RMD Calculator - Calculate Your Required Minimum Distribution for IRA and 401k Retirement Accounts
RMD Information
Calculate Your Required Minimum Distribution
Once you reach age 73 (or 72 if born before 1951), the IRS requires you to withdraw a minimum amount from your retirement accounts each year.
💡 Important Notes:
- • RMD calculations use IRS Publication 590-B tables
- • Failure to take RMD results in 50% penalty tax
- • RMD deadline: December 31 each year
- • First RMD can be delayed until April 1 of following year
Understanding Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)
📅 RMD Age Requirements
- Born before 1951: Age 72
- Born 1951-1959: Age 73
- Born 1960 or later: Age 75 (SECURE 2.0)
The SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act gradually increased the RMD starting age to allow retirement savings to grow longer.
⚠️ Important Deadlines
- First RMD: April 1 of year after turning 73
- Subsequent RMDs: December 31 each year
- Penalty: 50% excise tax on missed amount
Note: If you delay your first RMD to April 1, you must take two distributions that year.
How RMD is Calculated
The RMD amount is determined using a simple formula based on IRS life expectancy tables:
RMD = Account Balance (Dec 31) / Life Expectancy Factor
Example: $200,000 / 24.6 = $8,130.08
IRS Life Expectancy Tables
The IRS provides three tables for RMD calculations:
- Uniform Lifetime Table: Used by most account owners
- Joint Life and Last Survivor Table: When spouse is sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger
- Single Life Table: Used by beneficiaries of inherited accounts
Tax Strategies to Minimize RMD Impact
🔄 Roth Conversions
Convert traditional IRA funds to Roth IRA before RMD age. Roth IRAs have no RMD requirements during your lifetime, reducing future tax burden.
❤️ Qualified Charitable Distributions
If age 70.5+, donate up to $105,000 directly from IRA to charity. Counts toward RMD but excluded from taxable income.
💼 Still Working Exception
If you are still working and do not own 5%+ of the company, you may delay RMD from your current employer 401k until retirement.
📊 Tax Bracket Management
Take distributions strategically to stay within lower tax brackets. Consider taking more than RMD in low-income years.
Common RMD Mistakes to Avoid
- ❌ Missing the deadline: Results in 50% penalty plus regular income tax
- ❌ Using wrong account balance: Must use December 31 balance from previous year
- ❌ Not aggregating IRAs: Calculate RMD for each IRA but can withdraw total from one
- ❌ Forgetting inherited IRAs: Inherited accounts have separate RMD requirements
- ❌ Not updating beneficiaries: Affects life expectancy calculations for your heirs
Multiple Account Considerations
If you have multiple retirement accounts:
- IRAs: Calculate RMD for each, but can withdraw total from any combination
- 401k/403b: Must calculate and withdraw RMD separately from each account
- Inherited accounts: Separate RMD calculations required for each inherited account
- Roth IRAs: No RMD during owner lifetime (but inherited Roth IRAs do have RMDs)