RMD Calculator
The balance, your age, and the rate you pay
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- No statute sets these results — they are return, fee and time-value arithmetic that holds in any market. Tools in this category that do turn on U.S. tax law or a contribution limit say so on their own page.
- Scope and limitations
- Scenario model, not a forecast. Returns, volatility, inflation, fees and taxes are assumptions you supply, and actual investment outcomes can be lower or negative. Past performance does not carry forward, and no allocation shown here is a recommendation.
- Source links checked
- Sep 19, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the account balance as it stood on 31 December last year — the RMD is always figured on the prior year-end balance.
- 02
Enter your age this year. Nothing is required before 73.
- 03
Check the distribution period. The page fills it in from the age you just entered, off the Uniform Lifetime Table — 26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 12.2 at 90 — so you only need to touch it for a case the table does not cover, such as a sole beneficiary spouse more than ten years younger.
- 04
Add your federal and state rates and anything you have already withdrawn, then read what is still required and the tax it triggers.
Formula
Required distribution = the 31 December balance ÷ the distribution period for your age. Tax = distribution × (federal + state rate). Excise = anything still not withdrawn × 25%.
Example
A $850,000 balance at 73 divides by the 26.5 the page reads off the table for that age, so $32,075 must come out — about 3.8% of the account, or $2,673 a month. At a combined 27% that adds $8,660 of tax and leaves $23,415. Ignore it entirely and the 25% excise adds $8,019 on top. Change the age to 80 and the divisor moves with it, to 20.2: the same balance now owes $42,079, close to 5% of the account, with $10,520 of excise behind it.
Definitions
- Distribution period
- The divisor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age, which this page fills in from the age you enter — 26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 12.2 at 90.
- Prior year-end balance
- The 31 December value of the account, which is what this year's distribution is always figured on.
- Excise tax
- The penalty on a missed distribution: 25%, or 10% if corrected in time.
Good to know
The bill that finally comes due
Every dollar deferred into a traditional 401(k) or IRA was deferred, not forgiven. Required minimum distributions are how the deferral ends: from age 73 you must withdraw a set fraction of the account each year and pay ordinary income tax on it, whether or not you need the money. The amount is simply the prior 31 December balance divided by a distribution period from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table — 26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 16.0 at 85, 12.2 at 90 — which falls by about a year for each year of age through the seventies and by rather less after that, so the required fraction rises from about 3.8% in the first year toward 10% and beyond in the nineties. Roth IRAs have never been subject to it, and since 2024 neither are Roth balances inside a workplace plan.
Where the divisor comes from, and why it is still a field
The Uniform Lifetime Table is a lookup, and this page performs it: type your age and the distribution period is read off Table III of IRS Publication 590-B, the version fixed by 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c) and unchanged since it took effect for 2022. That is the correction that matters most here, because a page that asks for your age and then divides by one frozen figure answers the wrong question for everyone but a 73-year-old — an 80-year-old with $850,000 owes $42,079 on the 20.2 divisor, not the $32,075 that 26.5 would produce, and taking the smaller figure leaves $10,004 undistributed with a 25% excise of $2,501 on it. The divisor remains an editable field rather than a hidden constant, for the case the table does not cover: if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor table instead, which gives a longer period and a smaller required distribution, and that is the figure to type over the one the page filled in. Change it and the page says which figure the calculation used, so the override is never silent.
The penalty, and the deferral that costs more than it saves
Missing a distribution is expensive. The excise tax on the shortfall is 25%, reduced from 50% by the SECURE 2.0 Act, and it falls to 10% if you correct it promptly within the correction window and file Form 5329. There is one permitted delay: the very first distribution may be deferred to 1 April of the following year. It is usually a poor idea, because the second one is still due that December, so two distributions land in a single tax year — which can push you into a higher bracket, raise the taxable share of Social Security, and trip the Medicare IRMAA threshold two years later.
Managing the distribution rather than just taking it
A required distribution must leave the account, but you decide where it goes and how it is taxed. A qualified charitable distribution lets someone 70½ or older send up to a set annual amount straight from an IRA to a charity, satisfying the RMD without the money ever appearing in taxable income — better than taking the distribution and deducting the gift, particularly for anyone who no longer itemizes. Distributions can also be taken in kind, moving securities rather than cash. And the years between retiring and 73 are the window in which Roth conversions shrink the pre-tax balance that future RMDs are computed from, which is the only way to make the required amount itself smaller.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the distribution period come from?
From the Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B, looked up from the age you entered — Table III as fixed by 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c). It stays an editable field rather than a constant because the table does not cover every case: a sole beneficiary spouse more than ten years younger uses the Joint and Last Survivor table instead, and that longer figure goes in the box. Overwrite it and the page tells you it is no longer using the table.
Where do I find the right period for my age?
The Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B, and the page reads it for you: 26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 16.0 at 85, 12.2 at 90. It falls by about a year for each year of age through your seventies and by rather less after that, which is why it is looked up rather than stepped down. If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor table instead, which gives a longer period and a smaller distribution.
What happens if I miss it?
The shortfall carries a 25% excise tax, cut from 50% by the SECURE 2.0 Act, and it drops to 10% if you correct it within the correction window and file the right form. It is one of the harshest penalties in the code, and it is entirely avoidable.
Can I defer my first one?
Yes — the first distribution may be delayed to 1 April of the following year. It is rarely a good idea: the second one is still due that December, so two distributions land in one tax year and can push you into a higher bracket or past an IRMAA threshold.
Do Roth accounts have RMDs?
Roth IRAs never did, and from 2024 Roth balances inside a workplace plan no longer do either. Only pre-tax balances — traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and the rest — are counted here.
At what age do required distributions start — 73 or 75?
73 if you were born before 1960 and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later; SECURE 2.0 set both. The page works out which applies from the age you enter. Below your starting age it shows nothing due, the years until your first distribution and what that first year's divisor would require on today's balance, so you can see the size of the first one coming.