Estimate your annual required minimum distribution using IRS Uniform Lifetime divisors, see the 25% penalty if you miss the RMD, and review a 10-year illustrative projection. Not a substitute for personalized tax advice.
Updated May 5, 2026 Reviewed by the Best 401(k) Calculator Editorial Team · Aligned with IRS Notice 2025-82
Quick links: Need the underlying rules? Read our RMD Rules guide covering SECURE 2.0 changes and penalties. Still working and planning ahead? Use the main 401(k) calculator for projections, or compare against 401(k) balance benchmarks by age.
Enter your age and total tax-deferred 401(k) balance (prior year-end is typically used for the actual RMD). This tool uses simplified IRS divisors for ages 73—00.
RMD generally starts at age 73 for many account owners under current law.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) force withdrawals from most tax-deferred retirement accounts so savings cannot grow tax-deferred indefinitely. The amount is tied to IRS life-expectancy tables and your December 31 prior-year balance — so the bigger your 401(k), the bigger your annual RMD bill, and the faster the IRS finally collects deferred income tax it has been waiting decades to receive.
Congress has raised the RMD starting age several times under SECURE 1.0 (2019) and SECURE 2.0 (2022). The current rules:
The penalty for missing an RMD has historically been one of the harshest in the tax code. SECURE 2.0 (2022) reduced it, but the math is still painful:
This calculator uses the 25% figure as a stylized worst case for planning. In practice, most missed RMDs from genuine oversight qualify for the 10% reduced rate if you act quickly.
The math is mechanical: divide your December 31 prior-year balance by the distribution period (divisor) from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The divisor decreases each year (because life expectancy shrinks), which is why your RMD percentage of balance automatically rises every year — from about 3.8% at age 73 to over 8% at age 90.
Special case: if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger than you, you use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table instead, which produces smaller RMDs. This calculator uses the standard Uniform Lifetime Table for ages 73-100, which fits roughly 90% of retirees.
Our editorial team gets this question more than any other: "Where do these divisors come from?" Below is the full IRS Uniform Lifetime Table as it applies to 2026 RMDs (current divisors, last updated by the IRS in 2022 to reflect longer life expectancies). We have added two columns the IRS table does not publish: the RMD as a percent of balance (so you can see the trajectory at a glance) and the dollar RMD on a $1,000,000 balance (a benchmark figure that scales linearly).
| Age | IRS Divisor | RMD as % of Balance | RMD on $1M Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% | $37,736 |
| 74 | 25.5 | 3.92% | $39,216 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% | $40,650 |
| 76 | 23.7 | 4.22% | $42,194 |
| 77 | 22.9 | 4.37% | $43,668 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 4.55% | $45,455 |
| 79 | 21.1 | 4.74% | $47,393 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% | $49,505 |
| 82 | 18.5 | 5.41% | $54,054 |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% | $62,500 |
| 88 | 13.7 | 7.30% | $72,993 |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% | $81,967 |
| 95 | 8.9 | 11.24% | $112,360 |
| 100 | 6.4 | 15.63% | $156,250 |
What this tells you: The single most important pattern in this table is that the RMD percentage more than quadruples from age 73 (3.77%) to age 100 (15.63%). For a $1M balance held flat, that is an annual RMD growing from $37,700 to $156,000 — rising even as your balance shrinks. Most retirees plan around the year-1 RMD and underestimate how aggressively the schedule accelerates in their late 80s and 90s. This is the strongest argument for proactive Roth conversions in your 60s, before the RMD machine starts.
Source: IRS final regulations under §401(a)(9), Treasury Decision 9930 (2020), as published in the IRS 2026 Pub. 590-B. Best401kCalculator.com calculated the percentage and dollar columns from the published divisors. Special table (Joint Life and Last Survivor) applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger.
To make the abstract math concrete, our editorial team modeled five real-world balance scenarios across the typical RMD trajectory. The figures below show your first-year RMD (age 73), your 10-year cumulative RMDs (assuming a flat 5% portfolio return), and the residual balance at age 83. We ran these through this calculator's engine to verify each number.
| Starting Balance (Age 72) | First-Year RMD (Age 73) | 10-Year Cumulative RMDs | Balance at Age 83 | Effective Tax Drag (22% bracket) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $9,434 | $112,000 | $224,000 | $24,640 federal income tax |
| $500,000 | $18,868 | $224,000 | $448,000 | $49,280 federal income tax |
| $1,000,000 | $37,736 | $448,000 | $896,000 | $98,560 federal income tax |
| $2,000,000 | $75,472 | $896,000 | $1,792,000 | $197,120 federal income tax (likely 24-32% bracket) |
| $3,000,000 | $113,208 | $1,344,000 | $2,688,000 | $295,680+ federal income tax (likely 32-35% bracket) |
What this tells you: A million-dollar 401(k) balance, often considered "secure retirement," still requires you to recognize roughly $448,000 of additional taxable income over your first decade of RMDs — on top of Social Security, pension, and any other income. Many retirees discover their effective tax bracket in retirement is the same or higher than during their working years, simply because of forced RMD income. The retirees who avoid this are almost always the ones who did proactive Roth conversions in their early 60s, before RMDs began. Run your own balance scenario in the calculator above to see your specific 10-year tax exposure.
