Birth year chooses age 73 or age 75

This merged calculator accepts birth years from 1951 forward because its purpose is the age-73/age-75 SECURE 2.0 split. People born earlier can have age-70½ or age-72 starting rules and should use the applicable IRS worksheet rather than forcing a birth year into this model.

Audit the $26,415 result

The owner was born in 1953, so the start age is 73. The calculation year is 2026, when the owner reaches 73. The prior December 31 balance is $700,000. IRS Table III gives a Uniform Lifetime factor of 26.5 at age 73. Dividing $700,000 by 26.5 gives $26,415.09, displayed as $26,415.

The owner has already taken $5,000 that is entered as applying to this RMD, leaving $21,415.09. The gross RMD equals about 3.77% of the prior balance. The calculator does not subtract withholding from the distribution because withholding is still part of the gross amount distributed and can generally count toward the RMD even though less cash reaches the bank.

If the birth year changes to 1960 and the calculation year to 2035, the calculator routes to age 75 and the current Uniform Lifetime factor of 24.6. Future law and tables can change before 2035, so that long-range amount is a planning illustration and must be refreshed in the actual year.

The prior December 31 balance is account-specific

Use the fair market value at the close of the immediately preceding calendar year, adjusted only as current rules require. A 2026 RMD generally uses the December 31, 2025 balance. Current-year market losses do not retroactively reduce that denominator, and current-year gains do not increase it. Certain outstanding rollovers, transfers, recharacterizations, annuity values, or hard-to-value assets can require adjustments.

Calculate the RMD separately for each IRA. Traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs can generally have their RMD amounts aggregated and withdrawn from one or more IRAs under the rules. Employer plans typically require separate satisfaction by plan, and 403(b) aggregation has its own rules. Never assume a 401(k) withdrawal satisfies an IRA RMD.

Uniform Table versus the younger-spouse table

Use IRS Table III for unmarried owners, married owners whose spouse is not more than ten years younger, or married owners whose spouse is not the sole beneficiary. If the spouse is the sole beneficiary for the year and is more than ten years younger, Table II can provide a longer joint-life divisor and a smaller RMD.

The custom mode lets the user enter a verified Table II factor. It does not derive the factor because marital status is determined under annual rules, both spouses’ ages matter, and beneficiary status must be confirmed. Inherited accounts generally use different rules and Table I; they do not belong in this owner-lifetime calculator.

The still-working exception is not an IRA exception

Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA owners generally cannot delay an RMD merely because they continue working. A current-employer qualified plan can sometimes allow a participant to delay until retirement, but the exception generally does not apply to someone who owns more than 5% of the business sponsoring the plan. The plan document can require earlier distributions.

The calculator suppresses the employer-plan RMD when the user selects current employer, not retired, and not a more-than-5% owner. This is a screening assumption only. Former-employer plans, multiple employers, ownership attribution, retirement timing, and plan terms require administrator review.

First-year delay can bunch two distributions

The first RMD is for the year the owner reaches the applicable age. The owner can generally delay that first payment until April 1 of the following year. The second RMD still must be taken by December 31 of that following year. Delaying can therefore place two taxable distributions into one calendar year, potentially affecting marginal rates, Medicare income-related surcharges, Social Security taxation, deductions, credits, and state tax.

The calculator shows April 1 of the next year as the statutory first deadline but warns about bunching. After the first year, the deadline is generally December 31. A qualified charitable distribution completed during the year can count toward an IRA RMD when requirements are met, but a rollover does not satisfy an RMD and RMD amounts generally cannot be rolled over.

Penalty relief begins with prompt correction, not calculator confidence

Current law can impose an excise tax on an RMD shortfall, with a lower rate possible when corrected within the statutory correction window. Reasonable-cause waiver procedures can also apply. The exact amount, correction deadline, forms, and relief depend on current law and facts. If a shortfall exists, contact the custodian and a qualified tax professional promptly.

Do not withdraw only the rounded display when the custodian calculates cents or has an adjusted balance. Taking slightly more than the minimum can reduce an accidental shortfall, but an excess in one year generally does not carry forward to offset a later RMD.

Annual RMD workflow

1. List every traditional IRA and employer plan with the prior December 31 balance.
2. Confirm the owner’s calculation-year age and applicable starting-age cohort.
3. Select Uniform, Joint and Last Survivor, or inherited-account rules correctly.
4. Ask each custodian for its calculation and reconcile balance adjustments.
5. Track gross distributions, QCDs, withholding, and account-specific satisfaction.
6. Choose the first-year timing only after testing the following year’s tax impact.
7. Complete every required withdrawal early enough to correct processing failures.

RMDs are generally taxable except for basis or other exclusions.

Cash, in-kind transfers, and withholding all use gross value

An RMD can generally be taken as cash or, when the custodian permits, as an in-kind distribution of investments to a taxable account. The fair market value on the distribution date becomes part of the gross distribution and can establish tax basis in the taxable account. Market movement after the transfer does not change the completed RMD amount, though selling later can create gain or loss.

Federal or state withholding taken from the distribution is still part of the gross amount. If $10,000 leaves the IRA and $2,000 goes to tax authorities, the RMD credit is generally $10,000 rather than the $8,000 deposited. Withholding can be useful for estimated-tax timing, but it reduces spendable cash and should be reconciled with the total tax projection.

A transfer between retirement accounts or a rollover generally is not an RMD distribution. The RMD portion is not eligible for rollover. Sequence transfers and withdrawals with custodians so a full account move does not obscure which institution must report and satisfy the year’s amount.

Inherited accounts need a different decision tree

This calculator calculates an original owner’s lifetime RMD. A beneficiary can face a ten-year deadline, annual distributions, life-expectancy payments, an eligible-designated-beneficiary exception, or spouse-specific options depending on the owner’s death date, required beginning date, relationship, age, disability, and account type. The Uniform Lifetime Table is generally not the beneficiary table.

Do not enter the deceased owner’s birth year and inherited balance here. Identify whether the beneficiary uses the Single Life Table, a successor schedule, spouse election, or another rule under current IRS guidance. Employer plans can add distribution provisions. Missed inherited-account amounts can carry excise-tax and correction issues even when the account will be emptied by year ten.

Frequently asked questions