How this calculator works
Your RMD is your account balance on December 31 of last year divided by the distribution period for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The projection takes each year's RMD out, grows the rest at your expected return, and repeats.
Worked example
With the example values below: Required distribution, $18,868 (balance ÷ 26.5 (Uniform Lifetime Table)). Change any number above to run your own.
What you enter
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Age this year | 73 |
| Balance on Dec. 31 last year | $500,000 |
| Expected return | 5% |
Which accounts have RMDs
IRA RMDs can be added together and taken from any one or more IRAs. 401(k) RMDs must be taken from each plan separately.
- Traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.
- 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans, unless you're still working for that employer and don't own 5% or more of it.
- Inherited IRAs, under separate rules for beneficiaries.
- Not Roth IRAs during the owner's lifetime, and not Roth 401(k)s from 2024.
Planning around RMDs
Large RMDs can push you into a higher bracket and increase Medicare premiums and taxes on Social Security. Strategies include Roth conversions in lower-income years before RMDs begin, and qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), which let people 70½ or older give over $100,000 a year (the limit is indexed to inflation) directly from an IRA to charity, counting toward the RMD without adding to taxable income.
You can take RMDs any time during the year, in one lump or in installments, and have taxes withheld.
Frequently asked questions
What is an RMD?
A required minimum distribution is the amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and similar tax-deferred accounts once you reach RMD age. The withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income.
At what age do RMDs start?
At 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. You can delay your first RMD until April 1 of the following year, but then you take two distributions in that year.
How is an RMD calculated?
Divide the account balance on December 31 of last year by the distribution period for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At 75 the period is 24.6, so a $500,000 balance means an RMD of $20,325.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
The IRS charges an excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have withdrawn, reduced to 10% if you correct it within two years. Roth IRAs, and Roth 401(k)s since 2024, have no RMDs for the original owner.
Do I have to take an RMD if I'm still working?
Not from your current employer's 401(k) if you don't own 5% or more of the company and the plan allows the delay. RMDs from IRAs and former employers' plans still apply.
Grow what this calculator projects.
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Estimates for planning only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Tax tools use 2026 federal figures (brackets, $16,100 / $32,200 standard deduction, $19,000 gift exclusion, $15M lifetime exemption). Rates shown as defaults are examples; replace them with quotes you actually receive.