Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator

How this calculator works

Once you reach a certain age, the IRS requires you to start taking money out of traditional IRAs and most workplace retirement plans each year. These withdrawals are called required minimum distributions, or RMDs, and they are taxed as ordinary income. This calculator tells you whether an RMD applies this year, how much it is, and when it is due.

The inputs. Enter your birth year, your account balance as of December 31 of last year, and the age you will reach this year. If you have several IRAs, you can total their balances; see the note on aggregation below.

Step 1: Does an RMD apply? Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, your RMD starting age depends on when you were born:

• Born 1951 to 1959: RMDs start at age 73.
• Born 1960 or later: RMDs start at age 75.

Step 2: Find your divisor. The tool looks up the factor for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. Some common factors:

Step 3: Calculate. RMD = December 31 prior-year balance ÷ factor.

Step 4: Deadline. Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach your starting age. Every later RMD is due by December 31. If you delay the first one, you will take two RMDs in the same year, which can push up your taxable income.

Worked example. Barbara was born in 1953 and turns 74 this year, so RMDs apply to her. Her IRA balance on December 31 of last year was $300,000. Her factor at 74 is 25.5.

• RMD = $300,000 ÷ 25.5 = $11,764.71.
• Because this is not her first RMD year, the deadline is December 31.

If Barbara had been 73 with the same balance, her first RMD would have been $300,000 ÷ 26.5 = $11,320.75, and she could have waited until April 1 of the following year to take it. Her RMD counts as income, which may increase the taxable share of her Social Security; our Social Security tax calculator shows that effect. It can also raise her income for Medicare premium purposes two years later, which you can check with the IRMAA calculator.

Penalties and charity. If you take less than your RMD, the shortfall is subject to a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if you correct it in a timely way (generally within two years). From age 70½, you can give directly from an IRA to a qualified charity through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). A QCD counts toward your RMD and is not included in your taxable income, subject to an annual limit. Our RMD guide covers these options in more detail.

Limits of this estimate. If your spouse is more than 10 years younger than you and is the sole beneficiary of your account, you use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Table instead, which gives a smaller RMD; this tool does not cover that table. It also does not handle inherited IRAs, which have their own rules. Roth IRAs have no RMDs for the original owner, and since 2024 Roth 401(k)s no longer require them either. If you are still working, some employer plans let you delay RMDs from that plan until you retire.