Calculate this year's Required Minimum Distribution using the actual IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, shown below the calculator.
A required minimum, not a suggested amount.
An RMD is your prior year end balance divided by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age. Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs generally begin at age 73. There is no other formula involved, no rate of return, no projection model, just your balance divided by a number the IRS publishes for each age. We also project next year's RMD by growing your balance at your expected return and dividing by next year's factor.
| Age | Distribution period | Age | Distribution period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 85 | 16.0 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 88 | 13.7 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 90 | 12.2 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 95 | 8.9 |
| 82 | 18.5 | 100 | 6.4 |
Source: IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (used by most account owners; a different joint life table applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger). Confirm the current table at irs.gov: RMD topic page before filing.
It does not aggregate multiple IRAs, apply the separate rules for inherited accounts, or account for a spouse-beneficiary joint life table. If you hold several Traditional IRAs, you can total the RMDs across all of them and take the sum from any one or a combination of the accounts, but 401(k) RMDs generally have to come out of each 401(k) plan separately. Rules for accounts you inherited are different from the ones this page models; check the IRS guidance linked above if that applies to you.
Building the balance this RMD applies to? The 401k calculator and Roth vs Traditional IRA comparison cover the accumulation side.
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, the RMD starting age is 73 for most people who reach that age in the current phase-in window, rising to 75 in 2033. Earlier rules used age 70 and a half, so double-check your own starting age if you have seen an older article citing a different number.
It is pulled directly from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, the standard table most account owners use unless their sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, in which case a different joint life table applies instead. The excerpt below shows the exact factors this calculator uses.
The excise tax penalty is 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct the missed distribution within the IRS's correction window. It can also be waived entirely in some cases for reasonable error, but you have to request that relief; it is not automatic.
Roth IRAs have never required lifetime RMDs for the original owner. Roth 401(k) accounts used to require them, but that requirement was eliminated starting in 2024, bringing Roth 401(k)s in line with Roth IRAs on this point.
Yes, the RMD is only a floor, not a ceiling. You can withdraw more than the calculated minimum at any time; the extra amount is simply also taxable income for a pre-tax account, same as the required portion.