RMD Calculator 2026: Calculate Your Required Minimum Distribution Step by Step

Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, are the IRS's way of ensuring that money held in tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and most 401(k) plans, eventually gets taxed. Because these accounts grew with pre-tax contributions, the government sets a schedule for mandatory annual withdrawals once you reach a certain age.

Thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act changes, that age is now 73 for anyone who turned 72 after December 31, 2022. If you are in that group, your 2026 RMD is based on your account balance at the close of 2025 and a divisor published by the IRS. Get it right, and you stay on the good side of the tax code. Get it wrong, and the penalty is significant. Let's walk through everything you need to know.

The starting point for your 2026 RMD is simple: your account balance as of December 31, 2025. This is not your balance today, and it is not some average over the year. It is the closing balance on the last day of the prior calendar year, as reported on your year-end account statement.

A few important details to keep in mind at this stage:

• If you have multiple traditional IRAs, you calculate the RMD separately for each account, but you can take the total combined amount from any one (or combination) of those IRAs. The IRS allows this aggregation for IRAs, though not for 401(k) plans.
• If you have multiple 401(k) accounts, each one requires its own separate RMD withdrawal from that specific account.
• Roth IRAs are exempt from RMDs during the original owner's lifetime. Roth 401(k)s were also exempted from RMDs starting in 2024, under SECURE 2.0 rules.

For our worked example, let's say a hypothetical retiree, we'll call her Margaret, has a single traditional IRA with a balance of $500,000 on December 31, 2025. Margaret turned 76 in 2026.

The IRS publishes life expectancy tables in Publication 590-B, available at irs.gov. Most retirement account holders use the Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III), which applies if you are the original owner of the account and your sole beneficiary is not a spouse who is more than 10 years younger than you.

The IRS updated these tables in 2022 to reflect longer life expectancies, which means slightly lower RMDs compared to older tables. The factors below are drawn from the current IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III from IRS Publication 590-B, updated effective January 1, 2022):

• Age 73: Distribution period of 26.5 years
• Age 74: Distribution period of 25.5 years
• Age 75: Distribution period of 24.6 years
• Age 76: Distribution period of 23.7 years
• Age 77: Distribution period of 22.9 years
• Age 78: Distribution period of 22.0 years
• Age 79: Distribution period of 21.1 years
• Age 80: Distribution period of 20.2 years
• Age 85: Distribution period of 16.0 years
• Age 90: Distribution period of 12.2 years
• Age 95: Distribution period of 9.0 years

The age you use is your age as of your birthday in the distribution year. So if you turn 76 at any point during 2026, you use age 76 and its corresponding factor of 23.7.

There is one exception worth knowing: if your only beneficiary is a spouse who is more than 10 years younger than you, a different table, the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table (Table II), generally produces a lower RMD. A financial adviser or tax professional can help clarify which table applies in that situation.

Once you have your December 31 balance and your distribution period factor, the formula is straightforward:

RMD = Prior Year-End Account Balance ÷ Life Expectancy Factor

Back to our hypothetical example with Margaret:

• Account balance (December 31, 2025): $500,000
• Age in 2026: 76
• Distribution period factor: 23.7
• RMD = $500,000 ÷ 23.7 = $21,097 (rounded to the nearest dollar)

That means Margaret's hypothetical RMD for 2026 would be approximately $21,097. She can take that amount as one lump sum, monthly installments, or any combination she prefers, as long as the full amount is withdrawn by December 31, 2026.

One important note: this withdrawal will be added to her taxable income for 2026. Depending on her other income sources, it could affect which federal tax bracket she falls into and may even influence how much of her Social Security benefit is taxable. Understanding your full retirement tax picture is worth exploring before you take that distribution.

The standard annual deadline for RMDs is December 31 of each year. There is one exception for first-timers: if 2026 is the first year you are required to take an RMD, you have until April 1, 2027 to take it. This is sometimes called the Required Beginning Date.

However, choosing to delay your first RMD to April 1 of the following year means you will need to take two RMDs in that year, one for the prior year (by April 1) and one for the current year (by December 31). Two distributions in the same tax year means more taxable income in a single year, which is a trade-off worth discussing with a tax professional.

Key deadline reminders at a glance:

• First RMD ever: Can be delayed to April 1 of the year after you turn 73
• All subsequent RMDs: Due by December 31 of each year
• Inherited IRAs: Different rules apply depending on your relationship to the original account holder and the year of death. The IRS issued final regulations on inherited IRA RMDs in 2024, so this area warrants careful attention from a qualified adviser.

Missing an RMD is an expensive mistake. The IRS imposes an excise tax of 25% on the amount you failed to withdraw. So if your RMD was $21,097 and you forgot to take it, you could owe $5,274 in penalties on top of any income tax owed when you eventually make the withdrawal.

The silver lining: SECURE 2.0 reduced this penalty from 50% to 25%, and introduced a correction window. If you correct the missed RMD within two years, the penalty drops further to 10%. You can correct an RMD shortfall by taking the missed amount and filing IRS Form 5329 to report the error and request any penalty reduction. The IRS also has a process for requesting a full waiver in cases of reasonable error, though approval is not guaranteed.

The clearest path is simply not to miss it in the first place. Setting a calendar reminder in early December each year is one practical way to stay on top of it.

Here is one of the most valuable tools available to retirees who give to charity: the Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD.

A QCD allows IRA owners aged 70½ or older to transfer money directly from their IRA to an eligible charity. This transfer counts toward satisfying your RMD for the year, but the distributed amount is excluded from your taxable income. That is a meaningful difference from taking the RMD, paying income tax on it, and then donating what is left.

For 2024, the QCD limit was $105,000 per person per year (the IRS adjusts this limit annually for inflation, so check irs.gov for the current 2026 figure). For a married couple where both spouses have IRAs, each can make a QCD up to the applicable limit.

To count as a QCD, the distribution must go directly from the IRA custodian to the qualifying charity. If you withdraw the money first and then donate it, it does not qualify as a QCD. Your IRA custodian can typically arrange this transfer.

The QCD strategy can also help reduce the amount of your Social Security benefit that is subject to tax, since it lowers your adjusted gross income. Many retirees interested in charitable giving find this worth exploring with a tax adviser. You can also find it discussed in our look at Roth conversion timing, since both strategies involve managing taxable income in retirement.

One thing to note: QCDs cannot be made from 401(k) plans or most employer-sponsored accounts. They apply specifically to IRAs.

A few misunderstandings about RMDs are widespread enough to be worth addressing directly:

• "I can skip my RMD if the market is down." The IRS does not make exceptions for market conditions. Your RMD is based on your prior year-end balance, regardless of what markets do in the current year. The only time RMDs were suspended was during 2020 under the CARES Act, which was a one-time legislative exception.
• "I can reinvest my RMD back into my IRA." You cannot return an RMD to the same IRA or roll it over to another IRA. You can, however, deposit it into a taxable brokerage account or use it for expenses, QCDs, or other purposes.
• "My Roth IRA has an RMD too." Roth IRAs do not require RMDs during the original owner's lifetime. This is one of the features that makes Roth accounts attractive for estate planning purposes. Our Roth vs Traditional IRA comparison covers this distinction in more depth.
• "RMDs are optional if I do not need the money." They are not optional. Even if your retirement income is comfortable without the RMD, you are still required to take it from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s.

This article is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial, tax, or legal advice. RMD rules are complex and individual circumstances vary. A qualified financial adviser or tax professional can help you determine the right approach for your specific situation. IRS Publication 590-B and the Social Security Administration website at ssa.gov are reliable primary sources for rules and current figures.