RMD Calculator 2026 — Required Minimum Distribution & IRS Table

RMD Table 2026 — IRS Uniform Lifetime Table

The IRS Uniform Lifetime Table is the divisor most Americans use to calculate their annual RMD. The table below shows the exact distribution period for every age from 72 through 120+ under the current IRS regulations, updated in January 2022 and still in force for 2026 (IRS Pub 590-B, Fidelity IRS Uniform Lifetime Table PDF). Divide your December 31 balance by the factor for the age you turn this year to find your RMD.

What is a required minimum distribution (RMD)?

A required minimum distribution is the minimum amount the IRS forces you to withdraw each year from a tax-deferred retirement account. Traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and 457(b) plans are all subject to RMDs once the account owner reaches age 73 (IRS Retirement Topics — RMDs).

The purpose of RMDs is simple: the IRS eventually wants its tax money back. You deferred income tax when you contributed to the account, and the balance grew tax-free for decades. RMDs make sure that at some point, that pre-tax money re-enters the tax system as ordinary income. Roth IRAs are the major exception — because contributions were already taxed, Roth IRA owners are never required to take RMDs during their lifetime.

How to calculate your RMD in 3 steps

The RMD formula is intentionally simple. Both the IRS and every major brokerage use the same three-step method (Charles Schwab RMD Calculator, SmartAsset RMD Table):

1. Get your prior-year balance. Look up the fair market value of your IRA or 401(k) as of December 31 of the previous year. Your custodian mails this figure on Form 5498 by May 31 each year.
2. Find your life expectancy factor. Look up the age you turn this year on the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table above. If your only beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table instead, which gives a smaller RMD.
3. Divide. Balance ÷ factor = this year's RMD. A $500,000 IRA at age 73 (factor 26.5) equals $18,868. Withdraw at least that much by December 31.

RMD age in 2026 (SECURE Act 2.0 rules)

The SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 changed the RMD starting age twice. The rules that apply in 2026 depend on the year you were born (Congressional Research Service, T. Rowe Price):

If you were born in 1953, you turn 73 in 2026 and must take your first RMD this year (or defer it once to April 1, 2027 — see below). If you were born in 1960, your first RMD is not required until 2035.

RMD deadlines and the first-year rule

Every RMD after your first must be taken by December 31 of the calendar year. The IRS builds in one exception: you may delay your very first RMD until April 1 of the year after you turn 73 — this date is called the Required Beginning Date, or RBD (IRS RMD FAQs).

The RMD penalty — 25% excise tax

Missing an RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the amount you failed to withdraw. On a $20,000 RMD, that's a $5,000 penalty on top of the regular income tax you still owe. The SECURE Act 2.0 lowered this penalty from the old 50% to 25%, and it's cut further to 10% if you correct the shortfall within a two-year window and file Form 5329 with the IRS (IRS Publication 590-B).

The IRS may also waive the penalty entirely if you can show the shortfall was due to reasonable error and you're taking steps to fix it. Attach a letter of explanation to Form 5329 asking for the waiver — approval rates are high when the account holder acts quickly and in good faith.

Which retirement accounts require RMDs?

Calculating RMDs when you have multiple accounts

The IRS treats different account types differently when it comes to aggregating RMDs (NerdWallet RMD Calculator):

• Multiple IRAs (traditional, SEP, SIMPLE): Calculate the RMD for each account separately, add the amounts, and withdraw the total from any one — or several — of the IRAs.
• Multiple 403(b) plans: Same aggregation rule as IRAs — total the required amounts and withdraw from any 403(b).
• Multiple 401(k)s and 457(b)s: No aggregation. You must take the RMD directly from each plan separately.
• Mixed accounts: IRA RMDs cannot satisfy 401(k) RMDs, and vice versa.

Roth accounts and the 2024 rule change

Roth IRA owners have never been required to take RMDs during their lifetime. That has always been one of the biggest advantages of a Roth. What changed in 2024 is that Roth 401(k), Roth 403(b), and governmental Roth 457(b) accounts are now also exempt from lifetime RMDs, thanks to Section 325 of the SECURE Act 2.0.

Before 2024, Roth 401(k) balances had to be included in the account owner's RMD calculation — a quirk that pushed many savers to roll their Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA before age 73. That planning maneuver is no longer necessary. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account still face RMDs, usually under the 10-year rule discussed next.

Inherited IRAs and the 10-year rule

Rules for inherited retirement accounts changed dramatically after the original SECURE Act of 2019. Most non-spouse beneficiaries must now empty an inherited IRA within 10 years of the original owner's death (Schwab Inherited IRA Rules, Vanguard).

The Treasury's final regulations, effective for 2025 and 2026 distributions, clarified two important points:

1. If the original owner had already begun RMDs before death, the beneficiary must continue annual RMDs in years 1 through 9 and drain the account by December 31 of year 10.
2. If the owner died before their Required Beginning Date, no annual RMDs are required — the beneficiary only needs to empty the account by year 10.

Eligible Designated Beneficiaries — a surviving spouse, a disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, a minor child of the deceased, or someone less than 10 years younger than the deceased — can still stretch distributions over their own life expectancy using the Single Life Table.

The still-working exception (401(k) plans only)

If you keep working past age 73, own 5% or less of the company, and your employer's plan permits it, you can delay RMDs from your current 401(k) until April 1 of the year after you retire (Kitces, Schwab).

Three important limits apply. The still-working exception only covers your current employer's plan, not old 401(k)s from previous jobs and not any IRA. If you own more than 5% of the company, the exception is unavailable. And your plan document must specifically allow the delay — some do not. Rolling old 401(k)s into your current active plan before age 73 is a common technique to expand the still-working shelter.

4 strategies to reduce your RMD tax bill

1. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). If you're at least 70½, you can send up to $108,000 in 2025 (indexed annually) directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. The distribution counts toward your RMD but is excluded from taxable income — one of the most tax-efficient charitable moves available.
2. Roth conversions before age 73. Converting traditional IRA dollars to Roth in your 60s locks in today's tax rate and shrinks the balance that will later be subject to RMDs. Fill up lower tax brackets each year until RMDs begin.
3. Consolidate old 401(k)s into your active 401(k). This lets the still-working exception shelter more of your balance.
4. Coordinate RMDs with Social Security timing. Delaying Social Security to age 70 gives you low-income years in your late 60s that are ideal for larger voluntary Roth conversions or partial RMDs from an IRA.

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