Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator

Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, most people must start taking RMDs the year they turn 73, with the first withdrawal deadline extended to April 1 of the following year (every RMD after that is due by December 31). The starting age is scheduled to rise to 75 for anyone turning 74 after 2032. If you already reached the prior age-72 threshold before 2023, you remain grandfathered under the older rule and continue taking RMDs annually going forward.

The IRS Uniform Lifetime Table's divisor shrinks as you age — for example it runs from 27.4 at age 72 down to 12.2 by age 90 — because your statistically remaining life expectancy shortens each year. Dividing the same (or a growing) account balance by a smaller number produces a larger required dollar amount and a larger percentage of the balance withdrawn, even if the account keeps earning a positive return.

Yes, but only in a specific case: if your spouse is your sole primary beneficiary for the account AND is more than 10 years younger than you, the IRS lets you use the Joint and Last Survivor Table instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table. That table reflects your joint life expectancy, which is longer than yours alone, so it produces a larger divisor and therefore a smaller required withdrawal than the standard table would. This calculator reads the real published table (IRS Pub. 590-B, Appendix B, Table II), interpolating between its published integer ages for years in between, rather than approximating the relationship with a made-up formula.

The IRS charges an excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn but didn't — 25% of the shortfall under current law, which can be reduced to 10% if you withdraw the missed amount and file a corrective return within a two-year correction window. This calculator's projections are meant to help you plan ahead of each year's deadline so you never have to test that penalty.

A Roth IRA never requires RMDs during the original owner's lifetime, because contributions are already after-tax. Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts used to require RMDs like their traditional counterparts, but SECURE 2.0 eliminated that requirement starting in 2024, aligning workplace Roth accounts with Roth IRA treatment. This calculator is intended for traditional, pre-tax accounts that are still subject to the RMD rules.