RMD Calculator
Free RMD calculator: your 2026 required minimum distribution from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, from your age and year-end balance.
Last reviewed: July 2026Your age is taken as the age you reach on your birthday this calendar year (this year minus your birth year). Enter your account balance as of December 31 of last year — that is the value the IRS uses.
Quick Answer
Your RMD = last December 31 balance ÷ your IRS distribution period. Example: at 73 with $500,000, the Uniform Lifetime Table period is 26.5 years, so the RMD is $18,867.92 — about 3.8% of the balance. RMDs currently begin at 73 (born 1951-1959) or 75 (born 1960 or later).
What This Calculator Does
This RMD calculator estimates your required minimum distribution — the smallest amount the IRS requires you to withdraw from most tax-deferred retirement accounts once you reach your starting age. Give it your birth year and the balance of your account on December 31 of last year, and it divides that balance by the distribution period the IRS assigns to your age in its Uniform Lifetime Table. The result is the dollar amount you must take out this year to avoid a penalty. This is a withdrawal-requirement tool, not a savings projector: it tells you what you have to take out now, not what your balance might grow to over time. If you want to model contributions and compound growth toward retirement instead, use the retirement savings calculator. Required distributions apply to traditional IRAs and most employer plans funded with pre-tax dollars, because the government deferred tax on that money for years and now wants it withdrawn and taxed.
How to Use It
Enter your birth year and your prior-year-end account balance, and the required minimum distribution updates as you type. Two details matter. First, always use the balance as of December 31 of last year — not today's balance, and not the balance on your birthday. The IRS bases each year's RMD on the prior December 31 value, so that is the number to enter. Second, this calculator treats your age as the age you reach on your birthday this year, which is simply the calendar year minus your birth year. RMDs are keyed to the age you attain during the year, so a birthday later in the year still counts for the full year. If you hold more than one IRA, you can add their December 31 balances together and enter the combined total, because IRA distributions may be aggregated. Employer plans work differently and should be entered and taken separately.
When RMDs Start (SECURE 2.0)
Under the current rules set by the SECURE 2.0 Act, the age at which required distributions begin depends on your birth year. If you were born between 1951 and 1959, your RMDs begin at age 73. If you were born in 1960 or later, they begin at age 75. Your very first RMD comes with a special timing option: you may delay it until April 1 of the year after you reach your starting age. That sounds convenient, but it has a catch. If you push the first distribution into the next year, you still owe that year's regular RMD by December 31, so two taxable distributions land in the same tax year and can push you into a higher bracket. Because of this bunching effect, most people take the first RMD by December 31 of the year they reach their starting age rather than deferring it. Every RMD after the first is simply due by December 31 each year.
Worked Examples
A few examples show how the distribution period drives the result:
- At age 73 with a $500,000 balance, the Uniform Lifetime Table period is 26.5 years, so the RMD is $18,867.92 — about 3.8% of the balance.
- At age 75 with $500,000, the period drops to 24.6 years and the RMD rises to $20,325.20.
- At age 80 with $250,000, the period is 20.2 years and the RMD is $12,376.24.
- At age 90 with $100,000, the period is 12.2 years and the RMD is $8,196.72.
Notice the pattern: as you get older, the distribution period shrinks, so the required withdrawal becomes a larger share of the balance each year. At 73 the RMD is roughly 3.8% of the account; by 90 it is a much larger percentage. The table is built this way on purpose, gradually drawing the account down over your remaining life expectancy.
The Uniform Lifetime Table
The Uniform Lifetime Table below is the one this calculator uses. Find your age for the year, read across to the distribution period, and divide your prior-year-end balance by that number to get your RMD.
| Age | Period | Age | Period | Age | Period | Age | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 85 | 16.0 | 97 | 7.8 | 109 | 3.7 |
| 74 | 25.5 | 86 | 15.2 | 98 | 7.3 | 110 | 3.5 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 87 | 14.4 | 99 | 6.8 | 111 | 3.4 |
| 76 | 23.7 | 88 | 13.7 | 100 | 6.4 | 112 | 3.3 |
| 77 | 22.9 | 89 | 12.9 | 101 | 6.0 | 113 | 3.1 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 90 | 12.2 | 102 | 5.6 | 114 | 3.0 |
| 79 | 21.1 | 91 | 11.5 | 103 | 5.2 | 115 | 2.9 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 92 | 10.8 | 104 | 4.9 | 116 | 2.8 |
| 81 | 19.4 | 93 | 10.1 | 105 | 4.6 | 117 | 2.7 |
| 82 | 18.5 | 94 | 9.5 | 106 | 4.3 | 118 | 2.5 |
| 83 | 17.7 | 95 | 8.9 | 107 | 4.1 | 119 | 2.3 |
| 84 | 16.8 | 96 | 8.4 | 108 | 3.9 | 120+ | 2.0 |
The final row, marked 120+, applies at age 120 and over. One important limitation: the Uniform Lifetime Table assumes a standard beneficiary arrangement. If your sole beneficiary is your spouse and that spouse is more than 10 years younger than you, the IRS instead uses the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table (Table II), which produces a longer distribution period and therefore a smaller RMD. This calculator uses the Uniform Lifetime Table only, so if the younger-spouse situation applies to you, your actual required distribution will be lower than the figure shown here.
Which Accounts Have RMDs
Required minimum distributions apply to most tax-deferred retirement accounts, but not all of them. Traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs are subject to RMDs, as are employer plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans. Roth IRAs are the notable exception: they have no lifetime RMDs for the original owner. Designated Roth accounts inside a 401(k) also no longer require lifetime RMDs, a change that took effect in 2024. There is also a difference in how you can satisfy the requirement. If you hold several IRAs, the IRS lets you total the RMDs across them and withdraw the combined amount from any one of those IRAs. Employer plans do not offer that flexibility: an RMD from a 401(k) or similar plan must be taken from that specific plan, and each plan is handled on its own.
The Penalty for Missing an RMD
Missing an RMD is expensive. If you fail to withdraw the full required amount by the deadline, the IRS charges an excise tax on the shortfall — the portion you should have taken but did not. Under SECURE 2.0 that penalty is 25% of the shortfall, and it drops to 10% if you correct the mistake within the specified correction window by taking the missed distribution and filing the right form. The penalty applies only to the amount you fell short, not to the whole account, but it is steep enough that setting a reminder before the December 31 deadline is well worth the effort.