RMD Calculator
Once you reach age 73, you must withdraw a required minimum distribution (RMD) from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s each year. It equals your prior-year balance ÷ an IRS life-expectancy factor. This calculator uses the current IRS Uniform Lifetime Table to compute your RMD.
Use this RMD calculator to find how much you must take out this year. Enter your account balance as of December 31 last year and your age, and it divides by the correct factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table to give your required minimum distribution and what percentage of your balance that represents.
Enter your balance and age, then press Calculate.
How the RMD calculator works
The rule is deliberately simple. Take your retirement account's balance as it stood on December 31 of the previous year, and divide it by the life-expectancy factor the IRS assigns to your age in its Uniform Lifetime Table. The answer is the minimum you must withdraw this year and pay income tax on. This calculator stores the current IRS table and picks the right factor automatically, so you only need your balance and age.
Because the factor shrinks a little every year as life expectancy falls, the percentage of your balance you must take out rises steadily with age — roughly 3.8% at 73, about 5% by 80, and over 8% by 90. Planning around that rising schedule, and the tax it creates, is why many retirees consider a Roth conversion earlier, and coordinate RMDs with other income like a pension or 401(k) withdrawals.
The RMD formula
- Balance — value on December 31 last year
- Factor — from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table
- Age — RMDs begin at 73
Why RMDs exist, and why they matter
Traditional retirement accounts let your money grow untaxed for decades, but the deal was always that the IRS would collect eventually. RMDs are how it does so, forcing a taxable withdrawal each year from age 73. For retirees with large balances, RMDs can push income into higher tax brackets, raise Medicare premiums, and make more of Social Security taxable. Seeing the number early helps you plan withdrawals, charitable strategies like qualified charitable distributions, and conversions to smooth the tax hit.
Don't miss the deadline
The penalty for taking too little is severe — an excise tax on the shortfall, currently 25% and reduced to 10% if corrected promptly. Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you turn 73, but every RMD after that is due by December 31, and doubling up in one year can inflate your tax bill. If you have several accounts, the rules on which you can combine differ between IRAs and workplace plans, so confirm the details or let your custodian calculate and distribute the amount.
Can you combine RMDs from multiple accounts?
It depends on the type of account, and mixing this up is a common, costly mistake. If you have several traditional IRAs, you calculate the RMD for each one but can take the total from any single IRA or any combination of them — the IRS only cares that the overall amount comes out. Workplace plans are stricter: each 401(k) must have its own RMD calculated and withdrawn separately from that specific plan, and you cannot cover a 401(k) RMD from an IRA. (403(b) accounts can be aggregated with other 403(b)s, much like IRAs.) So the practical rule is simple: IRAs pool together, 401(k)s stand alone. When in doubt, take each account's RMD from that account to stay safe.
Estimate only — not tax advice. Uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table; a different table applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger. Confirm with the IRS or a tax professional.
How to use it & key terms
Enter your account balance as of December 31 last year and your current age, then press Calculate to see your required minimum distribution.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| RMD | The minimum you must withdraw yearly from age 73. |
| Uniform Lifetime Table | The IRS table of life-expectancy factors by age. |
| Life-expectancy factor | The number you divide your balance by. |
| Prior-year balance | Your account value on December 31 last year. |
| Required age | 73 now, rising to 75 in 2033. |
| Excise tax | The penalty (25%, or 10% if corrected) for a missed RMD. |
Sources & methodology
The calculator divides the account balance as of December 31 of the prior year by the applicable distribution period (life-expectancy factor) for the account owner's age from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III in IRS Publication 590-B). Required minimum distributions currently begin at age 73 under the SECURE 2.0 Act, rising to 75 in 2033. The Uniform Lifetime Table is used by most owners; a separate Joint Life table applies when the sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger. The result is the minimum required withdrawal, which is taxed as ordinary income.
Sources: IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, Publication 590-B (irs.gov); SECURE 2.0 Act RMD age. Verified against the IRS worked example (age 75, $100,000 ÷ 24.6 = $4,065).
You have to withdraw — but you don't have to spend
A common source of stress about required minimum distributions is the belief that the money must be spent. It doesn't. An RMD is a requirement to move money out of a tax-deferred account and settle the income tax on it — nothing more. Once the tax is paid, you are completely free to put what remains straight back to work. If you don't need the cash for living costs, you can reinvest it in an ordinary taxable brokerage account and keep the very same holdings, so your money stays in the market; only its tax wrapper has changed.
