RMD Calculator

RMDs: Required Minimum Distributions

A required minimum distribution is the smallest amount the IRS lets you leave untouched each year once distributions begin — or rather, the smallest amount you must take out of tax-deferred accounts such as traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs, most 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans, and profit-sharing plans. The money went in tax-deferred and grew untaxed for decades; the RMD is how the IRS finally collects, because every dollar withdrawn is taxed as ordinary income. Nothing stops you from taking more than the minimum — the RMD is a floor, not a ceiling.

When RMDs start, and the dates that matter

Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach your applicable age: 73 if you were born from 1951 through 1959, and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later (the SECURE Act 2.0 schedule; before 2020 the age was 70½, then 72). Every RMD after the first is due by December 31 of its year. Delaying the first one is allowed but usually unwise: you would owe two RMDs in a single year, stacking two taxable events and possibly pushing yourself into a higher bracket. One genuine delay does exist — if you are still working for the company that sponsors your 401(k) and own less than 5% of it, that plan's RMDs can wait until you retire. The exception never applies to IRAs.

How an RMD is calculated

Three steps, straight from IRS Publication 590-B:

1. Take the account balance at the close of December 31 of the previous year
2. Find the distribution period for your age in the correct IRS table
3. Divide: RMD = prior year-end balance ÷ distribution period

Most owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table — the calculator's defaults, for instance, divide a $300,000 balance by the age-75 period of 24.6 to get $12,195.12, a 4.1% withdrawal. The percentage climbs steeply with age: about 3.8% at 73, 6.3% at 85, 11.2% at 95, and half the remaining balance at 120. The one exception: if your spouse is the account's sole (primary) beneficiary and more than 10 years younger than you, the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table applies instead. Its longer periods — reflecting two lifetimes — produce a noticeably smaller RMD, and this calculator switches to it automatically when your inputs qualify.

Every account, calculated separately

An RMD must be figured for each account individually, but withdrawal rules differ by account type. Traditional IRAs: calculate each one, then take the combined total from any one or several of them. 403(b) plans aggregate the same way. Each 401(k) must satisfy its own RMD from that plan. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA never count toward any RMD, and over-withdrawing in one year earns no credit against future years.

The cost of missing one

Fall short and the IRS levies a 25% excise tax on the amount not withdrawn — $250 on a $1,000 shortfall. Correct the mistake within the IRS correction window (generally two years) and file the return, and the penalty drops to 10%. Responsibility is yours even if your custodian calculated the RMD for you — custodians must offer the figure, but errors remain the taxpayer's problem, which is why checking your own number each year is worth the minute it takes.

Roth accounts and inherited accounts

Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs for the original owner, and since 2024 the same is true of Roth 401(k)s — one reason Roth conversions before age 73 are a popular way to shrink future RMDs. Inherited accounts are a different world: since the SECURE Act of 2019, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years of the owner's death. Exceptions — surviving spouses, minor children (until they come of age), disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner — may still stretch distributions over a lifetime. A spouse has the extra option of rolling the account into their own IRA and treating it as theirs. Finally, if you are charitably inclined, a qualified charitable distribution sends your RMD straight from the IRA to a charity: it satisfies the requirement while keeping the amount out of your taxable income entirely.

Frequently asked questions

How is my RMD calculated?

Prior December 31 balance ÷ the IRS distribution period for your age. $300,000 ÷ 24.6 (age 75) = $12,195.12.

What if I take too little?

A 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reducible to 10% if corrected inside the two-year correction window.

Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?

Not during the owner's lifetime — and since 2024, neither do Roth 401(k)s. Inherited Roth IRAs follow the beneficiary rules instead.

Can I take all my IRA RMDs from one account?

Yes for IRAs (and separately for 403(b)s): figure each account's RMD, then withdraw the total from any one or more of them. Each 401(k) stands alone.