Rmd Calculator

How the RMD Calculator Works

An RMD, or required minimum distribution, is the smallest amount the IRS makes you withdraw each year from a traditional IRA, a 401(k) and most other pre-tax retirement accounts once you reach a certain age. The money you take out is taxed as income. This calculator shows when your RMDs start, how much you must take out each year, and how the amounts change over time.

What you enter

• Birth year: this decides the age your RMDs must start.
• Account balance: the value of your traditional IRA or 401(k) on December 31 of last year. The IRS uses the prior year-end balance to work out this year's RMD.
• Yearly growth: the rate you expect the account to grow before and during your withdrawals. This is an assumption, not a promise.
• Years to show: how many years of RMDs to list, from 1 to 40.
• Tax rate on withdrawals: only used to show each RMD after tax.

When RMDs start

Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, the starting age depends on the year you were born:

Your first RMD is for the year you reach that age. You may delay that first one until April 1 of the next year, but then you take two RMDs in that year, which can push you into a higher tax bracket.

The calculation

Each year's RMD is a simple division:

RMD = account balance on December 31 of last year / distribution period for your age

The distribution period comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. It is a number of years that gets smaller as you get older, so the share of the account you must withdraw grows each year. Here are some of the factors:

Chart: how much of the account you must take out

This chart shows the share of the account that the RMD represents at different ages. The longer the bar, the bigger the required share.

Age 73  █████████████ 3.77%
Age 75  ██████████████ 4.07%
Age 80  ██████████████████ 4.95%
Age 85  ██████████████████████ 6.25%
Age 90  █████████████████████████████ 8.20%
Age 95  ████████████████████████████████████████ 11.24%

A worked example

Say you were born in 1955, so your RMDs start at 73. On December 31 before your 75th birthday year, your IRA was worth $500,000.

• Step: Find the factor for age 75
  Working: Uniform Lifetime Table
  Result: 24.6
• Step: Divide the balance by the factor
  Working: $500,000 / 24.6
  Result: $20,325 RMD
• Step: Share of the account
  Working: 20,325 / 500,000
  Result: 4.07%

For the years ahead, the calculator grows the balance at your yearly growth rate, takes out that year's RMD at the end of the year, and repeats the division for the next year with the new balance and the next age. The results appear in the year-by-year table below the calculator.

Things to know

• You can always withdraw more than the RMD. The RMD is only the minimum.
• If you take too little, the IRS can charge a penalty on the shortfall. The penalty is 25% of the amount you missed, or 10% if you fix it quickly.
• Roth IRAs do not have RMDs while you are alive. Roth 401(k) accounts no longer have them either, from 2024.
• If you have several traditional IRAs, you work out the RMD for each one, add them up, and can take the total from any of them. 401(k) accounts must each be handled separately.
• If your spouse is the only beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you, a different IRS table gives a smaller RMD. This calculator does not cover that case.
• Inherited accounts follow different rules, and this calculator does not cover them.
• If you are still working past your starting age, a 401(k) with your current employer may let you delay RMDs from that plan.

This tool gives an estimate for general information only. It is not tax or investment advice. Rules and tables can change, so check irs.gov or ask a qualified tax professional before you decide how much to withdraw.