2026 RMD Calculator and Table: How to Calculate Your RMD
Key Points – 2026 RMD Calculator and Table: How to Calculate Your RMD
- Required Minimum Distributions are minimum annual withdrawals required from most tax-deferred retirement accounts
- How the required beginning date for RMDs has changed under SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0
- Understanding How to Calculate RMDs
- Penalties for missed RMDs: 25% excise tax on the shortfall (10% if corrected within two years)
- Strategies to Reduce RMDs
- 6-Minute Read
What Are Required Minimum Distributions … and Why Do They Exist?
Retirement accounts like traditional IRAs and 401(k)s let you defer taxes on contributions and growth for decades. However, the IRS eventually wants its share rather than letting those accounts grow untaxed indefinitely. That’s what Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are for.
Once you reach a certain age, you must start withdrawing and paying tax on a minimum amount each year, whether you need the money or not. RMDs are a floor, not a ceiling; you can always withdraw more than the minimum in any given year. Getting it wrong can mean a steep tax penalty; getting it right helps you manage your tax bill throughout retirement.
In addition to traditional 401(k)s and IRAs, RMDs also apply to SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and other defined contribution plans. Roth IRAs are the exception. Since Roth IRA contributions are after-tax, the original owner never has to take RMDs during their lifetime. The same now holds for designated Roth accounts in 401(k)s and 403(b)s because of the SECURE Act 2.0. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account, however, are still subject to RMD rules, even though the withdrawals themselves are generally tax-free.
When Do RMDs Start?
The RMD age has shifted twice recently, first on January 1, 2020, under the original SECURE Act and again on January 1, 2023, under SECURE 2.0.1 Find out your RMD age below:
- If you were born in 1950 or earlier, your RMD age was 72 (or 70½ if you turned 70½ before 2020).
- Those born between 1951 and 1959 have an RMD age of 73.
- Anyone born in 1960 or later has an RMD age of 75.2
Confirm your exact required beginning date using your birth year, since the phase-in creates edge cases depending on when in the year you turn the applicable age.
What Is Your Required Beginning Date? … Your First RMD Has a Special Deadline
Most RMDs are due by December 31. Your very first one, though, can wait until April 1 of the following year. This is your “required beginning date” for RMDs. However, delaying your first RMD until April 1 of the following year means you’ll also owe your second RMD by December 31 of that year. That means you would have two taxable distributions land in one tax year, potentially pushing you into a higher bracket or raising Medicare premiums under IRMAA. Many retirees take their first RMD in the year they reach their RMD age instead to avoid doubling up.
For example, if you turn 73 in 2026, your first RMD is technically due by April 1, 2027. But your second RMD (for 2027) is still due by December 31, 2027.
Still Working? A Different Rule May Apply
If you’re still employed past your RMD age and don’t own more than 5% of the company, many 401(k) and 403(b) plans let you delay RMDs from that employer’s plan until you retire. This exception doesn’t apply to IRAs, including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, which require withdrawals starting at your RMD age regardless of employment.
How to Calculate RMDs
The formula is simple arithmetic once you have the right inputs:
- RMD = Prior Year-End Account Balance ÷ Distribution Period (from the applicable IRS life expectancy table)
Step 1: Find Your Account Balance
Use the fair market value as of December 31 of the prior year. For a 2026 RMD, that’s the balance on December 31, 2025, typically shown on your year-end statement.
If you own multiple traditional IRAs, calculate each one’s RMD separately, but you can total them and withdraw the combined amount from any one IRA or combination. That flexibility doesn’t cross account types. 401(k) RMDs generally must be withdrawn separately from each plan (with limited aggregation allowed among 403(b) accounts).
Step 2: Find Your Distribution Period
The IRS publishes three life expectancy tables in Publication 590-B.
- The Uniform Lifetime Table applies for unmarried owners, married owners whose spouse isn’t more than 10 years younger, and sole beneficiaries.
- The Joint and Last Survivor Table applies only when your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary, producing a longer (smaller-RMD) distribution period.
- The Single Life Expectancy Table applies to certain beneficiaries of inherited accounts, not original owners.
Always confirm current figures against IRS Publication 590-B or your custodian’s tools.3
Step 3: Divide
Suppose you turn 76 in 2026, and your IRA held $500,000 on December 31, 2025. Using the age-76 distribution period (23.7):
- $500,000 ÷ 23.7 = $21,097 (rounded)
That’s your minimum required withdrawal, taxable as income for 2026. You can withdraw more, just not less.
RMDs for Inherited Accounts
Inherited-account rules are more complex and were reshaped by the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0. They depend on who inherited the account and whether the original owner had already started RMDs before death.
Surviving spouses have the most flexibility. They can treat an inherited IRA as their own, roll it into their own IRA, or remain a beneficiary and use their own life expectancy.
Most non-spouse beneficiaries now fall under the “10-year rule.” The account must be fully emptied by the end of the 10th year after death. Whether annual RMDs are also required during those 10 years depends on whether the owner had reached their required beginning date. If they had, beneficiaries generally must take annual distributions in years one through nine, plus empty the account by year 10. If not, beneficiaries have more timing flexibility but still face the year-10 deadline.
