RMD Calculator
Calculate your Required Minimum Distribution from a traditional IRA or 401(k) using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table.
RMD Calculator: IRS Uniform Lifetime Table & Complete Guide
Written by Mathew | Financial Tools & Calculation Specialist · Last updated July 31, 2026
In two sentences: An RMD calculator finds your Required Minimum Distribution by dividing your retirement account balance from December 31 of the prior year by the IRS life expectancy divisor for your age, using the Uniform Lifetime Table for most account owners. This guide breaks down the formula, the age-73-versus-75 starting rules under SECURE 2.0, and worked examples showing exactly how your RMD grows as a percentage of your balance each year.
What Is an RMD Calculator?
An RMD calculator determines the minimum amount you’re legally required to withdraw annually from tax-deferred retirement accounts like Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b)s, once you reach the IRS-mandated starting age. These required withdrawals exist to ensure tax-deferred savings are eventually taxed as ordinary income, rather than growing tax-deferred indefinitely.
The RMD Calculator Formula
RMD = Prior Year-End Account Balance (Dec. 31) ÷ IRS Life Expectancy Divisor for Your Age
The divisor comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, which applies to most account owners whose spouse is either less than 10 years younger or not their sole primary beneficiary.
When RMDs Start: Age 73 or 75
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, RMDs begin at age 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959. If you were born in 1960 or later, your RMDs don’t start until age 75. You must take your first RMD by April 1 of the year following the year you turn your applicable age, and every subsequent RMD by December 31 of that year.
IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Key Divisors)
| Age | Divisor | Age | Divisor | Age | Divisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 83 | 17.7 | 93 | 10.1 |
| 74 | 25.5 | 84 | 16.8 | 94 | 9.5 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 85 | 16.0 | 95 | 8.9 |
| 76 | 23.7 | 86 | 15.2 | 96 | 8.4 |
| 77 | 22.9 | 87 | 14.4 | 97 | 7.8 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 88 | 13.7 | 98 | 7.3 |
| 79 | 21.1 | 89 | 12.9 | 99 | 6.8 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 90 | 12.2 | 100 | 6.4 |
Worked Examples
Example 1: A first-year RMD at age 73
An account owner turns 73 this year, with a prior December 31 balance of $500,000.
RMD = $500,000 ÷ 26.5 ≈ $18,868
Example 2: An RMD at age 80
The same account, now grown to $600,000 by the time the owner turns 80.
RMD = $600,000 ÷ 20.2 ≈ $29,703
Notice the RMD as a percentage of balance has grown from roughly 3.8% at age 73 to about 4.95% at age 80 — the divisor shrinks every year, which means RMDs claim a larger percentage of the account balance each year even before accounting for any account growth.
Example 3: RMD with a much younger spouse (Joint Life Table)
If your spouse is more than 10 years younger and is your sole primary beneficiary, the Joint and Last Survivor Table replaces the Uniform Lifetime Table, using a longer distribution period. For an owner aged 73 with a spouse 18 years younger (age 55), the joint table period is 31.1 — notably larger than the standard 26.5 divisor.
Uniform Lifetime Table RMD: $750,000 ÷ 26.5 ≈ $28,302
Joint Life Table RMD: $750,000 ÷ 31.1 ≈ $24,116
The larger divisor under the Joint Life Table reduces the required distribution by roughly $4,200 in this example, since the calculation accounts for the substantially younger spouse’s longer expected lifespan.
Example 4: How RMDs scale across a retirement
Using the same $500,000 starting point, RMD as a percentage of balance at several ages, assuming the balance itself doesn’t change:
Age 73: $500,000 ÷ 26.5 ≈ 3.8% of balance
Age 80: $500,000 ÷ 20.2 ≈ 4.95% of balance
Age 90: $500,000 ÷ 12.2 ≈ 8.2% of balance
Age 100: $500,000 ÷ 6.4 ≈ 15.6% of balance
This illustrates why, for a retiree earning a moderate 5-6% annual return, RMDs in the early-to-mid 70s can actually be smaller than portfolio growth — meaning the account balance can keep rising even after RMDs begin — while RMDs later in life eventually claim a much larger share of the balance regardless of investment performance.
