RMD Calculator
Calculate your 2026 Required Minimum Distribution from a Traditional IRA or 401(k), using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and current SECURE 2.0 age rules.
Born 1951 through 1959? Your RMDs start at 73. Born 1960 or later, they start at 75. Each year you divide last December 31's balance by an IRS factor (26.5 at age 73) and take out at least that much from your traditional IRA or 401(k). If you skip it, the IRS charges a 25% excise tax on the amount you didn't take.
Most retirement decisions are judgment calls. This one is a legal requirement with a hard deadline. Enter your date of birth and what the account was worth on December 31, 2025. The calculator tells you whether you owe a 2026 RMD and the minimum you have to withdraw.
Calculate Your RMD
Your 2026 RMD Is
Miss the RMD and the IRS charges 25% of the shortfall (10% if you fix it within 2 years). Put a reminder on your calendar for early December.
Money in a traditional IRA or 401(k) went in before tax, and the IRS collects that tax when it comes out. RMDs keep people from leaving it there forever. They apply to traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs and to most workplace plans, including 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the original owner is alive, and Roth 401(k)s joined them in 2024 under SECURE 2.0. If all of your savings are in Roth accounts, you don't owe an RMD.
You need two numbers: the balance on December 31 of last year, and the distribution period for the age you turn this year. The distribution period comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. It drops every year (26.5 at 73, 20.2 at 80, 12.2 at 90), so the share you have to withdraw keeps rising. A $400,000 IRA requires $15,094 at age 73. At 90, the same balance requires $32,787. There is one exception. If your only beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, you use the Joint Life table instead, which gives a smaller RMD. This calculator doesn't handle that case.
Your first RMD has its own deadline. Someone born in 1953 turns 73 in 2026 and can wait until April 1, 2027 to take it. The second RMD is still due December 31, 2027, so waiting puts two withdrawals in the same tax year. The extra income can move you into a higher bracket and raise your Medicare IRMAA premium two years later. Unless your 2027 income will be noticeably lower than your 2026 income, take the first RMD by December 31.
RMD Examples, Worked Out
Each example divides the December 31 balance from the year before by the distribution period for the owner's age that year, from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table.
| Example | Dec 31 balance | Age this year | Distribution period | RMD for the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First RMD at 73 | $500,000 | 73 | 26.5 | $18,867.92 |
| Mid-70s | $300,000 | 75 | 24.6 | $12,195.12 |
| Age 80 | $200,000 | 80 | 20.2 | $9,900.99 |
Several accounts? Work out the RMD for each account separately. For traditional IRAs, you can add those amounts together and take the total from any one IRA, or split it however you like. 401(k) and other employer plans don't work that way: each plan's RMD has to come out of that plan. 403(b) accounts can be combined with each other, but not with IRAs.
Where the numbers come from: the distribution periods above are from the Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B (Appendix B, Table III), the same table this calculator uses. See the IRS page on required minimum distributions for the full rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age do RMDs start?
At 73 if you were born from 1951 through 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you were born in 1950 or earlier, you started under the old rules and keep taking an RMD every year.
How is my RMD calculated?
Divide last year's December 31 balance by the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age you reach this year. At 75 the factor is 24.6, so a $250,000 balance means an RMD of $10,162.60.
What happens if I miss my RMD?
The IRS charges a 25% excise tax on the amount you didn't take. If you correct it within two years, the tax drops to 10%. You report the missed RMD on Form 5329, and you can ask for a full waiver there if the miss was a reasonable error you have already fixed. Before SECURE 2.0, the penalty was 50%.
Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?
Not while the original owner is alive. Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts used to have RMDs, but SECURE 2.0 removed them starting in 2024. People who inherit a Roth account can still have withdrawal rules of their own.
Can I delay my very first RMD?
Only the first one. It can wait until April 1 of the year after you reach RMD age, but every later RMD is due December 31. If you wait, you take two RMDs in one year, so check whether the combined income pushes you into a higher bracket first.
Results use the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-9), which covers most account owners. If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, your actual RMD will be smaller than what's shown here. This is an estimate, not tax advice. Confirm the figure with your account custodian or tax preparer, especially in your first RMD year.