Your 20262025 divided by an IRS applicable denominator. Most owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table; an owner whose spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger uses the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table instead, which gives a larger denominator and a smaller withdrawal. This calculator implements both, rather than warning you about one of them.
What this includes
The Uniform Lifetime Table (Pub. 590-B, Table III) for every ordinary owner
The Joint Life and Last Survivor Table (Table II), applied automatically when it qualifies
Your applicable age from your birth year — 73 or 75, not one number for everyone
The December 31 deadline, and the April 1 required beginning date in your first year
A qualified charitable distribution, netted off the taxable amount
Federal income tax on the distribution, and state tax shown separately
What it excludes
Inherited accounts, which follow the Single Life Table and the 10-year rule
After-tax basis reported on Form 8606, which would make part of the distribution tax-free
The still-working exception for an employer plan, which you must apply yourself
Medicare IRMAA surcharges, which follow two years behind this year's income
The 2026 rule most people get wrong: the starting age is not 73 for everyone. SECURE 2.0 sets 73 for people born 1951–1959 and 75 for people born in 1960 or later, and the applicable age is fixed by your birth year rather than by the year you happen to be reading this.
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Your account
$
Prior year-end fair market value of this one account. Compute each account separately.
Your applicable age is 73, so your first required distribution is for 2026.
Compute the required amount separately for every traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA you own, then take the total from any one of them or any mix.
Tax on the distribution
$
Pensions, taxable Social Security, interest, wages — everything except this distribution. The standard deduction is applied for you.
$
Sent direct from an IRA to charity. Counts toward the required amount and stays out of income. 2026 limit $111,000 per person, from age 70½.
State tax is estimated separately. Several states exempt some or all retirement income.
Your 2026 required minimum distribution
2026 RMD
$18,868
Monthly equivalent
$1,572
Table usedTable III — Uniform Lifetime
Distribution period (you 73)26.5
IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III.
Prior year-end balance (Dec 31, 2025)$500,000
RMD = balance ÷ distribution period$18,868
Percentage of the account3.77%
The factor shrinks every year, so this share rises even if the balance does not.
DeadlineDecember 31, 2026
Tax on it
Taxable amount$18,868
Estimated taxable income for the year$78,868
Federal income tax on the distribution$3,296
Left after tax$15,572
What applies to you
Born in 1953, your applicable age is 73, so your first required distribution is for 2026. SECURE 2.0 sets 73 for people born 1951–1959 and 75 for people born in 1960 or later; it is not 73 for everyone.
2026 is your first distribution year, so this one amount — and only this one — may be delayed to April 1, 2027. Every later year is due by December 31.
Compute the required amount separately for every traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA you own, then take the total from any one of them or any mix.
If you are still working for the employer that sponsors this plan, are not a 5% owner, and the plan allows it, an employer-plan distribution can be deferred until April 1 following the year you retire. That exception never applies to an IRA.
A distribution that is short or late carries an excise tax on the shortfall — 25% under SECURE 2.0, reduced to 10% if the shortfall is corrected within the correction period and Form 5329 is filed. The IRS may also waive it for reasonable cause. None of the reductions are automatic.
A required distribution is ordinary income, not a capital gain. It is taxed at your bracket rate, it raises AGI, and it can pull more of your Social Security into tax and raise your Medicare premium two years later.
Any after-tax basis in the account (non-deductible contributions reported on Form 8606) would make part of the distribution tax-free. That is not modelled, so the taxable amount shown may be too high for anyone with basis.
What $500,000 requires at each age
Every factor below is read from IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B — no interpolation, no rounding of our own. Turn on the sole-beneficiary switch with a spouse more than 10 years younger to add the Table II column.
Age
Table III factor
Required
% of balance
72
27.4
$18,248
3.65%
73
26.5
$18,868
3.77%
74
25.5
$19,608
3.92%
75
24.6
$20,325
4.07%
76
23.7
$21,097
4.22%
77
22.9
$21,834
4.37%
78
22
$22,727
4.55%
79
21.1
$23,697
4.74%
80
20.2
$24,752
4.95%
82
18.5
$27,027
5.41%
84
16.8
$29,762
5.95%
85
16
$31,250
6.25%
86
15.2
$32,895
6.58%
88
13.7
$36,496
7.30%
90
12.2
$40,984
8.20%
92
10.8
$46,296
9.26%
95
8.9
$56,180
11.24%
100
6.4
$78,125
15.63%
Understand your result
Which table applies, and why it matters
There are three tables in Appendix B of Publication 590-B and they are not interchangeable. Table III, Uniform Lifetime, applies to almost every living owner. It is built on the assumption that your beneficiary is exactly 10 years younger than you — which is why the regulation defines it as the joint life expectancy of you and a hypothetical beneficiary at that gap.
Table II, Joint Life and Last Survivor, replaces it when two conditions both hold: your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the account for the whole year, and your spouse is more than 10 years younger. Exactly 10 years is not enough. When it applies, the distribution period is longer and the required withdrawal is smaller — at 75 with a 55-year-old spouse it is 32.4 rather than 24.6, which on a $500,000 balance is $15,432 instead of $20,325.
Table I, Single Life Expectancy, is for beneficiaries of an inherited account. An owner never uses it. If you inherited the account, the figures on this page do not apply to you — your distribution depends on when the original owner died, whether they had already begun taking distributions, and whether you are an eligible designated beneficiary.
