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Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
Once you reach your RMD age, the IRS requires withdrawals from Traditional IRAs and 401ks each year. Estimate your first RMD, the tax, and how withdrawals grow over time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Required Minimum Distribution?
An RMD is the minimum amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from pre-tax retirement accounts (Traditional IRA, 401k, 403b, and similar) once you reach your RMD age. The goal is to ensure these tax-deferred dollars eventually get taxed. Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the owner's lifetime.
At what age do RMDs start now?
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, the start age is 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach RMD age, but doing so means taking two RMDs in one year.
How is the RMD amount calculated?
Divide your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year by a life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age. For example, at 73 the factor is 26.5, so a $800,000 balance gives an RMD of about $30,189. The factor shrinks each year, so RMDs rise as a percentage of the balance as you age.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
The penalty is steep: a 25% excise tax on the amount you failed to withdraw (reduced to 10% if you correct it promptly within the allowed window). Because the penalty is so large, it is critical to take at least the full RMD by December 31 each year — many custodians can automate this.
How can I reduce future RMDs?
Strategies include doing Roth conversions in your 60s before RMDs begin (Roth balances are not subject to lifetime RMDs), making Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) directly to charity from your IRA after 70½ (which satisfy RMDs tax-free, up to a limit), and the 'still-working' exception that can delay 401k RMDs from a current employer's plan.
Does this calculator handle multiple accounts or a younger spouse?
It estimates RMDs on a combined pre-tax balance using the Uniform Lifetime Table. If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor table, which produces smaller RMDs — this tool flags that but does not compute the joint table. RMD rules also differ for inherited accounts. Verify specifics with the current IRS tables or a tax professional.