US Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator

About US Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator

How Is an RMD Calculated?

An RMD is calculated by dividing your prior year-end account balance by the IRS-published life expectancy factor for your age. The formula in IRS Publication 590-B is plain division:

RMD = Prior Year-End Balance / Life Expectancy Factor

The factor comes from one of three IRS tables: the Uniform Lifetime Table (used by most retirees), the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table (only when the sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger), or the Single Life Expectancy Table (used by inherited IRA beneficiaries). The current Uniform Lifetime Table reflects a 2022 IRS update that lowered withdrawal rates by recognising longer life expectancies. The lower the factor, the higher your required withdrawal as a percentage of the balance.

Worked example. You turn 75 this year and had $500,000 in your Traditional IRA on December 31 last year. The Uniform Lifetime factor for age 75 is 24.6. Your RMD is $500,000 / 24.6 = $20,325.20, which is about a 4.07% withdrawal rate. At age 80, with a factor of 20.2, the same $500,000 balance would require $24,752 (4.95%). At age 90, factor 12.2, the required withdrawal jumps to $40,984 (8.20%). The IRS table is designed so the percentage rises gradually each year, which is why projecting forward matters.

IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (2022 Update)

The table below is the current Uniform Lifetime Table from IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III, effective for distributions in 2022 and later. Use the age you will reach by December 31 of the distribution year.

Age	Factor	Withdrawal %	Age	Factor	Withdrawal %
73	26.5	3.77%	87	14.4	6.94%
74	25.5	3.92%	88	13.7	7.30%
75	24.6	4.07%	89	12.9	7.75%
76	23.7	4.22%	90	12.2	8.20%
77	22.9	4.37%	92	10.8	9.26%
78	22.0	4.55%	95	8.9	11.24%
79	21.1	4.74%	97	7.8	12.82%
80	20.2	4.95%	100	6.4	15.63%
82	18.5	5.41%	105	4.6	21.74%
85	16.0	6.25%	110	3.5	28.57%

The current table replaced the older 2002 version, which used lower factors and forced larger withdrawals at every age. The change cut RMDs by roughly 6-7% across the board. A 75-year-old who would have used the old factor of 22.9 now uses 24.6, lowering the required withdrawal on a $500,000 balance from $21,834 to $20,325 - a $1,509 reduction.

How Did SECURE Act 2.0 Change RMDs?

SECURE Act 2.0, signed into law on December 29, 2022, made four significant changes to the RMD rules. First, the starting age rose from 72 to 73 effective 2023, with another increase to 75 scheduled for 2033 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Second, the excise tax for missed RMDs was cut from 50% to 25%, with a further reduction to 10% if you correct the shortfall and file Form 5329 within a two-year window. Third, beginning in 2024, designated Roth accounts inside 401(k) and 403(b) plans are exempt from lifetime RMDs, aligning them with Roth IRAs. Fourth, the act expanded qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) limits to $200,000, allowing more of your balance to be deferred past age 85.

The IRS issued final regulations on these changes on July 19, 2024, clarifying RMD rules for inherited IRAs, the 10-year rule for non-spouse beneficiaries, and the treatment of multiple beneficiaries. Most provisions took effect for tax year 2025 distributions.

Which Accounts Require RMDs?

RMDs apply to virtually every tax-deferred retirement vehicle the IRS recognises. The table below summarises which accounts trigger RMDs and which do not.

Account Type	RMD Required?	Notes
Traditional IRA	Yes, at 73	Includes rollover IRAs
SEP IRA	Yes, at 73	Common for self-employed
SIMPLE IRA	Yes, at 73	Small employer plans
401(k) Traditional	Yes, at 73	Still-working exception available
403(b)	Yes, at 73	Schools, hospitals, nonprofits
457(b) governmental	Yes, at 73	State and local government workers
Roth IRA	No (owner)	No lifetime RMDs ever
Roth 401(k) / 403(b)	No (from 2024)	SECURE 2.0 removed RMDs
Inherited IRA	Yes, varies	10-year rule for most non-spouses

There is one notable exception: if you are still working past age 73 and own less than 5% of the company sponsoring your current 401(k), you can delay RMDs on that specific 401(k) until you retire. This "still-working exception" does not apply to IRAs or to plans from former employers - you must still take RMDs from those. The exception is also lost if you own more than 5% of the company at any point during the plan year.

What Happens If You Miss an RMD?

The IRS imposes a 25% excise tax on any shortfall between what you should have withdrawn and what you actually withdrew. The penalty drops to 10% if you correct the missed distribution within two years and file Form 5329 with a "reasonable cause" explanation. Before SECURE Act 2.0, the penalty was a flat 50%, one of the harshest in the entire tax code. Even at the reduced 25% rate, a missed $20,000 RMD costs $5,000 in penalty plus the regular income tax on the withdrawal once you take it.

