Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator
Calculate your IRS required minimum distribution from a traditional IRA or 401(k).
Enter balance and age to get your annual RMD amount.
The basic formula
RMD = account balance (December 31 of previous year) ÷ distribution period
The IRS publishes a Uniform Lifetime Table that gives the divisor for each age. At age 73 (the current starting age), the distribution period is 26.5 years. So a $500,000 traditional IRA balance generates a required withdrawal of $500,000 ÷ 26.5 = $18,868 that year.
Each year, the distribution period gets shorter, which means the RMD percentage grows. At age 80, the divisor drops to 20.2 (about 4.95% of balance). At age 90, it’s 12.2 (8.2%). At age 100, it’s 6.4 (15.6%). The government wants the money out by the time you’re statistically gone — and tax-collected.
The starting age has changed twice recently
This is important because outdated articles online still cite 70½ or 72:
| Born | RMD start age |
|---|---|
| Before July 1949 | 70½ (old rule) |
| 1949 to 1950 | 72 (SECURE Act 1.0) |
| 1951 to 1959 | 73 (SECURE Act 2.0, current) |
| 1960 and later | 75 (SECURE Act 2.0, phased in 2033) |
Born in 1955? You start RMDs at age 73 — in 2028. Born in 1962? Your RMDs start at age 75 — in 2037. The April-1-after-72-or-73-birthday “first RMD year” rule still applies (you can defer your first RMD to April 1 of the year after, but then take two that year, which usually causes a tax problem).
Accounts subject to RMDs
| Account | Subject to RMD? |
|---|---|
| Traditional IRA | Yes |
| SEP IRA | Yes |
| SIMPLE IRA | Yes |
| 401(k) (former employer) | Yes |
| 401(k) (current employer, still working) | No (if you own less than 5% of the company) |
| 403(b) | Yes |
| 457(b) governmental | Yes |
| Roth IRA (during owner’s lifetime) | No — major benefit |
| Roth 401(k) | No (as of 2024, per SECURE 2.0 change) |
| Inherited IRA | Yes (rules vary by year inherited and relationship) |
The Roth 401(k) change in 2024 is significant — previously, Roth 401(k)s had RMDs, which seemed inconsistent with Roth IRAs not having them. SECURE 2.0 fixed that. Many retirees roll Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA partly because of the cleaner rules.
The miss-the-RMD penalty
The penalty for failing to take an RMD on time was reduced under SECURE Act 2.0:
- Old penalty (pre-2023): 50% of the missed amount — brutal
- Current penalty (2023+): 25% of missed amount
- Reduced if corrected promptly: 10% if the missed RMD is taken within 2 years and Form 5329 filed
So a missed $18,868 RMD costs $4,717 in penalty, dropping to $1,887 if corrected within the 2-year window. The penalty applies on top of the regular income tax you’d owe on the distribution anyway.
The forced-tax math problem
Traditional retirement account growth was tax-deferred, not tax-free. Every dollar comes out as ordinary income at withdrawal — no preferential capital gains rate. RMDs can push retirees into higher tax brackets in their 70s and 80s, and the Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA) kick in around $103k/year for single filers.
A retiree with $1.5M in a traditional IRA and Social Security taking the standard $18k+ RMD plus SS benefits often finds themselves paying 22% to 32% marginal federal tax on the withdrawals — sometimes more than they paid in their working years.
Strategies to manage RMD tax impact
1. Roth conversions in your 60s. Convert traditional IRA funds to Roth in the low-tax window between retirement (around 65) and RMD start (73-75). You pay tax now at known rates instead of being forced into withdrawals at unknown future rates. Particularly effective in years with high deductions or low other income.
2. Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). People 70½+ can direct up to $105,000/year (2024) from a traditional IRA directly to charity. The distribution counts toward the RMD but is excluded from taxable income. The single best charitable giving move for retirees who don’t itemize deductions.
3. Live in a state with no income tax. RMDs are taxable at the state level in most states. Moving to Florida, Texas, Tennessee, or Nevada in retirement can save 4% to 11% in state taxes on every RMD year.
4. Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) for very large estates. Complex but can significantly reduce the tax impact of forced distributions.
5. Take the RMD from the right account. If you have multiple traditional IRAs, you can take the total RMD from any one of them. With 401(k)s, RMDs must be taken from each plan separately. Consolidating old 401(k)s into a single rollover IRA simplifies the math and lets you optimise which assets are withdrawn.
RMDs do not have to be sold to cash
You can transfer the dollar amount of the RMD in-kind to a taxable brokerage account. The IRS only requires the value leave the tax-deferred account, not that you sell. This avoids realizing capital gains/losses inside the IRA. Useful if you don’t actually need the cash and just want to satisfy the requirement.
Final RMD before death
The RMD for the year of death must still be taken (by the heirs, if the original owner didn’t). Beneficiaries then operate under their own RMD rules — for non-spouse beneficiaries since 2020, the entire inherited IRA must be distributed within 10 years (with some narrow exceptions for disabled, minor, or chronically ill heirs).
Bottom line
RMDs are mandatory withdrawals the government uses to recover deferred taxes. Plan for them starting in your 60s — Roth conversions in the low-tax window, charitable QCDs once you’re eligible, and account consolidation make the RMD years far smoother than improvising in real time.