Calculate your required minimum distribution from the IRS Uniform Lifetime or joint table, your RMD starting age (73 or 75), and future RMDs.
By AdminDrafted with AI writing toolsUpdated Checked examples: 8
For 2026 you must withdraw at least $20,325.20: $500,000.00 divided by 24.6, the Uniform Lifetime period for age 75. At 5% a year, RMDs through age 100 add up to $858,275.41.
| Year | Age | Distribution period | Balance Dec 31 prior year | RMD | Balance Dec 31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 75 | 24.6 | $500,000.00 | $20,325.20 | $504,674.80 |
| 2027 | 76 | 23.7 | $504,674.80 | $21,294.30 | $508,614.24 |
| 2028 | 77 | 22.9 | $508,614.24 | $22,210.23 | $511,834.72 |
| 2029 | 78 | 22 | $511,834.72 | $23,265.21 | $514,161.25 |
| 2030 | 79 | 21.1 | $514,161.25 | $24,367.83 | $515,501.48 |
| 2031 | 80 | 20.2 | $515,501.48 | $25,519.88 | $515,756.68 |
| 2032 | 81 | 19.4 | $515,756.68 | $26,585.40 | $514,959.11 |
| 2033 | 82 | 18.5 | $514,959.11 | $27,835.63 | $512,871.44 |
| 2034 | 83 | 17.7 | $512,871.44 | $28,975.79 | $509,539.23 |
| 2035 | 84 | 16.8 | $509,539.23 | $30,329.72 | $504,686.47 |
Born in 1951, so RMDs start at 73 (born 1951 to 1959), per 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2(b)(2).
Uniform Lifetime Table, age 75 (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c); Publication 590-B Table III), in effect since 2022.
Each later year divides the new December 31 balance by the next age's period, with the spouse one year older too.
A required minimum distribution is last year's December 31 account balance divided by the distribution period for your age this year. The period comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, or from the Joint and Last Survivor Table when your spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, which gives a longer period and a smaller RMD. Both are the tables in 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9 that apply from 2022, reprinted in IRS Publication 590-B.
With the defaults, a 75-year-old with $500,000 on December 31, 2025 divides by 24.6 and must withdraw $20,325.20 in 2026, 4.07% of the balance. At a 5% return the projection then shows each year's RMD to age 100.
The current regulation gives starting age 73 for people born 1951 through 1958 and 75 for those born 1960 or later. This calculator also uses 73 for 1959 following the IRS proposed clarification; the current regulation reserves its 1959 paragraph. Roth IRAs need no owner-lifetime RMDs.
Divide the account balance on December 31 of last year by the distribution period for the age you reach this year, from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At 75 in 2026 with $500,000 at the end of 2025, the period is 24.6, so the 2026 RMD is 500,000 ÷ 24.6 = $20,325.20.
The tables in IRS Publication 590-B have applied since 2022 to traditional IRAs and workplace plans. Roth IRAs need no RMDs while the owner is alive.
The Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) applies unless your spouse is the sole beneficiary for the whole year and more than 10 years younger. Then the Joint and Last Survivor Table (Table II) gives a longer period and a smaller RMD.
A spouse exactly 10 years younger still means the uniform table.
These are Publication 590-B's examples, a $100,000 balance at age 75, with and without a sole-beneficiary spouse aged 64, plus the table's last row at age 120 on $10,000:
| Scenario | Distribution period | Estimated RMD |
|---|---|---|
| Publication uniform | 24.6 | 4065.04 |
| Publication joint | 25.3 | 3952.57 |
| Final uniform row | 2.0 | 5000.00 |
The publication rounds the first two to $4,065 and $3,953. At 120 and over the period stays 2.0, so the RMD is half the balance.
One cell differs between sources. For an owner of 90 with a spouse of 76, the 2025 Publication 590-B lists 14.8, while the Treasury regulation's joint table lists 14.7.
The RMD here uses 14.7; if that cell applies to you, confirm the divisor with your account's administrator.
The starting age depends on your birth year (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2):
Your first RMD is for the year you reach that age, and it can wait until April 1 of the next year. Every later RMD is due by December 31, so delaying the first puts two in the same year.
Someone born in 1953 owes $18,867.92 on $500,000 for 2026 (period 26.5), due by April 1, 2027, plus the 2027 RMD by the end of 2027.
Born in 1956, you have no RMD until 2029; born in 1960, until 2035. Some employer-plan participants who still work for the plan's sponsor can delay further under the still-working exception (IRS RMD guidance).
Each year repeats the division with the new December 31 balance and the next age's period. At a 5% return, with each RMD taken at the end of the year:
The RMD rises here because the divisor shrinks each year while the balance is still growing. The return affects only later years, never this year's RMD.
Projected to age 100, the RMDs total $858,275.41. Taken at the start of each year, before that year's growth, they total $821,164.47.
The excise tax is generally 25% of the amount not withdrawn. The reduced 10% rate requires withdrawing the shortfall and submitting the required return within the IRS correction window. Under Publication 590-B, that window ends at the earliest of a mailed deficiency notice, assessment of the tax, or the last day of the second tax year following the tax year for which the excise tax is imposed. It is not an unconditional two-year extension. A $20,000 shortfall means $5,000 at 25% or $2,000 at 10%; a reasonable-error waiver may also be available under the IRS instructions. Extra withdrawals do not count toward the next year's RMD.
To see how the balance builds before RMDs start, use the 401(k) calculator. For a withdrawal plan of your own, use the annuity calculator, and for accounts without owner RMDs, the Roth IRA calculator.
Checked against: IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Table III example: $100,000 ÷ 24.6 = $4,065
Checked against: IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Table II example: $100,000 ÷ 25.3 = $3,953
Checked against: IRS Publication 590-B (2025): $38,400 ÷ 26.5 (the IRS rounds it to $1,450); first-year deadline April 1 of the next year
Checked against: Independent calculation
Divide the account balance on December 31 of last year by the distribution period for the age you reach this year. IRS Publication 590-B's example: a $100,000 IRA balance at the end of 2025 and age 75 in 2026 gives a period of 24.6 from the Uniform Lifetime Table, so the 2026 RMD is $100,000 ÷ 24.6 = $4,065.
The current applicable-age regulation gives age 73 for birth years 1951 through 1958 and age 75 for birth years 1960 onward; its paragraph for 1959 is reserved. This calculator also uses 73 for 1959 following the IRS proposed clarification, and flags that assumption. A first RMD can generally wait until April 1 of the following year, which can place two distributions in that year. Some employer-plan participants can delay under the applicable still-working exception; this page does not determine eligibility for that exception.
Only when your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the account for the whole year and is more than 10 years younger than you. Publication 590-B's example: at 75 with a 64-year-old spouse the period is 25.3 instead of 24.6, so the RMD on $100,000 falls from $4,065 to $3,953. Everyone else uses the Uniform Lifetime Table.
The excise tax on a missed RMD is generally 25% of the shortfall. It may be reduced to 10% if you withdraw the shortfall and file the required return within the IRS correction window. That window can end before the last day of the second tax year following the tax year for which the excise tax is imposed if a deficiency notice is mailed or the tax is assessed. A missed $20,000 RMD would mean $5,000 at 25% or $2,000 at 10%; extra withdrawals cannot be carried toward next year's RMD.
Not while the owner is alive. The IRS states that no withdrawals are required from Roth IRAs, or from designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b), during the owner's lifetime. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account do have to take distributions under the rules for inherited accounts.
For planning only. Lenders, tax authorities and markets apply their own rounding, fees and rules; confirm figures with them before you commit.
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