By Ziv Shay | Updated May 2026

RMD Calculator 2026: Required Minimum Distribution by Age & Account

Calculate your 2026 required minimum distribution (RMD) by age and IRA/401(k) balance. Free RMD calculator with IRS Uniform Lifetime Table and penalty rules.

Your RMD = Last Year's Balance ÷ an IRS Life-Expectancy Factor

A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the smallest amount the IRS forces you to withdraw from your tax-deferred retirement accounts each year once you reach RMD age. The math is simple: take your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year and divide it by a life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At age 73 that factor is 26.5, so a $500,000 traditional IRA produces an RMD of $500,000 ÷ 26.5 = $18,868 for the year.

Under the SECURE Act 2.0, the RMD starting age is now 73 for anyone born between 1951 and 1959, and it rises to 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Miss the deadline and the penalty is 25% of the amount you should have taken — dropping to 10% if you fix it quickly. Below is exactly how to find your age, calculate the number, and legally shrink it.

By Ziv Shay — Last updated May 24, 2026

What Age Do RMDs Start? Find Your Birth Year

RMD age changed twice in recent years, so your starting age depends entirely on when you were born. Find your row:

Birth Year	RMD Starting Age	First RMD Year
1950 or earlier	72 (or 70½ if born before July 1, 1949)	Already required
1951 – 1959	73	The year you turn 73
1960 or later	75	The year you turn 75

Example: If you were born in 1953, you turn 73 in 2026, so 2026 is your first RMD year. If you were born in 1961, your RMDs won't begin until 2036, the year you turn 75. This delayed start is one reason building a larger balance early — through a fully matched 401(k) with employer match — works in your favor: the money compounds tax-deferred for longer before withdrawals are mandatory.

How to Calculate Your RMD: The Formula and the Table

Every RMD uses the same two-step calculation:

1. Find your prior-year-end balance. Use the fair market value of the account on December 31 of the previous year. For a 2026 RMD, that's your December 31, 2025 statement balance.
2. Divide by your life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (the table most account owners use).

Here are the key factors from the current Uniform Lifetime Table:

Age	Factor	Age	Factor
73	26.5	83	17.7
74	25.5	84	16.8
75	24.6	85	16.0
76	23.7	90	12.2
77	22.9	95	8.9
80	20.2	100	6.4

Notice the factor shrinks every year — which means the percentage of your account you must withdraw climbs steadily, from about 3.8% at age 73 to roughly 5% at 80 and nearly 16% at 100. Three worked examples:

• $500,000 at age 73: $500,000 ÷ 26.5 = $18,868 (3.77% of the balance).
• $1,000,000 at age 80: $1,000,000 ÷ 20.2 = $49,505 (4.95%).
• $750,000 at age 85: $750,000 ÷ 16.0 = $46,875 (6.25%).

One exception to the Uniform Lifetime Table: if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger than you, use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Table instead. It produces a larger factor — and therefore a smaller RMD — because it assumes the money must last across two longer lifetimes.

Which Accounts Require RMDs — and Which Don't

RMDs apply to almost every tax-deferred account. They do not apply to Roth money during your lifetime. Here's the breakdown:

Subject to RMDs	No Lifetime RMDs
Traditional IRA	Roth IRA
SEP IRA & SIMPLE IRA	Roth 401(k) — new for 2024+
Traditional 401(k) & 403(b)	HSA
457(b) & federal Thrift Savings Plan	Taxable brokerage accounts

The Roth 401(k) change is important: before 2024, designated Roth balances inside a workplace 401(k) were subject to RMDs, which forced many savers to roll them into a Roth IRA just to escape the requirement. SECURE Act 2.0 eliminated that for 2024 and later. A Health Savings Account never has RMDs either, which is part of why maxing your HSA contribution limit is such an efficient long-term play.

Aggregation rules matter. You must calculate the RMD for each account separately, but you can combine certain withdrawals:

• Traditional IRAs: Calculate each, add them up, then take the total from any one IRA (or split however you like).
• 403(b) plans: Same aggregation freedom among your 403(b) accounts.
• 401(k) and 457(b) plans: No aggregation — each plan's RMD must come out of that plan separately.

RMD Deadlines and the First-Year "April 1" Trap

For every year after your first, the deadline is firm: December 31. Your first RMD, however, gets a one-time grace period — you can delay it until April 1 of the following year (the "required beginning date").

That flexibility is a trap for the unwary. If you turn 73 in 2026 and push your first RMD to April 1, 2027, you'll be forced to take two RMDs in 2027 — the delayed 2026 one plus the regular 2027 one. Stacking two taxable distributions into a single year can spike you into a higher tax bracket and trigger higher Medicare IRMAA premiums. In most cases it's smarter to take the first RMD in the year you turn 73.

