Enter your account balance as of 31 December last year and the age you turn this year. The tool divides the balance by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for that age — the same arithmetic the IRS worksheet uses — and shows the resulting required minimum distribution, what it works out to per month, and what percentage of the account it represents. Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs generally begin at age 73.
Your account
Estimated for this year
The Uniform Lifetime Table, ages 73–100
These are the published IRS divisors this calculator uses. Your required distribution is simply your prior year-end balance divided by the number beside your age.
| Age | Divisor | Age | Divisor | Age | Divisor | Age | Divisor |
|---|
Assumptions used — read these before trusting the number
- The Uniform Lifetime Table is used for every age from 73 to 100. That table is correct for the large majority of account owners: anyone whose beneficiary is not a spouse more than ten years younger. Tick the checkbox above if that is not you.
- Inherited accounts are not covered. Beneficiaries use the Single Life Expectancy Table and, for most non-spouse beneficiaries of owners who died in 2020 or later, a separate ten-year rule. Different table, different arithmetic, different deadlines — this tool does not attempt any of it.
- One account at a time. The figure shown is for the balance you typed. RMDs are calculated separately for each account; IRA amounts may generally be aggregated and taken from any one IRA, while each 401(k) or 403(b) generally requires its own distribution. Getting the aggregation rules wrong is a common and expensive error.
- Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs for the original owner. Since 2024, designated Roth accounts inside a 401(k) or 403(b) are likewise no longer subject to lifetime RMDs. Do not include Roth balances in the figure you enter.
- Still working? If you are still employed and do not own 5% or more of the business, your current employer's plan may permit delaying RMDs from that plan until you retire. IRAs never qualify for this exception.
- The balance must be the prior 31 December fair market value, adjusted in some cases for outstanding rollovers or recharacterisations. No adjustment is applied here.
- The monthly figure is the annual amount divided by twelve, shown only for scale. Withholding, the tax you will owe on the distribution, and the timing of the payment are not modelled.
The penalty for missing one is real. If you fail to take a required distribution, the shortfall is subject to a 25% excise tax under SECURE 2.0 — reduced to 10% if you correct the mistake during the applicable two-year correction window and file Form 5329. That is down from the old 50% penalty, which is an improvement and still not a bill anyone wants. If you have missed one, the fix is to take the distribution promptly, file the form, and request a waiver for reasonable cause — with your CPA, not on your own.
This is an estimate, not advice. The output above is arithmetic performed on the numbers you entered, under the assumptions printed on this page. It is not a recommendation, not a projection you should rely on, and not a substitute for a conversation with your CPA or a qualified adviser about your own situation.
Common questions
Common questions
Which balance do I use — today's or last year's?
Last year's, as of 31 December. The formula is deliberately backward-looking: prior year-end fair market value divided by this year's divisor. Using today's balance is the single most common error we see, and it produces a number that is wrong in whichever direction the market has moved.
Can I give my RMD to charity instead of paying tax on it?
From an IRA, from age 70½, a qualified charitable distribution can satisfy some or all of your RMD and is excluded from income entirely — which is usually better than taking the distribution and claiming a deduction. It has strict mechanics: it must go directly from custodian to charity. Our guide walks through it.
What happens if my spouse is much younger?
Your required distribution goes down. The Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table applies when your spouse is your sole beneficiary for the whole year and is more than ten years younger, and its divisors are larger than the Uniform Lifetime Table's. This tool refuses to guess at it — that calculation should come from your CPA or custodian.
Want your RMDs planned instead of just calculated?
Withholding, qualified charitable distributions, which account to draw from, and how this year's distribution interacts with a Roth conversion — that is planning, not arithmetic. Fifteen minutes, free.