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Required Minimum Distribution Calculator

Calculate required minimum distributions for traditional IRA, 401(k), and inherited accounts with updated SECURE Act tables.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What Required Minimum Distribution Calculator does, with a checked example

This calculator computes your required minimum distribution for a given year: the December 31 balance of your traditional IRA, 401(k), or inherited account, divided by the IRS life-expectancy factor for the age you reach during that year. It applies the current uniform lifetime table (in effect since 2022) and the SECURE 2.0 starting ages of 73 or 75. The surprise most people hit: the amount uses last December's balance and the age you turn this calendar year, not today's balance or current age - and the first RMD can be delayed only to April 1, after which two distributions fall due in one year.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

Traditional IRA balance $500,000 as of Dec 31, 2025; I turn 73 in 2026

Expected output

RMD for 2026: $18,867.92 (factor 26.5 for age 73)

The RMD is $500,000 divided by 26.5, the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age you reach during the distribution year. 500,000 / 26.5 = 18,867.92.

How the result is produced

1

The division

The RMD equals the account balance on December 31 of the prior year divided by the life-expectancy factor for the age you reach during the distribution year, from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table as revised for 2022. The factor declines by about one each year, so the forced payout grows as a share of the account over time even if the balance itself does not.

2

Ages, timing, and penalties

SECURE 2.0 sets the starting age at 73 for people born 1951 through 1959 and at 75 for those born in 1960 or later. Your first RMD covers the year you reach that age but can be postponed until April 1 of the next year, which puts two distributions in one tax year. Underpaying or missing the deadline draws a 25% excise tax, cut to 10% if corrected promptly.

Good uses

  • Planning your first distribution: entering the balance and the year you turn 73 or 75 to see what must come out, and whether deferring to April 1 of the following year is worth the double distribution.
  • Annual cash-flow and tax planning: projecting each year's required payout from a traditional IRA or 401(k) to plan federal withholding, estimated payments, or a qualified charitable distribution that counts toward the amount.
  • Inherited accounts: checking what a beneficiary is required to withdraw under the 10-year rule or the life-expectancy schedule, based on the decedent's death year and the beneficiary's status.

Limits and checks

  • The divisor keys off the age you reach during the calendar year, not the age you are on the day you calculate. Shifting the birthday-year age by one moves the factor (26.5 at 73, 25.5 at 74) and with it the amount.
  • The result covers one account. You must add balances across all of your traditional IRAs and may withdraw the total from any single one; each 401(k) and 403(b) is figured separately. The still-working exception delays RMDs only from your current employer's plan, never from an IRA.
  • For inherited accounts, the calculator cannot know your full fact pattern: whether the owner died before or after their required beginning date, and whether you are an eligible designated beneficiary (spouse, minor child, disabled or chronically ill person). Whether annual distributions are due during years 1 through 9 of the 10-year rule depends on those facts.

Common questions

I am 73 and still working. Do I have to take an RMD from my 401(k) this year?

Not from that plan. If the account is at your current employer and you own no more than 5% of the business, the still-working exception lets you postpone RMDs from that 401(k) until you retire. The exception never applies to traditional IRAs, and it does not apply to accounts left at former employers, which start their distributions at 73 regardless.

What happens if I take out less than my RMD or miss it entirely?

The shortfall is taxed at 25% (SECURE 2.0 reduced the old 50% rate), and the tax drops to 10% if you correct the mistake within the correction window - generally by the end of the second year after the shortfall and before the IRS starts an audit. File Form 5329 with your return; taking the missed amount promptly is the practical fix.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.

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