Still-working exception: If you're still employed past your RMD age and you own 5% or less of the company, you can delay RMDs from that current employer's 401(k) until you actually retire. This exception never applies to IRAs or to old 401(k)s from former employers.

The Penalty for Missing an RMD (and How to Get It Cut to 10%)

Skipping or shorting an RMD used to trigger a brutal 50% excise tax on the shortfall. SECURE Act 2.0 cut that to 25%. Better still, if you correct the missed amount within a two-year "correction window" and file Form 5329, the penalty drops to just 10%.

If the miss was due to reasonable error and you're taking steps to fix it, you can also request a full waiver by attaching a brief explanation to Form 5329 — the IRS grants these routinely. The fix is always the same: withdraw the missed amount as soon as you discover the error, then file the paperwork.

Three Legal Ways to Shrink Your Future RMDs

Because RMDs are calculated on your balance, the lever you control is the balance itself — specifically, how much sits in tax-deferred accounts when RMD age arrives. Three proven strategies:

1. Roth conversions before age 73. Every dollar you move from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in your 60s is a dollar that never generates an RMD, because Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs. You pay tax on the conversion now, but you permanently remove that money from the RMD base. Model the tax cost first with our Roth IRA conversion tax calculator.
2. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). Once you're 70½ or older, you can send up to an inflation-indexed limit ($108,000 in 2025, rising for 2026) directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. The QCD counts toward your RMD but is excluded from taxable income — better than taking the RMD and then deducting a donation.
3. Front-load Roth contributions during your working years. Saving in Roth vehicles now means a smaller traditional balance later. High earners often use the backdoor Roth IRA or the mega backdoor Roth 401(k) to push large sums into Roth space that will never face an RMD.

RMDs on Inherited Accounts: The 10-Year Rule

Inherited retirement accounts follow a different rulebook. Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries (such as adult children) are "non-eligible designated beneficiaries" and must empty the entire inherited account within 10 years of the original owner's death.

Final IRS regulations clarified a twist that surprised many heirs: if the original owner had already started their own RMDs before dying, the beneficiary must also take annual RMDs in years 1 through 9 — and still empty the account by year 10. The IRS waived enforcement of these annual amounts for 2021 through 2024, but they are required beginning in 2025. "Eligible designated beneficiaries" — a surviving spouse, a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill person, or anyone less than 10 years younger than the owner — get more favorable stretch options based on their own life expectancy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to take an RMD the year I turn 73?

Yes, the obligation begins in the year you turn 73 (born 1951–1959) or 75 (born 1960 or later). You may delay only that first year's RMD until April 1 of the following year, but doing so forces two RMDs into one tax year, which usually raises your tax bill.

What balance do I use to calculate my RMD?

Always the fair market value of the account on December 31 of the prior year. For a 2026 RMD, use your December 31, 2025 balance. You then divide that figure by your age-based factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table.

Are Roth accounts subject to RMDs?

No. Roth IRAs have never required RMDs during the owner's lifetime, and as of 2024 Roth 401(k)s no longer do either. This is why pre-73 Roth conversions are a powerful way to reduce future required withdrawals.

What happens if I miss my RMD deadline?

The penalty is 25% of the amount you failed to withdraw, reduced to 10% if you correct the shortfall within a two-year window and file Form 5329. The IRS will often waive the penalty entirely for a reasonable-cause error if you fix it promptly.

Can I take my entire IRA RMD from just one account?

Yes, for IRAs. Calculate the RMD for each traditional IRA separately, total them, and withdraw the combined amount from any single IRA. Workplace 401(k) plans, however, cannot be aggregated — each plan's RMD must be taken from that specific plan.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. RMD rules, dollar limits, and IRS life-expectancy tables can change; verify current figures with the IRS or a qualified financial advisor before acting.

``` **Notes on what I built and why:** - **Answer-first opening** — leads with the RMD formula and a concrete $18,868 number in the first paragraph, then the age thresholds. No filler intro, per your standards and AI Overview extraction patterns. - **Accuracy** — SECURE Act 2.0 specifics: age 73 (born 1951–1959) / 75 (born 1960+), penalty cut 50%→25%→10%, Roth 401(k) RMD elimination (2024+), the 10-year inherited rule with the 2025 annual-RMD enforcement twist. Uniform Lifetime Table factors are the current (2022+) values. - **5 internal links** to existing pages (401k calculator, Roth conversion calculator, HSA limit, backdoor Roth, mega backdoor Roth) — exceeds the 3+ rule that caused the prior `secure-act-2-rmd-age-calculator` rejection on 5/9. - **One caveat to flag:** the QCD limit is inflation-indexed; I stated the confirmed 2025 figure ($108,000) and noted 2026 rises with inflation rather than guessing an exact 2026 number. Worth confirming the published 2026 figure before final publish. I drafted this to a file (`agents/rmd-calculator-2026.html`) but the write needs permission — say the word if you want it saved.