What age do RMDs start in 2026?

Under SECURE 2.0: age 73 if born 1951 to 1959, age 75 if born 1960 or later. Roth IRAs have NO lifetime RMDs for the original owner. Inherited IRAs follow separate 10-year rules under SECURE Act.

How are RMDs calculated?

RMD = prior-year December 31 balance ÷ life-expectancy divisor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At age 73, the divisor is 26.5 (so RMD ≈ 3.77% of balance). At age 90, the divisor drops to 12.2 (RMD ≈ 8.2%). The calculator runs this year by year through your planning horizon.

What is the SECURE 2.0 RMD age?

73 for those born 1951 to 1959, 75 for those born 1960 or later. The age rose from 72 to 73 on January 1, 2023; age 75 first applies in 2035, the year people born in 1960 turn 75. This buys an extra year of Roth-conversion runway for anyone in those birth years.

What's the penalty for missing an RMD?

Under SECURE 2.0: 25% of the amount not withdrawn (reduced from 50% pre-2023), or 10% if corrected within 2 years. The CPA fix is to file Form 5329 with a reasonable-cause statement: the IRS can waive the penalty when the shortfall came from reasonable error and you are taking steps to fix it.

Can Roth conversions reduce my RMDs?

Yes, every dollar you convert from Traditional to Roth permanently lowers your Traditional balance, which lowers all future RMDs. Roth IRAs themselves have no RMDs for the original owner. This is the single largest lever for managing the RMD tax bomb. Our Roth Conversion Calculator runs the math.

Does the RMD amount grow over time?

Yes, the divisor drops every year (your life expectancy shortens), so the percentage of your balance forced out keeps rising even before market growth. At 73 it's 3.77%; at 85 it's 6.25%; at 92 it's 8.85%. This is why RMDs become tax-bracket-distorting in your 80s and 90s if you don't pre-convert.

RMD Calculator 2026: Required Minimum Distribution by Age

Your Information

Enter your details to calculate your RMD. Leave optional fields blank if they don't apply.

Personal Details

Date of birth

Account type

Account Balance

Balance as of Dec 31, 2025

Expected annual growth rate

Marginal tax rate (for tax estimate)

Spouse (optional, for Joint Life Table)

Filing status

The Joint Life Table only applies if your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger.

SECURE 2.0 Act: RMD start age is 73 if you were born 1951 to 1959, and 75 if born 1960 or later. If you haven't reached your RMD age yet, we'll show when your first RMD is due and project forward from there.

2026 limits: $24,500 401(k) deferral, $7,500 IRA, $111,000 QCD, plus catch-up contributions after 50 — 2026 retirement account limits at a glance. Source: IRS Notice and Rev. Proc. 2025 inflation adjustments (retirement limits). Data: as of January 1, 2026 (tax year 2026); checked October 18, 2026.

Your RMD Results

Updates live as you type. Uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, or the Joint Life table when it applies (Pub 590-B).

2026 Required Minimum Distribution

0.00% of balance

Your age in 202673

RMD start age (SECURE 2.0)73

First RMD year2026

Life expectancy factor26.5

Take it byApril 1, 2027

Account balance used$500,000

Monthly equivalent$0

Estimated tax on RMD$0

After-tax RMD amount$0

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10-Year RMD Projection

Year	Age	Balance	RMD	%	Tax Est.	Cumul. Tax

Enter your date of birth and account balance to see your RMD calculation.

What you're looking at, in plain English

The number above is your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD): the chunk of your IRA or 401(k) the IRS forces you to withdraw this year, taxed as ordinary income.

Why this exists

After age 73 (or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later), the government doesn't let your retirement account grow tax-deferred forever. It forces you to start withdrawing whether you need the money or not. Every dollar you pull out gets added to your income and taxed at your regular bracket.

How it's calculated

Last December 31's account balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor that shrinks every year you age, meaning you have to take out a bigger and bigger percentage as you get older:

At age 75, the factor is 24.6, about 4.1% of the balance.
At age 85, the factor is 16.0, 6.25%.
At age 95, the factor is 8.9, over 11%.

Factors: Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B, in effect for 2026.

Worked example (2026 numbers)

Maria turns 73 in 2026. Her IRA held $500,000 on December 31, 2025.