There is also a way to satisfy the requirement without adding to your tax bill at all. If you are charitably inclined, sending part or all of the distribution directly to a qualified charity as a qualified charitable distribution lets the gift count toward your RMD while keeping that amount out of your taxable income. For retirees who give anyway, it is often the most tax-efficient route, because it can hold down the knock-on effects — higher tax brackets, more of your benefits taxed, steeper Medicare premiums — that a large ordinary withdrawal can trigger.
The most powerful lever, though, is time, and it is pulled before the requirement ever begins. The years between leaving work and the age RMDs start are often unusually low-income ones, and they are a valuable window. Drawing down some of a traditional balance early, or converting a portion to a Roth, shrinks the account that future RMDs will be calculated from — which means smaller mandatory withdrawals, and a smaller tax bill, later on. Planning in those quiet years can matter more than anything you do once distributions are already underway.
It is worth remembering what is and isn't subject to the rule. Traditional IRAs and workplace plans carry RMDs; a Roth IRA has none during the original owner's lifetime, so money left there can keep compounding untouched for as long as you like. That single difference is one reason some people convert before the requirement bites. Use the figure above to see the withdrawal coming, then decide deliberately what to do with it — spend it, reinvest it, or give it — rather than letting an unplanned distribution quietly push you into a higher bracket than you needed to be in.
Frequently asked questions
What is a required minimum distribution (RMD)?
A required minimum distribution is the minimum amount you must withdraw each year from most tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as a traditional IRA or a 401(k), once you reach the required age. The rule exists because that money was never taxed going in, so the IRS requires you to start taking it out — and paying income tax on it — in retirement. The amount is based on your account balance and your life expectancy.
At what age do RMDs start?
Under current rules, required minimum distributions begin at age 73. If you reach 72 after December 31, 2022, you must take your first RMD by April 1 of the year after you turn 73, and one every year thereafter by December 31. The starting age is scheduled to rise to 75 in 2033 under the SECURE 2.0 Act. Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the original owner's lifetime.
How is the RMD calculated?
Divide your account balance as of December 31 of the previous year by the applicable life-expectancy factor for your age from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. For example, a $500,000 balance at age 75, where the factor is 24.6, gives an RMD of about $20,325. Each year the factor gets smaller as you age, so the required percentage of your balance gradually rises. This calculator applies the current IRS table for you.
What is the Uniform Lifetime Table?
The Uniform Lifetime Table is the IRS table most account owners use to figure their RMD. It lists a distribution period — a life-expectancy factor — for each age, and you divide your balance by that factor. At 73 the factor is 26.5, at 80 it is 20.2, and at 90 it is 12.2, so the older you are, the larger the share you must withdraw. A different table applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
Missing an RMD, or taking too little, can trigger a stiff excise tax on the shortfall — the amount you failed to withdraw. Under current rules the penalty is 25%, reduced to 10% if you correct the mistake promptly within the allowed window and file the right form. Because the penalty is severe, it is important to take at least the full RMD from your accounts by the deadline each year, or ask your custodian to calculate and distribute it.
Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?
No. Roth IRAs do not require minimum distributions during the original owner's lifetime, which is one of their advantages — you can leave the money growing tax-free for as long as you like. Traditional IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and most workplace plans like 401(k)s do require RMDs. Inherited Roth IRAs, however, are subject to their own distribution rules for beneficiaries.
What is the penalty for missing an RMD?
If you miss an RMD or take out too little, the IRS charges an excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have withdrawn. That penalty drops to 10% if you correct the shortfall within a two-year window and show reasonable cause, and it was as high as 50% before the SECURE 2.0 Act reduced it. To fix a missed RMD you take the distribution as soon as possible and file IRS Form 5329, and the IRS may waive the penalty entirely for a reasonable, well-documented mistake. Setting up automatic distributions is the easiest way to never miss one.
What are the RMD rules for an inherited IRA?
Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years of the original owner's death, and in many cases must also take an annual RMD during those years. Surviving spouses have more flexibility and can often treat the IRA as their own. The rules differ for minor children, disabled beneficiaries and a few other groups, and they apply to inherited Roth IRAs too even though the original owner never had RMDs. Because the details are intricate and penalties are steep, inherited IRAs are worth confirming with a tax professional.
Can you convert an RMD to a Roth IRA?
No, an RMD itself cannot be converted to a Roth IRA. The rules require you to take your required minimum distribution first, and that withdrawal is taxable income you cannot put back or roll into a Roth. Once the RMD is satisfied, though, you can convert additional traditional IRA money above the RMD amount to a Roth if it fits your tax plan. This is one reason people who want to shrink future RMDs often convert in the years before RMDs begin, when no distribution is required first.