{
  "slug": "inherited-ira-rmd-calculator",
  "title": "Inherited IRA Calculator — 10-Year Rule Withdrawals (2026)",
  "heading": "Inherited IRA RMD Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/inherited-ira-rmd-calculator",
  "summary": "Work out what a beneficiary has to withdraw each year, and what emptying the account inside the 10-year window costs in tax.",
  "description": "Most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit an IRA after 2019 must empty it within ten years. If the original owner had already started RMDs, annual distributions are required during those years too. This calculator shows an even-withdrawal schedule, the tax at your bracket, and the cost of the common mistake — waiting until year ten and taking it all at once.",
  "formula": "Even schedule: each year's withdrawal = current balance ÷ years remaining, with the balance growing at your assumed return. Lump path: balance × (1 + return)^years, taxed in a single year on top of your other income.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-31",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=inherited-ira-rmd-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "balance",
      "label": "Inherited account balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 400000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "yearsLeft",
      "label": "Years left in the 10-year window",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "otherIncome",
      "label": "Your other taxable income",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "status",
      "label": "Filing status",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "married",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "single",
          "label": "Single"
        },
        {
          "value": "married",
          "label": "Married filing jointly"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "growth",
      "label": "Assumed annual return",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": -20,
      "max": 20
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "firstYear",
      "label": "Withdraw this much this year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "evenTotal",
      "label": "Total withdrawn over the window",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "evenTax",
      "label": "Total federal tax, spread evenly",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "evenNet",
      "label": "Net you keep, spread evenly",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "lumpTax",
      "label": "Total tax if you wait and take it all at the end",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "penalty",
      "label": "Extra tax from waiting",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "marginal",
      "label": "Your marginal bracket with an even draw",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Inherited account balance: 400000 $",
      "Years left in the 10-year window: 10",
      "Your other taxable income: 95000 $",
      "Filing status: Married filing jointly",
      "Assumed annual return: 6 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Withdraw this much this year: $40,000.00",
      "Total withdrawn over the window: $527,231.80",
      "Total federal tax, spread evenly: $84,041.00",
      "Net you keep, spread evenly: $443,190.80",
      "Total tax if you wait and take it all at the end: $205,834.96",
      "Extra tax from waiting: $121,793.96",
      "Your marginal bracket with an even draw: 22%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter inherited account balance ($).",
      "Enter years left in the 10-year window.",
      "Enter your other taxable income ($).",
      "Enter filing status.",
      "Enter assumed annual return (%).",
      "Read your withdraw this much this year on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Full 10 years ahead",
      "values": {
        "balance": 400000,
        "yearsLeft": 10,
        "otherIncome": 95000,
        "status": "married"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Three years left",
      "values": {
        "balance": 280000,
        "yearsLeft": 3,
        "otherIncome": 95000,
        "status": "married"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "High earner, single",
      "values": {
        "balance": 750000,
        "yearsLeft": 10,
        "otherIncome": 210000,
        "status": "single"
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?",
      "a": "For most non-spouse beneficiaries of owners who died after 2019, the entire inherited account must be distributed by December 31 of the tenth year following the year of death. The old 'stretch IRA' — spreading distributions across your own life expectancy — is gone for these beneficiaries."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do I also have to take annual RMDs during the 10 years?",
      "a": "Yes, if the original owner had already reached their required beginning date. Final IRS regulations confirm annual distributions are required in years one through nine, with the remainder due in year ten. If the owner died before their required beginning date, there are no annual minimums — only the year-ten deadline."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is exempt from the 10-year rule?",
      "a": "Eligible designated beneficiaries: a surviving spouse, a minor child of the owner (until majority), a disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, and anyone not more than ten years younger than the owner. They can still use life-expectancy distributions."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is an inherited Roth IRA taxed?",
      "a": "Qualified distributions from an inherited Roth are tax-free, but the ten-year emptying deadline still applies. Because there's no tax cost to waiting, letting an inherited Roth grow for the full ten years is usually the right move — the opposite of the traditional IRA answer."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I roll an inherited IRA into my own IRA?",
      "a": "Only a surviving spouse can. Non-spouse beneficiaries must keep it as a properly titled inherited IRA — taking personal possession of the funds makes the entire amount taxable immediately."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rmd-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/roth-conversion-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement-withdrawal-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Inherited IRA Calculator — 10-Year Rule Withdrawals (2026) (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/inherited-ira-rmd-calculator)"
}