At what age do RMDs start?

72 if you were born in 1950 or earlier (70½ if born before July 1949), 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. For those born in 1959 the final regulations leave the age open; the proposed rule says 73, which this calculator uses.

When is the first RMD due?

By 1 April of the year after you reach your RMD age. Every later RMD is due by 31 December. Waiting until April puts two RMDs in one tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket.

What if I miss an RMD?

An excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have taken, cut to 10% if you take it within the correction window. Taking it as soon as you notice is what lowers the rate.

Do I take an RMD from each IRA?

You work out the RMD for each traditional IRA and can take the total from any one or more of them. 401(k) and other workplace plans are different: each plan's RMD comes out of that plan.

Does a Roth IRA have RMDs?

Not while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of an inherited Roth IRA do have rules to follow; the inherited IRA calculator covers them.

RMD calculator

Work out this year's required minimum distribution from your IRA or 401(k), the year your RMDs start, and the next ten years.

Your required minimum distribution for 2026, at age 74:

$19,607.84

$500,000 on 31 December 2025 divided by 25.5, the Uniform Lifetime Table figure for age 74. Due by 31 December 2026.

Balance on 31 December 2025Your traditional IRAs added together (one RMD can come from any of them), or one 401(k), which has its own RMD. From 0 to 100,000,000.$Year you were bornFrom 1922 to 2000.Year of the RMDFrom 2022 to 2075.Spouse's year of birth, if your spouse is your only beneficiaryOnly matters if they are more than 10 years younger. Leave at 0 otherwise.Yearly return on the account, %Your assumption, for the years ahead. Not a forecast. From 0 to 12, up to 2 decimal places.

RMDs year by year at 5% a year, before tax. Each balance is the one on 31 December of the year before.
Year	Age	Balance	Divisor	RMD
2026	74	$500,000	25.5	$19,608
2027	75	$504,412	24.6	$20,505
2028	76	$508,103	23.7	$21,439
2029	77	$510,997	22.9	$22,314
2030	78	$513,117	22.0	$23,323
2031	79	$514,283	21.1	$24,374
2032	80	$514,405	20.2	$25,466
2033	81	$513,386	19.4	$26,463
2034	82	$511,269	18.5	$27,636
2035	83	$507,815	17.7	$28,690
2036	84	$503,081	16.8	$29,945

Not modeled: income tax on the RMD, the still-working exception for a current employer's 401(k), inherited accounts (see the inherited IRA calculator) and Roth IRAs, which have no RMDs for the owner. Each year's RMD is treated as taken at the start of the year. The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.

How the number is worked out

Take the balance on 31 December of last year and divide it by the distribution period for the age you reach this year. The periods come from the Uniform Lifetime Table in the Treasury regulations:26.5 years at 73, falling each year, so the share you must take rises as you age.

If your spouse is your only beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, a different table applies, the Joint and Last Survivor Table, using both your ages. Its periods are longer, so the RMD is smaller. Enter your spouse's year of birth to use it.

The years before RMDs start

Every RMD is taxed as ordinary income. A large pre-tax balance can mean RMDs that push you into a higher bracket in your seventies, on top of Social Security. The years between stopping work and your RMD age are often the lowest-income years you will have, which is why people convert part of their IRA to a Roth then.

The Roth conversion calculator shows the tax on a conversion this year and how much fits in your bracket. If you inherited an account, use the inherited IRA RMD calculator: the rules are different.

Questions people ask

At what age do RMDs start?: 72 if you were born in 1950 or earlier (70½ if born before July 1949), 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. For those born in 1959 the final regulations leave the age open; the proposed rule says 73, which this calculator uses.
When is the first RMD due?: By 1 April of the year after you reach your RMD age. Every later RMD is due by 31 December. Waiting until April puts two RMDs in one tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket.
What if I miss an RMD?: An excise tax of 25% of the amount you should have taken, cut to 10% if you take it within the correction window. Taking it as soon as you notice is what lowers the rate.
Do I take an RMD from each IRA?: You work out the RMD for each traditional IRA and can take the total from any one or more of them. 401(k) and other workplace plans are different: each plan's RMD comes out of that plan.
Does a Roth IRA have RMDs?: Not while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of an inherited Roth IRA do have rules to follow; the inherited IRA calculator covers them.

Sources: 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9 (Uniform Lifetime and Joint and Last Survivor Tables), 1.401(a)(9)-5, IRC §401(a)(9), IRC §4974 and IRS Publication 590-B.