Use this RMD calculator to see how much the IRS expects you to withdraw each year once you reach age 73. Your required minimum distributions depend on just two inputs, your retirement account balance and your age, and getting the figure wrong can cost you a steep penalty. Whether you hold a traditional IRA, a 401(k) or another tax-deferred plan, the sections below show you how the number is built and what to do with it. The free retirement calculator uses the same plain-English approach, so you can compare results side by side.
How the RMD Calculator Works
Every required minimum distribution calculator follows the same arithmetic: it divides your account balance on December 31 of the previous year by a divisor taken from an IRS table. You supply the fair market value of the account at year-end and the age you reach this year, and the tool looks up the divisor for you. The formula itself is short: Try the life expectancy calculator to run your own numbers — everything is calculated in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
$$\text{RMD} = \frac{B}{F}$$
Here \(B\) is your prior year-end balance and \(F\) is the distribution period for your age. The divisor comes from the uniform life expectancy approach the IRS publishes, and each life expectancy factor gets smaller as you age, so the share of your savings you must withdraw rises every year.
Calculate Your RMD Step by Step
- Pull your year-end statement and note the balance as of December 31.
- Confirm the age you turn this year from your date of birth.
- Look up the divisor for that age in the table below.
- Calculate your required minimum distribution by dividing the balance by the divisor.
Each of your accounts gets its own calculation, and the result is the smallest amount you can take without triggering a tax bill.
Divisor Factors by Age
Most owners use the standard table. These are the divisors for the first stretch of ages, which is where the majority of retirees land.
| Age at year-end | Divisor | Share of balance |
|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% |
| 77 | 22.9 | 4.37% |
| 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% |
| 83 | 17.7 | 5.65% |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% |
| 88 | 13.7 | 7.30% |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% |
Because the divisors fall each year, the percentage you must withdraw climbs from about 3.8% at 73 to above 8% at 90. A balance that grows more slowly than that percentage will shrink over time, so it pays to look a few years ahead.
When Required Minimum Distributions Start
Your first RMD is due for the year you reach age 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959. If you were born in 1960 or later, the starting point moves to age 75 under SECURE 2.0. You may delay the first RMD until April 1 of the following year, but then you owe two distributions in a single tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket. Every year after that, the deadline is December 31. Next, open the roth ira calculator and enter your own details to see an estimate in seconds.
Missing it is expensive. The 25% excise tax applies to the amount you should have withdrawn, and if you correct the shortfall quickly the penalty falls to 10%. Postponing that first payment is therefore a deliberate choice you should check against your tax picture, not a default.
Calculate Your Required Minimum Distribution: A Worked Example
Suppose your IRA held $487,316.42 at year-end and you turn 76 this year. The table gives a divisor of 23.7, so your RMD is $487,316.42 ÷ 23.7 = $20,561.87. Treat these figures as hypothetical, because your own balance and age change every input. Next, open the rmd and stretch ira calculator online and enter your own details to see an estimate in seconds.
| Input or result | Value |
|---|
| Prior year-end balance | $487,316.42 |
| Age at year-end | 76 |
| Divisor | 23.7 |
| Annual withdrawal | $20,561.87 |
| Monthly equivalent | $1,713.49 |
The whole amount counts as ordinary income. If your federal income tax rate on that slice is 22%, withholding of $4,523.61 leaves $16,038.26 in your pocket.
Reading Your Result
Compare the figure the calculator returns against the notice your custodian usually sends each January. Both start from the same two inputs, your year-end balance and your age, so they should agree to the cent unless the balance was adjusted after year-end. If they disagree, ask which balance and divisor were used before you withdraw anything, because a divisor that is off by one year of age moves the answer by roughly four percent.
Inherited IRA RMDs and Beneficiary Rules
If you inherited an account, use an inherited IRA RMD calculator instead of the standard version, because the rules differ. Under the SECURE Act, most heirs of an owner who died after 2019 fall under the 10-year rule: the inherited IRA must be emptied by the end of the tenth year after death. If the original owner had already started taking RMDs, you must keep taking them during those ten years as well.
An eligible designated beneficiary is exempt from the ten-year limit and may stretch withdrawals over a longer schedule instead. This group includes:
- Surviving spouses
- Minor children of the owner, until they reach the age of majority
- Disabled or chronically ill individuals, as federal rules define them
- Individuals no more than ten years younger than the owner
Anyone outside those groups is a designated beneficiary and follows the ten-year schedule. The SECURE Act also left a special case: when your spouse is your sole beneficiary and is more than ten years younger than you, you use a different IRS worksheet and the joint table in Publication 590-B. Use the worksheet only in that case, and use the standard one for everyone else.
Using the Calculator to Check Monthly RMD Transfers Before Year-End
On a Tuesday in November, a retired machinist enters two inputs into the calculator: a year-end balance of $263,845.17 from the rollover IRA statement, and an age of 81 this year, which maps to a divisor of 19.4 in the IRS table. The RMD figure comes back as 263,845.17 ÷ 19.4 = $13,600.27.
That result gets compared with a standing instruction set up in January: $1,100 on the first of every month into checking. Eleven transfers have landed, totalling $12,100, and twelve would reach $13,200. Next to the calculated amount, the plan is $400.27 short.
If that gap isn't closed, the 25% penalty applies to the missed portion, roughly $100.07, plus a corrective request to the custodian, which is more trouble than a phone call now.
- The December transfer is raised from $1,100 to $1,500.27, which closes the gap exactly.
- The custodian's January notice is saved to compare against the same $13,600.27.
- Next year's check starts from the new December 31 balance, since a lower balance and a larger divisor both shift the answer.
The takeaway the machinist writes on the statement is simple: a fixed monthly amount only counts once it adds up to the calculated RMD by the last business day of December.
Retirement Accounts That Require RMDs
RMD rules reach most tax-deferred plans, so check every account you hold:
- Traditional IRA, including IRAs funded by pre-tax money from a workplace plan
- SEP IRA and SIMPLE IRA
- 401(k), 403(b) and profit sharing plans
- Other defined contribution plans and employer pension arrangements
A Roth IRA owner generally takes nothing during their lifetime. A Roth conversion doesn't shelter you from the rule for the year, since you must withdraw that year's RMD before converting what remains. If you complete a rollover or transfer near year-end, your custodian may need to recalculate. The same goes for a late rollover correction.
With multiple IRAs, calculate each balance separately, then take the total from any one account or a mix. Owners with multiple IRAs benefit from taking the payment from the account they plan to drain first. Workplace plans such as a 401(k) don't combine this way, so each one needs its own withdrawal.
Using Your Annual Withdrawals After You Calculate Your RMD
These mandatory withdrawals count as ordinary income, and state taxes may apply on top, depending on where you live. You can elect withholding from each payment so you aren't surprised in April. Your tax liability follows your home address, so confirm your state taxes before you choose a rate.
You can't reinvest the money in another tax-favored account. If you don't need it for living costs, put it in a taxable brokerage account, hold it in savings, or send it to a charity. You may also take more than the minimum withdrawal, but the extra won't count toward next year's requirement.
Spread your annual withdrawals across the year with a withdrawal strategy that matches the calculated amount to your spending and any pension. A tax advisor or financial advisor can pressure-test the numbers, and any required minimum distribution calculator is only a starting point. Keep your retirement accounts organised, and check every retirement account balance each January.
If you want to see how future withdrawals unfold, many tools show projected RMDs across the next ten years and over your lifetime, which helps you judge whether your investment mix keeps pace with the growing percentage.