{
  "slug": "rmd-calculator",
  "title": "RMD Calculator — Required Minimum Distribution (2026)",
  "heading": "RMD Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rmd-calculator",
  "summary": "Enter your age and December 31 balance — get your required minimum distribution, the IRS life-expectancy factor behind it, and the tax it triggers.",
  "description": "Once you reach the RMD age, the IRS requires you to withdraw a minimum amount from traditional IRAs and most workplace retirement plans each year. The formula is simple — last December 31's balance divided by a life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table — but the penalty for missing it is real. This calculator gives you the exact required amount, the factor used, and an estimate of the federal tax on the distribution.",
  "formula": "RMD = December 31 prior-year balance ÷ the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age. The factor shrinks each year, so the required percentage rises even if your balance stays flat.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-31",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=rmd-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "age",
      "label": "Your age this year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 75,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 70,
      "max": 115
    },
    {
      "id": "balance",
      "label": "Account balance on December 31 last year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 650000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "otherIncome",
      "label": "Your other taxable income this year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": "Pension, part-time work, taxable Social Security, interest.",
      "default": 48000,
      "unit": "$",
      "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": "Used to project next year's RMD.",
      "default": 5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": -20,
      "max": 20
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "rmd",
      "label": "Required minimum distribution",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "factor",
      "label": "IRS life-expectancy factor",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctOfBalance",
      "label": "Share of your balance",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "taxOnRmd",
      "label": "Estimated federal tax on it",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "afterTax",
      "label": "After-tax amount you keep",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "If taken monthly",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "marginal",
      "label": "Your marginal bracket with the RMD",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "nextRmd",
      "label": "Projected RMD next year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Your age this year: 75",
      "Account balance on December 31 last year: 650000 $",
      "Your other taxable income this year: 48000 $",
      "Filing status: Married filing jointly",
      "Assumed annual return: 5 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Required minimum distribution: $26,422.76",
      "IRS life-expectancy factor: 24.6",
      "Share of your balance: 4.07%",
      "Estimated federal tax on it: $3,053.73",
      "After-tax amount you keep: $23,369.03",
      "If taken monthly: $2,201.90",
      "Your marginal bracket with the RMD: 12%",
      "Projected RMD next year: $27,626.84"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter your age this year.",
      "Enter account balance on december 31 last year ($).",
      "Enter your other taxable income this year ($) — Pension, part-time work, taxable Social Security, interest..",
      "Enter filing status.",
      "Enter assumed annual return (%) — Used to project next year's RMD..",
      "Read your required minimum distribution on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Age 73, first RMD",
      "values": {
        "age": 73,
        "balance": 500000,
        "otherIncome": 40000,
        "status": "married"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Age 75, mid-size IRA",
      "values": {
        "age": 75,
        "balance": 650000,
        "otherIncome": 48000,
        "status": "married"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Age 85, large balance",
      "values": {
        "age": 85,
        "balance": 1200000,
        "otherIncome": 70000,
        "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": "At what age do RMDs start?",
      "a": "Under the SECURE 2.0 Act the required beginning age is 73 for people who turn 72 after 2022, rising to 75 for those born in 1960 or later. Your first RMD can be delayed to April 1 of the year after you reach the required age — but doing that forces two distributions into one tax year."
    },
    {
      "q": "How is an RMD calculated?",
      "a": "Take the account's fair market value on December 31 of the prior year and divide it by the life-expectancy factor for your age from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At 75 the factor is 24.6, so the RMD is about 4.07% of the balance; by 85 the factor is 16.0, or roughly 6.25%."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is the penalty for missing an RMD?",
      "a": "SECURE 2.0 cut the excise tax on a missed RMD from 50% to 25% of the shortfall, and to 10% if you correct it promptly within the correction window and file Form 5329. You can also request a waiver for reasonable cause."
    },
    {
      "q": "Which accounts require RMDs?",
      "a": "Traditional IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and most 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans. Roth IRAs never require distributions during the owner's lifetime, and as of 2024 designated Roth accounts inside workplace plans no longer do either."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I avoid tax on my RMD?",
      "a": "You can't skip the distribution, but a qualified charitable distribution sends up to the annual QCD limit directly from your IRA to a charity and satisfies the RMD without adding to taxable income — the cleanest option if you already give."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do I have to take an RMD from every account?",
      "a": "You calculate it per account, but IRAs can be aggregated: total your IRA RMDs and withdraw the sum from any one of them. Workplace plans like 401(k)s cannot be aggregated — each plan needs its own distribution."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/inherited-ira-rmd-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retirement-withdrawal-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/roth-conversion-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — RMD Calculator — Required Minimum Distribution (2026) (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rmd-calculator)"
}