Estimate an own-account RMD using IRS factors, with a future withdrawal schedule.
Calculator
Own-account lifetime RMDs only; excludes Roth, inherited accounts and still-working deferrals. Supports distribution years 2022–2100. Return affects the projection, not this year's RMD. Table II requires a sole-beneficiary spouse more than 10 years younger; the published table starts at spouse age 20.
RMD Analysis
Review the required distribution, IRS table factor, account impact, and projected annual schedule.
First-Year Account Impact
Calculation Details
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|
Projected annual RMD schedule
| Year | Age | Starting balance | Table / period | RMD | Ending balance | Modeled funding gap |
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2026 required minimum distribution calculator
Use this calculator for an owner of a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or an employer retirement account that is subject to required minimum distributions. Enter the account owner's birth year, the distribution year, and the account's value on December 31 of the previous year. The result identifies the IRS table and distribution period used, calculates the annual RMD, and builds a future schedule.
required minimum distribution = prior December 31 balance / applicable IRS distribution period
Which IRS life-expectancy table applies?
Most account owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table, Table III in IRS Publication 590-B. Use the Joint and Last Survivor Table, Table II, only when the owner's spouse is the sole beneficiary for the entire distribution year and is more than 10 years younger than the owner. The calculator checks both conditions from the entries before selecting Table II.
2026 RMD table: IRS Uniform Lifetime factors
Table III, also used for distribution years beginning in 2022. Use your age attained in the distribution year. Table II may apply for a qualifying younger spouse; inherited accounts use different rules. Future projections assume unchanged tables.
| Owner age | Distribution period |
|---|---|
| 72 | 27.4 |
| 73 | 26.5 |
| 74 | 25.5 |
| 75 | 24.6 |
| 76 | 23.7 |
| 77 | 22.9 |
| 78 | 22.0 |
| 79 | 21.1 |
| 80 | 20.2 |
| 81 | 19.4 |
| 82 | 18.5 |
| 83 | 17.7 |
| 84 | 16.8 |
| 85 | 16.0 |
| 86 | 15.2 |
| 87 | 14.4 |
| 88 | 13.7 |
| 89 | 12.9 |
| 90 | 12.2 |
| 91 | 11.5 |
| 92 | 10.8 |
| 93 | 10.1 |
| 94 | 9.5 |
| 95 | 8.9 |
| 96 | 8.4 |
| 97 | 7.8 |
| 98 | 7.3 |
| 99 | 6.8 |
| 100 | 6.4 |
| 101 | 6.0 |
| 102 | 5.6 |
| 103 | 5.2 |
| 104 | 4.9 |
| 105 | 4.6 |
| 106 | 4.3 |
| 107 | 4.1 |
| 108 | 3.9 |
| 109 | 3.7 |
| 110 | 3.5 |
| 111 | 3.4 |
| 112 | 3.3 |
| 113 | 3.1 |
| 114 | 3.0 |
| 115 | 2.9 |
| 116 | 2.8 |
| 117 | 2.7 |
| 118 | 2.5 |
| 119 | 2.3 |
| 120 | 2.0 |
Worked RMD example
An owner who is age 75 in 2026 and has a $300,000 prior-year-end balance uses the Uniform Lifetime distribution period of 24.6. Dividing $300,000 by 24.6 produces a 2026 RMD of $12,195.12. The projected schedule assumes each RMD is withdrawn at year end, after applying the entered annual return to the opening balance.
When RMDs begin
The starting-age rules distinguish births before July 1, 1949 (70½), July 1949 through 1950 (72), 1951–1958 (73), and 1960 onward (75). For 1959 births, this tool models age 73 under the 2024 proposed clarification; confirm future requirements with your custodian. The current applicable-age regulation distinguishes these cohorts. For older births, the optional birth-half input refines the historical starting year without requiring a full birth date.
The IRS RMD FAQs explain the usual first-year April 1 deadline and subsequent December 31 deadlines. This calculator accepts distribution years from 2022 onward, not pre-2022 tables or the 2020 waiver. Still-working employer-plan deferrals are outside this model.
Accounts and exceptions
Roth IRA owners do not take lifetime RMDs from their own Roth IRAs. Beginning in 2024, designated Roth accounts in employer plans are also excluded from lifetime RMD requirements while the participant is alive. Some current employees can delay RMDs from their present employer's plan, but the exception generally does not apply to a person who owns more than 5% of the employer. It also does not postpone RMDs from traditional IRAs or former-employer plans.
Projection assumptions
Each row's RMD uses its opening balance and the applicable factor. Growth or loss is then applied before the modeled year-end withdrawal. A funding gap is shown if that projected balance cannot cover the calculated RMD; the schedule stops there rather than implying the obligation disappears. That gap is not a tax-penalty calculation. The schedule ends at age 120 or year 2100, and assumes unchanged tables and beneficiary status. It is a scenario, not a prediction.
RMD is a minimum withdrawal calculation, not an income-sufficiency test. For a separate spending or savings scenario, use the retirement calculator; plan-quoted benefit comparisons belong in the pension payout calculator.
Important limitations
This tool is for an account owner calculating a lifetime RMD. It does not calculate inherited IRA beneficiary distributions, the 10-year rule, annuity contract rules, qualified charitable distribution adjustments, multiple-account aggregation, or corrective excise taxes. Employer plans can have plan-specific rules. Confirm the final amount with the account custodian or a qualified tax professional; the account owner remains responsible for taking the correct amount.
Continue your retirement estimate
For account-growth comparisons rather than a required withdrawal, use the IRA calculator. To model salary-based deposits and employer matching separately, use the 401(k) calculator. Their growth projections do not replace the RMD calculation or its account-specific inputs.
Frequently asked questions
What balance should I enter?
Enter the fair market value of the applicable retirement account as of December 31 immediately before the distribution year, after any adjustments your custodian or tax adviser says are required.
Can I withdraw more than the RMD?
Yes, but an amount above the RMD generally cannot be applied to a future year's RMD. A distribution may be taxable and may affect other tax calculations.
Can I combine IRA RMDs?
You generally calculate an RMD separately for each traditional IRA, then may take the combined IRA amount from one or more of those IRAs. Different aggregation rules apply to employer plans, and 403(b) accounts have separate rules.
Does the projected return change this year's RMD?
No. This year's RMD is based on the prior December 31 balance entered. The return assumption is used only to estimate later balances and distributions.