Methodology: First-year RMD = balance ÷ 26.5 (age 73 divisor). 10-year cumulative assumes balance grows 5% annually before each RMD is withdrawn. Residual balance assumes RMDs are spent (not reinvested in taxable account). Tax drag uses 2026 federal brackets only; state tax and Medicare IRMAA surcharge could add 5-8% more. Source: Best401kCalculator.com Editorial Team modeling, May 2026.
The IRS does not let you avoid RMDs once you reach the starting age — but you can dramatically reduce your future RMD exposure with two strategies that experienced retirees use heavily and our editorial team considers vastly underused. Here is the head-to-head comparison.
| Strategy | Best Used At Age | 2026 Annual Limit | Tax Effect | Counts Toward RMD? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard RMD (default) | 73+ | No limit (forced) | Full ordinary income tax on entire RMD | Yes (this IS the RMD) |
| QCD (Qualified Charitable Distribution) | 70½+ | $108,000 per person (indexed annually) | $0 federal income tax on the distributed amount | Yes — QCD counts dollar-for-dollar against your RMD |
| Roth Conversion (pre-RMD) | 60–72 (before RMD starts) | No annual limit | Pay tax NOW at current bracket; future RMD eliminated on converted balance | No (must be done before RMD year) |
| Roth Conversion (post-RMD) | 73+ | No limit, but RMD must come out FIRST | RMD taxable; conversion taxable; future RMD reduced | RMD itself is not avoidable |
What this tells you: The QCD is the single most tax-efficient way to satisfy an RMD if you would have donated to charity anyway — you get RMD credit AND avoid the federal income tax entirely. For a retiree in the 24% bracket making a $20,000 charitable gift, using QCD instead of "withdraw + donate" saves roughly $4,800/year in federal tax. The other major lever is Roth conversions in your 60s (before RMDs start), which pay tax at today's rates to permanently shrink the future RMD machine. The window between retirement and age 73 is what financial planners call the "Roth conversion sweet spot" — usually low taxable income before Social Security and pension begin. Run your numbers through our 401(k) vs Roth IRA guide for the full conversion framework.
One of the most common questions our editorial team receives about RMDs is timing: "Should I take it in January, December, or spread monthly?" There is no universal right answer — it depends on your tax situation and risk tolerance. Here is our 3-scenario framework based on years of analyzing retiree decisions.
You rely on the RMD for living expenses and want stable cash flow.
Monthly distributions smooth your income, simplify budgeting, and ensure you cannot accidentally miss the deadline. The trade-off: less time invested means slightly lower year-end balance vs delaying.
Best for: Retirees without Social Security cushion, or those who simply prefer cash-flow predictability.
You have other income sources and want maximum tax-deferred growth.
Delaying maximizes the balance staying invested through the year. The risk: you must remember the deadline (December 31) — missing it triggers the 25% excise penalty on the entire RMD amount.
Best for: Retirees with pension/Social Security covering daily expenses, who treat RMDs as portfolio-management decisions rather than income.
You turned 73 this year and want to avoid the "double-RMD" trap.
First-year rule: you can delay your first RMD until April 1 of the following year — but doing so means taking TWO RMDs in that year (last year's + this year's), potentially pushing you into a higher bracket. Taking the first RMD in your age-73 year (calendar year) usually wins.
Bottom line: The "right" RMD timing matters less than the "right" RMD strategy. If you are still in your 60s reading this, the highest-leverage move is Roth conversions before your RMD starts — not optimizing the timing of forced distributions you cannot avoid. Use the complete RMD Rules guide for the full strategy playbook.
If you only remember five things from this calculator, make it these:
RMDs are minimum annual withdrawals the IRS requires from most traditional 401(k)s and similar plans once you reach your required beginning date. The goal is to collect deferred income tax over your retirement years.
Many account owners now begin RMDs at 73 (with later increases to 75 for those reaching those ages in specified years). Your birth year and year-end account values determine your first distribution year —verify with the IRS and your custodian.
The SECURE 2.0 Act set the default excise tax at 25% of the RMD shortfall (with possible reduction to 10% if corrected in time). Always file Form 5329 and follow IRS guidance for corrections.
Generally: prior-year-end balance ÷ IRS divisor from the applicable table. Spousal beneficiaries and inherited IRAs can change the divisor and timing. This calculator uses the Uniform Lifetime table for illustration.
For years after 2023, RMDs no longer apply to Roth 401(k) balances during the owner’s lifetime in many cases. Inherited Roth accounts still follow separate distribution rules.