Step-by-Step: How to Use an RMD Calculator
- Confirm your RMD starting age based on your birth year — 73 for those born 1951-1959, or 75 for those born 1960 or later.
- Find your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year — this exact balance, not your current balance, is what the formula uses.
- Look up your age’s divisor on the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (or the Joint Life Table if your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary).
- Divide the prior year-end balance by the divisor to find your RMD.
- For multiple IRAs, sum all traditional IRA balances (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) and apply the divisor once to the total — but calculate and distribute 401(k) RMDs separately from each individual plan.
What Happens If You Don’t Take Your RMD
Failing to take a full RMD by the deadline triggers an IRS excise tax penalty on the shortfall — historically as high as 50% of the amount not withdrawn, though this penalty was reduced to 25% (and potentially 10% if corrected promptly) under SECURE 2.0. Because the penalty is so severe relative to simply taking the distribution and paying ordinary income tax on it, missing an RMD deadline is one of the costliest retirement account mistakes to make, and an RMD calculator run annually is a simple way to avoid it.
Using an RMD Calculator for Broader Retirement Tax Planning
An RMD calculator is most valuable when it’s run well before your actual RMD start age, since several strategies for managing RMD impact require years of advance planning to be effective.
Practical ways to use an RMD calculator
- Project future RMDs to anticipate tax bracket impact. Running an RMD calculator forward several years, alongside an assumed account growth rate, helps you see whether future RMDs might push you into a higher tax bracket than you’re in today — useful information for deciding whether Roth conversions in lower-income years make sense.
- Compare Roth conversion scenarios against projected RMDs. Since Roth IRAs aren’t subject to RMDs, an RMD calculator can help illustrate how converting a portion of a traditional account earlier might reduce future required distributions and their associated tax impact.
- Coordinate RMDs across multiple accounts. For anyone with several IRAs and workplace plans, an RMD calculator applied to each account separately (remembering that 401(k)s can’t be aggregated with IRAs) helps avoid the costly mistake of underwithdrawing from one specific plan.
- Plan qualified charitable distributions (QCDs). An RMD calculator can help charitably inclined retirees see how directing all or part of an RMD to a qualified charity might satisfy the distribution requirement while potentially reducing taxable income compared to taking the RMD as ordinary income.
Frequently Asked Questions
No — Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs during the original owner’s lifetime, since contributions were already made with after-tax dollars. However, inherited Roth IRAs may be subject to different distribution rules depending on the beneficiary’s relationship to the original owner.
Yes, for IRAs specifically — you can aggregate the RMD amount across all your traditional IRAs and withdraw the total from just one of them. However, 401(k) and 403(b) RMDs generally must be calculated and withdrawn separately from each individual plan.
Some employer-sponsored plans allow you to delay RMDs from that specific employer’s plan until you actually retire, if you don’t own more than 5% of the company — this exception doesn’t apply to IRAs, which require RMDs starting at the applicable age regardless of employment status.
The Uniform Lifetime Table itself has been in effect for every distribution year since 2022, based on updated mortality data — when people search for a “current year” RMD table, they typically mean using this same table to compute that year’s distribution, not a newly revised set of divisors.
Related Calculators
- Emergency Fund Calculator
- Commission Calculator
- Percent Off Calculator
- Inflation Calculator
- Marriage Tax Calculator
- Estate Tax Calculator
- Social Security Calculator
- 401k calculator
- Credit Card Calculator
- College Cost Calculator
- CD Calculator
- Bond Calculator
In summary, an RMD calculator applies the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table’s straightforward divide-by-divisor formula, and understanding both your correct starting age under SECURE 2.0 and how the divisor shrinks over time helps you plan for a required distribution that claims an increasingly larger share of your balance the longer you live.
About the author: Mathew is a Financial Tools & Calculation Specialist focused on building and fact-checking online calculators across retirement planning and personal finance topics.
Note: This calculator and article are provided for general educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute tax or financial advice. RMD rules are complex and vary by account type and beneficiary situation. Consult a qualified tax advisor or financial professional for guidance specific to your accounts.