The IRS has historically been lenient about waiving the penalty for first-time offenders who took corrective action. The agency's position, set out in IRS Notice 2022-53 and the 2024 final regulations, is that the penalty can be waived for reasonable cause if you take the missed amount as soon as you discover the error and file Form 5329. According to a 2023 GAO report on retirement security, an estimated 7-13% of RMD-eligible account holders fail to take the full required amount each year, with smaller balances and multi-account holders most prone to errors.

How Do You Reduce Future RMDs?

RMDs cannot be eliminated, but the taxable bite can be reduced with planning. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) let you donate up to $111,000 in 2026 (up from $108,000 in 2025, indexed annually for inflation under SECURE 2.0) directly from your IRA to a qualified charity - the distribution counts toward your RMD but is excluded from taxable income. Married couples filing jointly can each make a QCD, so up to $222,000 between them. Roth conversions in the years between retirement and 73 shift balances out of RMD-eligible accounts permanently; pay tax now at known rates rather than later at unknown rates. Coordinate with our US income tax calculator to see how a partial Roth conversion would affect your current-year bracket. A QLAC purchase (lifetime maximum $210,000 in 2026, indexed in $10,000 increments) shifts some of your balance into a deferred income annuity that is exempt from RMDs until age 85, which can lower mid-70s tax bills.

If you have multiple IRAs, you can total all your IRA balances and take the combined RMD from any one of them - the IRS treats IRAs as fungible for this purpose. The same flexibility applies across multiple 403(b) accounts. But you cannot aggregate IRA and 401(k) RMDs - each 401(k) requires its own distribution. People with several old workplace 401(k)s often roll them into a single IRA to simplify RMD administration. For context on building the underlying balances, see the US 401(k) calculator and our retirement calculator.

How Big Are Typical RMDs?

The Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, released in October 2023, reported the median retirement account balance for households aged 65-74 at $200,000 and the mean at $609,000. Using the Uniform Lifetime factor for age 73 (26.5), a household with the median balance would face a first-year RMD of about $7,547, while a household at the mean would owe $22,981. By age 80, those numbers grow to roughly $9,901 (median) and $30,148 (mean) on the same balances - even before market growth. The Investment Company Institute estimated in 2024 that US households hold over $13.5 trillion in IRAs and $7.4 trillion in 401(k)-style plans, the vast majority subject to RMDs from age 73 onward.

A common mistake among newer retirees is forgetting that the calculation uses the December 31 balance of the prior year, not the current balance. A strong market year inflates next year's RMD even if you have already spent down some of the balance. A poor market year does the opposite. Always check your December 31 statement when computing the new year's requirement.

RMD Timing and the First-Year Rule

Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you turn 73 - a one-time grace period known as the Required Beginning Date. Every subsequent RMD is due by December 31. Deferring the first RMD means you take two RMDs in the same calendar year, which can push you into a higher tax bracket and trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges. For most retirees, taking the first RMD in the year you turn 73 rather than deferring it produces a cleaner tax outcome.

Custodians typically calculate and report your RMD on Form 5498 each January, but the legal responsibility for taking the full amount rests with you. Several brokerages offer automatic RMD distributions on a schedule you choose. Quarterly distributions (March, June, September, December) help with cash flow and reduce the risk of forgetting in a busy December.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the wrong year-end balance. The RMD is based on the December 31 balance from the prior calendar year, not the current balance or year-average.
• Aggregating across the wrong account types. You can total all IRAs (Traditional/SEP/SIMPLE) and withdraw from any one. You cannot do the same across 401(k)s and IRAs - each 401(k) needs its own RMD.
• Forgetting an old 401(k). Plans from former employers still owe RMDs even if you have not touched them in decades. Roll them into an IRA to consolidate.
• Assuming Roth conversions affect this year's RMD. A Roth conversion does not satisfy your RMD requirement. You must take the RMD first, then convert any additional amount.
• Missing the QCD age threshold. Qualified Charitable Distributions are only available starting at age 70.5, even though the RMD age is 73. Donors aged 70.5-72 can still use QCDs for tax-free charitable giving from IRAs.

Sources

• IRS - Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
• IRS Publication 590-B - Distributions from IRAs
• IRS - RMD FAQs
• Federal Register - Final RMD Regulations (July 19, 2024)
• SECURE Act 2.0 - Public Law 117-328 full text
• IRS Notice 2022-53 - RMD penalty waiver guidance
• Federal Reserve - 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (Oct 2023)