How to use the RMD calculator
Enter your year of birth, choose the year the distribution is for and enter the account balance on December 31 of the year before. If your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the account, choose Yes and enter your spouse's year of birth. The calculator picks the right IRS table, shows the RMD with each step of the calculation and projects your future balances and RMDs at the rate of return you enter. The schedule exports to CSV or PDF.
What is a required minimum distribution?
A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the least you must take out of a traditional IRA, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or similar retirement plan each year once you reach a certain age. The money has grown tax-deferred, and the RMD makes sure it is eventually taxed. Roth IRAs, and since 2024 Roth 401(k)s, have no RMDs during the owner's life.
When RMDs start
| Year of birth | First RMD at age |
|---|---|
| 1950 or earlier | 72 |
| 1951 to 1959 | 73 |
| 1960 or later | 75 |
- The first RMD can wait until April 1 of the next year. Later ones are due by December 31, so waiting means two taxable RMDs in the same year.
- If you still work and don't own 5% or more of the company, your current employer's 401(k) can usually wait until you retire. IRAs can't.
RMD formula
RMD = account balance on December 31 of the previous year ÷ distribution period. The distribution period comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age at the end of the RMD year: 26.5 at 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80. If your spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table is used instead, which gives a longer period and a smaller RMD.
Uniform Lifetime Table
The distribution periods for ages 73 to 90, and the share of the balance they require you to take out:
| Age | Distribution period | RMD, % of balance |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% |
| 74 | 25.5 | 3.92% |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% |
| 76 | 23.7 | 4.22% |
| 77 | 22.9 | 4.37% |
| 78 | 22.0 | 4.55% |
| 79 | 21.1 | 4.74% |
| 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% |
| 81 | 19.4 | 5.15% |
| 82 | 18.5 | 5.41% |
| 83 | 17.7 | 5.65% |
| 84 | 16.8 | 5.95% |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% |
| 86 | 15.2 | 6.58% |
| 87 | 14.4 | 6.94% |
| 88 | 13.7 | 7.30% |
| 89 | 12.9 | 7.75% |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% |
RMD calculator example
Born in 1951, with $300,000 in an IRA on December 31, 2025, you are 75 at the end of 2026. Your spouse, born in 1953, is not more than 10 years younger, so the Uniform Lifetime Table applies and the distribution period is 24.6. The RMD for 2026 is $300,000 ÷ 24.6 = $12,195.12. If your spouse were 12 years younger, the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table would give a period of 26.1 and an RMD of $11,494.25. These are the default inputs of the calculator.
If the account earns 5% a year and you take only the RMD at the end of each year, the next 5 years look like this:
| Year | Age | Period | RMD | End balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 75 | 24.6 | $12,195.12 | $302,804.88 |
| 2027 | 76 | 23.7 | $12,776.58 | $305,168.54 |
| 2028 | 77 | 22.9 | $13,326.14 | $307,100.83 |
| 2029 | 78 | 22.0 | $13,959.13 | $308,496.75 |
| 2030 | 79 | 21.1 | $14,620.70 | $309,300.89 |
RMD in Excel
With the balance in B1 and the distribution period in B2, =ROUND(B1/B2, 2) gives the RMD; for the example, =ROUND(300000/24.6, 2) returns $12,195.12. To look the period up by age, put the Uniform Lifetime Table in two columns and use =B1/VLOOKUP(age, table, 2, FALSE).
RMDs and taxes
An RMD is taxed as ordinary income in the year you take it, except for any part that came from after-tax contributions. You can ask the account provider to withhold federal tax from it. From age 70½ you can send up to $111,000 a year in 2026 straight from an IRA to charity as a qualified charitable distribution; it counts toward your RMD and is not taxed. To see how an RMD changes your tax bill, use the income tax calculator.
Inherited IRAs
This calculator is for your own accounts. Inherited IRAs follow other rules: a surviving spouse can usually treat the account as their own, while most other beneficiaries must empty it within 10 years, in some cases with yearly RMDs along the way.
Related retirement calculators
To compare a traditional IRA, which has RMDs, with a Roth IRA, which doesn't, use the IRA calculator, or the Roth IRA calculator for a Roth alone. The 401(k) calculator projects a workplace plan, the retirement calculator shows how long your savings last with your own withdrawals, and the Social Security calculator finds the best age to claim benefits.