RMD Calculator
Once you turn 73, the IRS requires withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts. Find this year’s required minimum distribution.
Example: with IRA / 401(k) balance (Dec 31 last year) 500,000 · Your age this year? 75 · Your birth year? 1951 · Is your spouse the sole primary beneficiary? No · Spouse’s birth year 1951 · Estimated rate of return (optional)? 0 → Required minimum distribution: $20,325.
Computed by the calculator below using its default values. Change any input to see your own numbers.
Tools to manage retirement withdrawals
Learn moreWhy RMDs exist
Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s grew tax-deferred, so the IRS eventually requires you to withdraw — and pay tax — whether you need the money or not. The required amount rises each year as the life-expectancy factor shrinks. Missing an RMD triggers a stiff penalty.
How it’s calculated & sources
RMD = prior year-end balance ÷ the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age. The factor falls each year, so the percentage withdrawn climbs over time. Under SECURE 2.0, your RMD start age depends on your birth year: 73 if you were born 1951–1959, and 75 if you were born 1960 or later (this calculator derives your start age from the birth year field). If your spouse is your sole primary beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you, the IRS instead lets you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table, which stretches distributions over a longer period and produces a smaller RMD. Because the full two-dimensional Joint Life table is large, this calculator approximates the joint-life factor as the Uniform Lifetime factor plus a bonus that grows with the age gap beyond 10 years — it is clearly labeled as an approximation in the results, and you should confirm your exact factor in IRS Pub. 590-B or with a tax professional before relying on it. The multi-year projection simulates your RMD forward year by year: each year’s withdrawal is the balance divided by that year’s factor, and the remaining balance is grown by your optional estimated rate of return before the next year’s withdrawal is calculated; the projection stops at age 100, the top of the published Uniform Lifetime Table.
Source: IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table, IRS Pub. 590-B; RMDs begin at age 73 or 75 depending on birth year under SECURE 2.0 (73 for those born 1951–1959, 75 for 1960 and later). Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs.
Results update as you type and are general estimates, not personalized financial, tax, medical or legal advice. Verify with a professional.
Multi-year RMD projection
Projection is capped at age 100 (the top of the published Uniform Lifetime Table) and assumes the estimated rate of return applies evenly to the balance remaining after each year’s withdrawal.
Worked example
A $500,000 IRA at age 75 uses a 24.6 factor, for an RMD of about $20,325 this year — roughly 4.1% of the balance.
Frequently asked questions
What if I miss it?
The penalty is 25% of the shortfall (reduced to 10% if corrected promptly). Always take at least the RMD by year-end.
Do Roth accounts have RMDs?
Roth IRAs have no required distributions during your lifetime. Roth 401(k)s no longer require them either, as of 2024.
Is my RMD age 73 or 75?
It depends on your birth year under SECURE 2.0: if you were born 1951–1959, your RMDs start at age 73. If you were born 1960 or later, they start at age 75. Enter your birth year above and the calculator applies the correct start age automatically.
Does a younger spouse change my RMD?
Only in one specific case: if your spouse is your sole primary beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you, the IRS lets you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table, which produces a smaller RMD. Any other beneficiary situation — including a spouse who isn’t more than 10 years younger, or a non-spouse beneficiary — still uses the regular Uniform Lifetime Table.