RMD Calculator

The deal behind every Traditional IRA and 401(k) — deduct now, pay tax later — has a collection date: Required Minimum Distributions. Starting at age 73 (75 for those born 1960+), the IRS requires you to withdraw, and be taxed on, a rising percentage of your pre-tax balances every year, whether you need the money or not. This calculator computes this year's RMD from the actual Uniform Lifetime Table and projects the next decade, which is where the planning insights hide.

The Mechanics

The percentage climbs relentlessly — the projection table shows how a growing balance and a shrinking factor combine into surprisingly large forced income in your 80s, exactly when it collides with Medicare premium cliffs (IRMAA) and Social Security taxation.

Which Accounts, Which Rules

• RMDs apply to: Traditional IRAs, SEP/SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k)/403(b)/457 pre-tax balances. Not: Roth IRAs (never, for the owner) and — since 2024 — Roth 401(k)s.
• Aggregation: IRAs can be summed and the total RMD taken from any one; 401(k)s must each distribute their own.
• The still-working exception: your current employer's 401(k) can wait until you actually retire (if the plan allows, and you own <5%).
• The penalty: 25% excise tax on any shortfall (reduced to 10% if fixed within two years) — down from the old 50%, still the harshest routine penalty in the code.
• The first-year trap: RMD #1 can be delayed to April 1 of the next year — which stacks two RMDs into one tax year and usually backfires. Take the first one on time.

Softening the Tax Blow

• QCDs — Qualified Charitable Distributions: from age 70½, up to $108,000/yr can go from IRA directly to charity, counting toward the RMD and never touching your taxable income — strictly better than withdrawing and donating.
• Pre-RMD Roth conversions: the years between retirement and 73 are the classic low-bracket window to convert Traditional money to Roth, permanently shrinking future RMDs (see the Roth Conversion Calculator).
• Coordinate withholding: RMDs can carry heavy voluntary withholding — many retirees use the December RMD's withholding to settle the whole year's tax bill in one move.
• Spend it or reinvest it: an RMD forces a withdrawal, not spending — reinvesting in a taxable account keeps the money working, just outside the tax shelter.

How to Use the Calculator

1. Enter your age, last December 31's combined pre-tax balance, and an expected return.
2. Read this year's RMD, and scan the 10-year projection — the trajectory is the planning signal.
3. If the later rows look like a bracket problem, the conversion window before RMDs begin is where to act.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly do my RMDs start?

Age 73 if you were born 1951–1959; age 75 if born 1960 or later (SECURE 2.0 schedule). The first one may be delayed to April 1 of the following year; all later ones are due by December 31.

Do Roth accounts have RMDs?

Roth IRAs: never for the original owner. Roth 401(k)s: not anymore (since 2024). Inherited Roth accounts do face the 10-year emptying rule for most non-spouse heirs.

How are inherited IRAs different?

Most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty the account within 10 years (with annual RMDs in years 1–9 if the owner had already started). Spouses can treat it as their own. The old lifetime 'stretch' is gone for most heirs — a major estate-planning shift.

Can I take more than the RMD?

Always — the RMD is a floor, not a ceiling. Excess withdrawals don't credit against future years, though.

What if I have multiple accounts?

Sum all IRA RMDs and take the total from any IRA(s) you choose; each 401(k) must pay its own. Consolidating old 401(k)s into an IRA before 73 simplifies this permanently.

Does the RMD affect my Medicare premiums?

Frequently — RMD income counts toward IRMAA thresholds, where crossing a cliff by $1 can add $1,000+ per person per year in premiums two years later. It's the second-order cost that makes pre-RMD Roth conversions so valuable.

Is my information private?

Yes — balances and ages never leave your browser.

RMDs are predictable years in advance — which makes them plannable. Run the projection, use the low-bracket years before 73, route charity through QCDs, and the collection date on your tax deferral becomes a schedule instead of a surprise.