$500,000 divided by 26.5 = $18,868. That is her 2026 RMD.
At a 22% federal bracket, the tax on it is about $4,151. She keeps about $14,717.
2026 is her first RMD year, so she may wait until April 1, 2027. If she waits, her 2027 RMD (age 74, factor 25.5) is also due by December 31, 2027. Two RMDs in one year can push her into a higher bracket.

What to do next

Find your December 31, 2025 balance. It is on your year-end statement, and your custodian reports it on Form 5498.
Divide it by the factor for the age you reach in 2026. The calculator above does this for you.
Take the money out by December 31, 2026. Only your very first RMD can wait until April 1 of the next year.
Have more than one IRA? Work out each RMD, then you may take the total from any one of them. Each 401(k) must pay its own RMD.
Still working? A 401(k) at your current employer can usually wait until you retire, unless you own more than 5% of the business. IRAs cannot wait.

Rules: IRS RMD FAQs, checked October 10, 2026.

The 10-year projection table

Shows what your RMDs will likely look like as you age and your balance changes. Notice they grow over time. That's the IRS slowly accelerating the drain. The cumulative tax column shows the total federal tax bill across all 10 years.

The main strategy to shrink RMDs

Do Roth conversions in your 60s, before the RMD faucet turns on. Every dollar you move from IRA to Roth in your 60s is one less dollar the IRS can force out of you in your 70s and 80s. Our Roth conversion calculator runs the math.

Don't miss an RMD. The IRS excise tax is 25% of the missed amount, or 10% if you fix it within two years (IRS RMD FAQs). Set a calendar reminder.

Related free tool: see how long your savings last.

Hans Goldstein, EA, Retirement Literacy Foundation

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Key numbers: $24.5K 401(k) employee deferral limit, 2026; $7.5K IRA contribution limit, 2026 — Key numbers: 2026 retirement account limits at a glance. Source: IRS Notice and Rev. Proc. 2025 inflation adjustments (retirement limits). Data: as of January 1, 2026 (tax year 2026); checked October 18, 2026.

Understanding Required Minimum Distributions

Required share of the December 31 balance, ages 73 to 90 (100 divided by the IRS divisor). Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table). Education only.

What is a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)?

An RMD is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your tax-deferred retirement accounts (Traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), TSP) each year once you reach your RMD start age. The IRS requires these withdrawals so they can collect taxes that were deferred when you contributed. The amount is calculated by dividing your account balance by a life expectancy factor from IRS tables.

When do RMDs start under SECURE 2.0?

Under the SECURE 2.0 Act: if you were born 1951-1959, RMDs begin at age 73. If born 1960 or later, RMDs begin at age 75. Your first RMD must be taken by April 1 of the year after you turn your RMD age, but waiting means taking two RMDs in one year (which could push you into a higher tax bracket).

What happens if I don't take my RMD?

The penalty for missing an RMD was reduced by SECURE 2.0 from 50% to 25% of the amount not withdrawn (or 10% if corrected within two years, per the IRS RMD FAQs). It's still a steep penalty, which is why tracking your RMDs is important.

Can I reduce the tax impact of RMDs?

Several strategies exist: Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) let you send up to $111,000 per person in 2026 (IRS, 2026 limits) directly to charity from your IRA, satisfying your RMD without adding to taxable income. Roth conversions before RMD age can reduce future RMDs. Strategic withdrawal timing in lower-income years can also help.

What about the Joint Life Table?

If your spouse is your sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger, you can use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table. This gives a larger divisor, resulting in a smaller RMD. Pick "Married filing jointly" and enter your spouse's date of birth, and this calculator uses the IRS Joint Life table (Table II in IRS Publication 590-B) when you qualify.

RMD factors by age

IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, ages 73 to 85

Age	Divisor	Share of balance	RMD on $500,000
73	26.5	3.77%	$18,868
74	25.5	3.92%	$19,608
75	24.6	4.07%	$20,325
76	23.7	4.22%	$21,097
77	22.9	4.37%	$21,834
78	22.0	4.55%	$22,727
79	21.1	4.74%	$23,697
80	20.2	4.95%	$24,752
81	19.4	5.15%	$25,773
82	18.5	5.41%	$27,027
83	17.7	5.65%	$28,249
84	16.8	5.95%	$29,762
85	16.0	6.25%	$31,250

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime), checked October 10, 2026. Percent and dollar columns calculated by the Retirement Literacy Foundation.

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