RMD Calculator
Your RMD is your account balance on December 31 of last year divided by an IRS distribution period for your age. At age 75 the period is 24.6, so a $100,000 balance means a $4,065 RMD for 2026.
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In US dollars. Your figures stay in your browser: they are not sent or saved.
Your RMD for 2026
$4,065
$100,000 ÷ 24.6. You reach 75 in 2026, so the divisor comes from Table III (Uniform Lifetime).
Take it by December 31, 2026.
Projected RMDs at an assumed 5% return
Assumption, not an IRS figure. The balance grows at the return you set, each year the RMD comes out first, and nothing else is added or withdrawn. The rows add up to $127,567 in RMDs through age 95.
| Year | Age | Prior Dec 31 balance | Divisor | RMD | Balance after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 75 | $100,000 | 24.6 | $4,065 | $100,732 |
| 2027 | 76 | $100,732 | 23.7 | $4,250 | $101,305 |
| 2028 | 77 | $101,305 | 22.9 | $4,424 | $101,726 |
| 2029 | 78 | $101,726 | 22.0 | $4,624 | $101,957 |
| 2030 | 79 | $101,957 | 21.1 | $4,832 | $101,981 |
| 2031 | 80 | $101,981 | 20.2 | $5,049 | $101,779 |
| 2032 | 81 | $101,779 | 19.4 | $5,246 | $101,359 |
| 2033 | 82 | $101,359 | 18.5 | $5,479 | $100,675 |
| 2034 | 83 | $100,675 | 17.7 | $5,688 | $99,736 |
| 2035 | 84 | $99,736 | 16.8 | $5,937 | $98,489 |
| 2036 | 85 | $98,489 | 16.0 | $6,156 | $96,951 |
| 2037 | 86 | $96,951 | 15.2 | $6,378 | $95,101 |
| 2038 | 87 | $95,101 | 14.4 | $6,604 | $92,921 |
| 2039 | 88 | $92,921 | 13.7 | $6,783 | $90,446 |
| 2040 | 89 | $90,446 | 12.9 | $7,011 | $87,606 |
| 2041 | 90 | $87,606 | 12.2 | $7,181 | $84,447 |
| 2042 | 91 | $84,447 | 11.5 | $7,343 | $80,959 |
| 2043 | 92 | $80,959 | 10.8 | $7,496 | $77,136 |
| 2044 | 93 | $77,136 | 10.1 | $7,637 | $72,973 |
| 2045 | 94 | $72,973 | 9.5 | $7,681 | $68,556 |
| 2046 | 95 | $68,556 | 8.9 | $7,703 | $63,896 |
How the RMD is calculated
RMD for a year = account balance on December 31 of the previous year ÷ distribution period. The period comes from IRS Table III (Uniform Lifetime) at the age you reach in that year. If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, it comes from Table II (Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy) instead. The projection is our own assumption: the balance grows at the return you set after each RMD, with no contributions and no other withdrawals. Sources, all read on 2026-10-27:
- 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v), as amended by SECURE 2.0 Act sec. 107 (Cornell LII)RMD starting age: 73 for people born 1951 to 1958, 75 for people born in 1960 or later. Born in 1959 the statute points to both. Quote: “the applicable age is 73”
- Proposed regulations, Required Minimum Distributions, 89 FR 58644 (July 19, 2024)Start age 73 for people born in 1959. Quote: “In the case of an employee born in 1959, the applicable age is age 73.”
- IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from IRAs; page last reviewed 30-Apr-2026The division, Table III (Uniform Lifetime) and Table II (Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy), the age used, and the spouse more than 10 years younger rule. Quote: “Your required minimum distribution for 2026 would be $4,065 ($100,000 ÷ 24.6).”
- IRS, Retirement topics: Required minimum distributions (RMDs); page last reviewed 08-Apr-2026Which balance is divided. Also the workplace plan rule: the first RMD can wait until April 1 after the year you reach 73 or retire from the plan sponsor, if the plan allows it. Quote: “the account balance as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year”
- IRS, Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs; page last reviewed 29-Jan-2026First-year deadline, later deadlines and the excise tax on a missed RMD. Quote: “you can delay taking the first RMD until April 1 of the following year”
RMD questions
What age do required minimum distributions start?
RMDs start in the year you reach 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959 and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. For 1959 the law as written points to both 73 and 75; IRS proposed regulations set 73, and this calculator follows them. That makes the first RMD year 2024 for someone born in 1951, 2032 for 1959 and 2035 for 1960. If you were born in 1950 or earlier, earlier rules applied and you have already started.
How is an RMD calculated?
Divide the account balance on December 31 of the previous year by the distribution period for your age in the year. The age is the one you reach in that calendar year. For $100,000 at age 75 the period is 24.6, so the RMD for 2026 is $4,065. This is the example IRS Publication 590-B prints.
When is my first RMD due?
By April 1 of the year after the year you reach your starting age, or you can take it during that year. After the first one, each RMD is due by December 31. If you wait until April 1, you owe two RMDs in that second year: someone born in 1951 reaches 73 in 2024, can take the first RMD by April 1, 2025, and then owes the second by December 31, 2025. Both fall in the same calendar year. These are the IRA deadlines. For a 401(k) or other workplace plan, if you still work for that employer and the plan allows it, the first RMD can wait until April 1 after the year you retire (not for 5% owners).
When does the Joint Life table apply?
Only when your spouse is your sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you. The calculator then uses IRS Table II instead of Table III. With the example above and a spouse 15 years younger (age 60), the period is 28.3 instead of 24.6, and the RMD is $3,534 instead of $4,065. Your marital status is set on January 1 of the RMD year (Publication 590-B), so a divorce or death after that date does not change the table until the next year. Exactly 10 years apart does not count here, following Publication 590-B; the IRS retirement topics page words the gap as "ten or more years", so ask your plan administrator if you are exactly 10 years apart.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
The amount you did not withdraw may be subject to an excise tax of 25%, or 10% if you correct it within two years. You report it on Form 5329 with your federal tax return.
Which balance do I use?
The balance on December 31 of the year before the RMD year, not today's balance. For a 2026 RMD that is your balance on December 31, 2025.
Do I have to take RMDs from a Roth IRA?
No. Publication 590-B says the original owner of a Roth IRA does not have to take distributions regardless of age. This calculator is for traditional IRAs and, as an estimate, workplace plans such as a 401(k) (their first-year deadline can differ). Check your plan, because a plan can have its own rules.
I have more than one IRA. How do I take the RMD?
Publication 590-B says to figure the RMD separately for each IRA, add them up, and then you can take the total from one IRA or from several. Run this calculator once per account.
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This calculator is an educational tool, not tax or financial advice. It uses published IRS tables and does not know your whole situation. Check your number with your plan administrator or a tax professional before you withdraw.