RMD Calculator by Age: 2026 Required Minimum Distributions

Enter your age or birth year and your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year. This RMD calculator by age identifies your applicable IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor and computes your mandatory annual distribution, monthly breakdown, and potential penalty exposure under IRS Publication 590-B.

An RMD — Required Minimum Distribution — is the minimum dollar amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from tax-deferred retirement accounts such as Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and SEP IRAs under 26 U.S. Code § 401(a)(9). The IRS mandates these withdrawals so the government can collect taxes on money that grew tax-deferred. RMDs are calculated by dividing your December 31 prior-year account balance by an IRS life expectancy factor from the Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B.

RMD stands for Required Minimum Distribution. It is sometimes called a "mandatory distribution" or "minimum required distribution." It means that once you reach your statutory starting age (73 or 75 depending on your birth year), you must withdraw a minimum percentage of your tax-deferred retirement savings annually, or face an IRS excise penalty under 26 U.S. Code § 4974.

Under Section 107 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, your RMD starting age depends on the year you were born: If you were born between 1951 and 1959, your RMD starting age is 73. If you were born in 1960 or later, your RMD starting age is 75. Anyone born in 1950 or earlier is already subject to RMD rules and must continue annual distributions.

To calculate your 2026 RMD, take your account balance on December 31, 2025, and divide it by the IRS life expectancy factor for your age in 2026 from IRS Publication 590-B (Uniform Lifetime Table III). For example, at age 73, the factor is 26.5. If your balance was $500,000, your 2026 RMD is $500,000 / 26.5 = $18,868.

At age 73, the IRS life expectancy factor is 26.5, which equals an annual withdrawal rate of approximately 3.77% of your balance. On a $200,000 balance, the RMD is $7,547. On $400,000, it is $15,094. On $500,000, it is $18,868. On $1,000,000, it is $37,736.

At age 74, the factor is 25.5 (~3.92% of balance). At age 75, the factor is 24.6 (~4.07%). At age 76, the factor is 23.7 (~4.22%). For example, on a $500,000 balance: age 74 RMD is $19,608; age 75 RMD is $20,325; and age 76 RMD is $21,097.

RMDs do not stop at any age. You must take an RMD every calendar year for the rest of your life as long as there is money remaining in your tax-deferred retirement accounts. The IRS Uniform Lifetime Table extends to age 120 and beyond.

The mathematical formula is identical for both (December 31 balance / IRS factor). However, the aggregation rules differ: If you have multiple Traditional IRAs, you calculate each one separately but can withdraw the total sum from any one or combination of IRAs. For 401(k) plans, you cannot aggregate; each 401(k) must distribute its own separate RMD.

403(b) RMDs are calculated using the same Uniform Lifetime Table formula. 403(b) plans can be aggregated with other 403(b) plans you own (you can take the combined 403(b) RMD from one 403(b)), but 403(b)s cannot be aggregated with IRAs or 401(k) plans.

For non-spouse beneficiaries inheriting in 2020 or later, the SECURE Act 10-Year Rule requires the entire account to be emptied by December 31 of the 10th year following the owner's death. Under 2024 IRS final Treasury regulations (TD 10001), if the original owner died on or after their RMD beginning date, annual distributions are also required in years 1–9 using the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table in Publication 590-B.

No. Original Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the account owner's lifetime. Under Section 325 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, starting in tax year 2024, designated Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts are also exempt from lifetime RMDs.

Failing to take your full RMD by the deadline triggers a 25% IRS excise tax under 26 U.S. Code § 4974. Under Section 302 of SECURE 2.0, if you timely correct the shortfall within the two-year correction window and file IRS Form 5329, the penalty is reduced to 10%.

For normal annual RMDs, the deadline is December 31 of each tax year. For your very first RMD only (the year you turn 73 or 75), the IRS allows a grace period until April 1 of the following year. However, delaying your first RMD to April 1 means taking two RMDs in that second year, which can substantially raise your taxable income and trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges.

Yes. You can request voluntary federal tax withholding on your RMD payment using IRS Form W-4R through your custodian. Because the IRS treats tax withholding as paid evenly throughout the tax year, withholding taxes from a year-end RMD can help satisfy estimated tax requirements and avoid quarterly estimated tax underpayment penalties.

If your spouse is your sole primary beneficiary for the entire year and is more than 10 years younger than you, you can use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table (Table II in IRS Publication 590-B) instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table. This gives a larger life expectancy divisor, reducing your mandatory annual withdrawal.

Yes. The IRS updated the life expectancy tables in 2022 under Treasury Decision 9968. Those exact same factors apply for 2024, 2025, 2026, and future years. The only number that changes each year is your age and your prior-year December 31 account balance.