A narrower group of “eligible designated beneficiaries,” including surviving spouses, minor children (until majority), disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries no more than 10 years younger than the owner, can still stretch distributions over their own life expectancy.4
Given the number of variables, confirm your specific situation against current IRS guidance or a tax professional since 10-year-rule regulations have seen ongoing clarification since the SECURE Act became law on January 1, 2020.
How to Calculate Your RMD Using Our RMD Calculator
We want to make sure you understand how to calculate RMDs but also want to save you the time of having to calculate them on your own. That’s why we’ve built an RMD calculator for you to be able to calculate your RMDs in a few quick, simple steps.
Calculator
What is your required minimum distribution?
Two inputs. Your RMD, the IRS factor behind it, and your deadline, using the current Uniform Lifetime Table.
Understand your RMD
Your RMD is your account balance on December 31 of the prior year divided by a life expectancy factor the IRS publishes for your age. Most account owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table. If your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table applies instead, which produces a smaller required amount.
Each retirement account calculates its own RMD. IRA amounts can be combined and taken from any one IRA, but 401(k) RMDs must be taken from each plan separately.
Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs begin at age 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, and at age 75 if you were born in 1960 or later.
Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach your RMD age. Every RMD after that is due by December 31. Careful: delaying the first one means taking two distributions in the same tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket.
Missing an RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn. If you correct the shortfall within the IRS correction window, the penalty drops to 10%. Either way, it is an expensive mistake that is easy to avoid with a withdrawal plan.
RMDs from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s are taxed as ordinary income. A large RMD can also raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA and increase the taxable share of your Social Security.
If you give to charity, a qualified charitable distribution sends money from your IRA directly to a qualified charity, counts toward your RMD, and never appears in your taxable income.
The size of every future RMD is set by the balance in your tax-deferred accounts. Strategies like Roth conversions in lower-income years can shrink that balance before RMDs begin. We cover the full playbook in How to Reduce RMDs.
Inherited accounts follow their own timeline, including the 10-year rule for most non-spouse beneficiaries. This calculator does not apply to inherited IRAs. See Inherited IRA Rules for that framework.
Your RMD is the easy question.
The harder one is how to take it without paying more tax than you need to. See where you stand in about five minutes with your Modern Confidence Score.
This calculator provides an educational estimate based on IRS life expectancy tables and the information you enter. It is not tax, legal, or investment advice, and it does not account for every situation, including inherited accounts, multiple plans, or state tax considerations. Consult your tax professional or a Modern Wealth Management advisor about your specific circumstances.
Penalties for Missing an RMD
Failing to withdraw your full RMD triggers an IRS excise tax on the shortfall. It’s 25% under SECURE 2.0 (it was previously 50%). The excise tax drop to 10% if corrected within a two-year window. Missed RMDs are reported on Form 5329, and the IRS may waive the penalty for reasonable error, though that’s not guaranteed.
Strategies to Reduce RMDs
A few approaches commonly come up, depending on your broader financial picture:
Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) let IRA owners 70½ or older send up to an annual limit directly to charity, counting toward that year’s RMD while excluding it from taxable income.4
Roth conversions before RMD age shift money into an account that isn’t subject to lifetime RMDs, reducing future required withdrawals, though conversions are taxable in the year they occur.
Qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) let you use a limited amount of savings to buy a deferred annuity, delaying RMDs on that portion until a later age, up to an IRS cap.
Aggregating IRA withdrawals across multiple traditional IRAs lets you draw the combined RMD from whichever account suits your cashflow, investment, or tax-withholding needs, as long as the total meets your combined requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Calculate Your RMD
Q: Do I have to take an RMD if I’m still working?
Not necessarily from your current employer’s plan, if you don’t own more than 5% of the company, but IRAs still require withdrawals at your RMD age regardless of employment.
Q: Can I take my RMD from just one account if I have several IRAs?
Yes. Calculate each IRA’s RMD separately, then withdraw the combined total from any one or combination. This doesn’t extend across account types like 401(k)s.
Q: What happens if I take too little?
A 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10% if corrected within two years via Form 5329. The IRS can sometimes waive penalties for reasonable error.
Q: Are RMDs taxed as ordinary income?
Generally yes, except for any portion representing already-taxed after-tax contributions (your basis).
Q: Can a qualified charitable distribution satisfy my RMD?
Yes. A QCD from an IRA owner 70½ or older counts toward that year’s RMD without adding to taxable income.
Q: Do Roth IRAs ever require RMDs?
Not during the original owner’s lifetime, but inherited Roth IRAs are subject to RMD rules even though qualified withdrawals stay tax-free.
The Bottom Line About How to Calculate Your RMD
RMDs are one of the few non-negotiable deadlines in retirement planning. The math (find your balance, find the distribution period, divide) is simple; the complexity shows up around the edges: multiple accounts, the first-year deadline, inherited accounts, and strategies like QCDs or Roth conversions. Because RMD ages, tables, and penalties have changed repeatedly in recent years, confirm current figures each year through IRS Publication 590-B, your account custodian, or a financial or tax advisor, rather than relying on prior-year rules of thumb.
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Resources Mentioned in This Article
[1] https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/rmd-reference-guide
[3] https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b
[4] https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plan-and-ira-required-minimum-distributions-faqs
Investment advisory services offered through Modern Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser.
The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.