Several accounts: what you may combine and what you may not
Account
May the required amount be combined?
QCD?
Traditional IRA · SEP IRA · SIMPLE IRA
Compute each separately, take the total from any one or any mix
Yes
401(k) · governmental 457(b)
Each plan satisfies its own amount, from that plan only
No
403(b)
403(b) contracts aggregate with each other — and only with each other
No
Roth 401(k) / designated Roth account
No lifetime RMD since the 2024 distribution year (SECURE 2.0 § 325)
No
Roth IRA
No lifetime RMD for the owner, ever
Yes
Inherited IRA (any type)
Beneficiary rules — Single Life Table and, usually, the 10-year rule
Yes
The expensive mistake in this table is the middle row. Taking an old employer plan's required amount out of an IRA leaves the plan short, and a shortfall carries the excise tax even though the money did come out of a retirement account. Each 401(k) must satisfy its own required amount from that plan. A 401(k) RMD cannot be taken from an IRA, and an IRA RMD cannot be taken from a 401(k).
Deadlines, and the two-distribution year
Every distribution after the first is due by December 31. The first one may be delayed to April 1 of the following year — the required beginning date. That option exists once and applies only to the first year.
Taking it is usually a mistake. Delaying does not skip a year: the second year's distribution is still due that December, so two land in one tax year. For someone with $500,000 at age 73 that is roughly $38,476of ordinary income in a single year instead of half of it, which can push you into a higher bracket, raise the taxable share of your Social Security, and lift your Medicare Part B premium two years later. Delay only when you know next year's income will be markedly lower.
One genuine exception: if you are still working for the employer that sponsors the plan, are not a 5% owner, and the plan permits it, that plan's distributions can wait until April 1 following the year you retire. It never applies to an IRA.
Missing one, and giving one away
A shortfall carries an excise tax. SECURE 2.0 cut the maximum from 50% to 25% of the amount not taken, and it falls to 10% when the shortfall is made up within the correction period and Form 5329 is filed. The IRS may waive it altogether for reasonable cause. None of that is automatic — the reduction depends on your facts and on actually filing the form.
A qualified charitable distribution is the cleanest way out of the tax. From an IRA, from age 70½ — earlier than the RMD age — up to $111,000 per person for 2026 may go directly from your custodian to a qualifying charity. It counts toward the required amount and never enters gross income, which beats taking the distribution and deducting the gift: it also keeps AGI down for the Social Security inclusion test and the Medicare premium tiers. It must be paid direct; a cheque routed through you does not qualify.
Frequently asked questions
At what age do RMDs start in 2026?
Your starting age depends on your date of birth, not on the current year. It is 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959 and 75 for people born in 1960 or later. Someone born in 1949 or 1950 started at 72 under earlier law, and anyone born before 1949 was already subject to the pre-SECURE rules.
Which IRS table applies to me?
The Uniform Lifetime Table (Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III) applies to almost every living owner. The Joint Life and Last Survivor Table (Table II) applies instead when your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the account for the whole year AND is more than 10 years younger — it gives a larger distribution period, so a smaller required withdrawal. The Single Life Table (Table I) is for beneficiaries of an inherited account, never for an owner.
How much lower is the RMD with a much-younger spouse?
It depends on the age gap. A 75-year-old with a 55-year-old sole-beneficiary spouse uses a distribution period of 32.4 instead of 24.6, which on a $500,000 balance is $15,432 instead of $20,325 — about 24% less. The calculator applies Table II automatically once both conditions are met.
When exactly is my RMD due?
December 31 of the distribution year. The one exception is your first RMD, which may be delayed to April 1 of the following year — the required beginning date. Delaying puts two distributions in one tax year, which can raise your bracket, the taxable share of your Social Security, and your Medicare premium two years later.
Can I take all my RMDs from one account?
Only within a family of accounts. Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs aggregate: compute each one's amount, then take the total from whichever you like. 403(b) contracts aggregate with each other. A 401(k) or 457(b) must satisfy its own amount from that plan — and an IRA RMD can never be taken from a 401(k), or the other way round.
Do Roth accounts have RMDs?
A Roth IRA has never had a lifetime RMD for its owner. A designated Roth account in an employer plan — a Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) — stopped having one with the 2024 distribution year under SECURE 2.0. Beneficiaries who inherit either one do have distribution rules.
What is the penalty for missing an RMD?
An excise tax on the shortfall, reported on Form 5329. SECURE 2.0 cut the maximum from 50% to 25%, and it drops to 10% when the shortfall is made up within the correction period and Form 5329 is filed. The IRS may also waive it entirely for reasonable cause. None of these reductions is automatic — each depends on your facts and on filing the form.
Can I give my RMD to charity instead?
Yes, from an IRA, from age 70½, as a qualified charitable distribution paid directly by the custodian to the charity. It counts toward the required amount and stays out of gross income entirely, which is better than taking the distribution and deducting the gift because it also keeps AGI down for the Social Security and Medicare tests. The 2026 limit is $111,000 per person.
Educational estimate only. The distribution periods come from IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B (2025 revision (issued 21 January 2026)). This tool does not handle inherited accounts, after-tax basis reported on Form 8606, the still-working exception, or Medicare IRMAA. Confirm your figure with your plan administrator or a qualified tax professional. Full disclaimer.