RMD Calculator: Your Required Minimum Distribution
Enter your age and last December 31 balance to see this year's required minimum distribution, the exact IRS divisor behind it, and a 10-year view of how the required slice grows.
RMDs currently begin at age 73
Across the traditional IRAs or plan accounts you're calculating for
Used only for the 10-year projection below
This year's RMD (age 73)
$18,868
prior year-end balance ÷ 26.5
Divisor used
26.5
IRS Uniform Lifetime Table entry for age 73
Share of your balance
3.8%
this percentage rises every year
10-year RMD projection
| Age | Divisor | Prior Dec 31 balance | RMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | $500,000 | $18,868 |
| 74 | 25.5 | $505,189 | $19,811 |
| 75 | 24.6 | $509,646 | $20,717 |
| 76 | 23.7 | $513,375 | $21,661 |
| 77 | 22.9 | $516,300 | $22,546 |
| 78 | 22.0 | $518,441 | $23,566 |
| 79 | 21.1 | $519,620 | $24,627 |
| 80 | 20.2 | $519,743 | $25,730 |
| 81 | 19.4 | $518,714 | $26,738 |
| 82 | 18.5 | $516,575 | $27,923 |
Assumes the balance grows 5% a year and each RMD comes out at year-end. Divisors follow the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table; a different table applies if your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary.
Educational estimate for the 2026 tax year, not tax advice. Federal figures follow IRS inflation adjustments; state estimates use statewide rates and standard deductions only and exclude local income taxes (city, county, school district), State Disability Insurance, and credits. Where a state publishes separate married tables, married thresholds may be approximated. Verify your exact withholding with a tax professional or your payroll provider.
The bill for decades of deferral
Every dollar in a traditional IRA or 401(k) grew untaxed because the IRS agreed to wait. A required minimum distribution, or RMD, is where the waiting ends: starting at age 73, the government requires you to withdraw a minimum slice of those pre-tax accounts each year and finally pay ordinary income tax on it. You can always take more than the minimum; the rule only sets the floor.
One division, straight from an IRS table
The math is a single division. Take the account balance on December 31 of last year and divide it by the distribution period the IRS publishes for your age. At 73 that divisor is 26.5, so a $500,000 IRA owes a first RMD of about $18,868, which works out to 3.8% of the account. The table behind it, the Uniform Lifetime Table, is essentially a life-expectancy schedule. Each year the divisor shrinks, so the required percentage quietly climbs: by 90 the table already demands about 8.2% a year, and it keeps rising from there.
What the table is really doing
The design goal is that the account gets drawn down over a realistic remaining lifetime rather than passed along untaxed. In words: the IRS looks at your age, estimates how many distribution years remain, and asks for this year's proportional share. Two useful edges of the rule: IRAs can be aggregated (compute each RMD, then withdraw the total from whichever IRA you like), while workplace plans generally require a separate withdrawal from each plan. And Roth IRAs sit outside the system entirely, with no lifetime RMDs for the owner.
Planning around the forced withdrawal
RMDs matter before they start. The projection table above shows why: a balance that keeps compounding into your seventies produces required withdrawals that can be larger than the income you actually want, taxed at ordinary rates, and capable of dragging Medicare premiums up with them. That is why many retirees smooth withdrawals in their sixties, convert slices to Roth in low-bracket years, or give directly from the IRA to charity once eligible. Missing one is costly (the penalty is a meaningful excise tax), so automation beats memory. To see RMDs inside a full drawdown plan, pair this with the retirement withdrawal calculator and, for the account you never owe this dance, the Roth IRA calculator.
Frequently asked questions
When do RMDs start?
Under current law, your first required minimum distribution is for the year you turn 73. You may delay that first one until April 1 of the following year, but then you take two in the same year, which can push you into a higher bracket. Congress has moved the start age twice in recent years, so verify the rule for your birth year as you get close.
How is my RMD calculated?
Divide your account balance on December 31 of the prior year by the IRS life-expectancy divisor for the age you reach this year, published in the Uniform Lifetime Table. The divisor shrinks as you age, so the required percentage of your balance rises every year. A separate table with larger divisors applies if your spouse is more than 10 years younger and is your sole beneficiary.
Do Roth accounts have RMDs?
Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs for the original owner, and under recent rule changes workplace Roth accounts no longer require them either. Inherited accounts follow different rules: most non-spouse heirs must empty the account within 10 years, whether it is Roth or traditional.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
The IRS charges a meaningful excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn but did not, though it can be reduced if you correct the mistake quickly and file for relief. It is expensive enough that many people simply automate the withdrawal with their custodian each year.
How accurate is this calculator?
The division follows the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table exactly. The 10-year projection assumes a steady return and year-end withdrawals, which real markets will not match, so treat it as a planning picture rather than a schedule. Educational estimate for the 2026 tax year, not tax advice. Federal figures follow IRS inflation adjustments; state estimates use statewide rates and standard deductions only and exclude local income taxes (city, county, school district), State Disability Insurance, and credits. Where a state publishes separate married tables, married thresholds may be approximated. Verify your exact withholding with a tax professional or your payroll provider.
Does this calculator save my numbers?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
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