracket. Counting Roth IRAs is a further error, since the original owner of a Roth IRA has no RMDs. Finally, an RMD cannot be rolled over to another retirement account, and the table here assumes an owner whose sole beneficiary is not a spouse more than 10 years younger.

Sources: IRS Publication 590-B (Distributions from IRAs), Appendix B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime); the final regulations under section 401(a)(9) and SECURE 2.0 for the starting ages and penalty. Related: traditional IRA calculator, Roth IRA calculator, 401(k) calculator and retirement withdrawal calculator.

Estimates for planning only — not financial or tax advice. Official statements and your plan documents decide. How we check our calculators.