RMD Calculator: Required Minimum Distribution 2026

Divide by the life-expectancy factor — that is the whole calculation

The IRS does not ask how much you need. It asks how much you have, looks up how many more years it assumes that money must last, and divides. The factor is how many more years the IRS assumes the money must last, so the RMD is the balance spread over that span — and the factor shrinks every year, which is why the RMD grows even when the balance does not. On the defaults — balance $500,000.00, age 73, growth 5%, tax 22% — the distribution period (factor) is 26.5, this year’s RMD is $18,867.92, the RMD as % of balance is 3.77%, the tax on the RMD is $4,150.94, the after-tax RMD is $14,716.98, the balance after the RMD is $481,132.08 and the total 5-year RMD is $103,603.81.

5-year RMD projection

Year 1 uses the balance as given — it IS the Dec 31 balance. Each later year the balance first grows by 5%, then the RMD is taken at that year’s factor. At the defaults — balance $500,000.00, age 73, growth 5%, tax 22% — the distribution period (factor) is 26.5, this year’s RMD is $18,867.92, the RMD as % of balance is 3.77%, the tax on the RMD is $4,150.94, the after-tax RMD is $14,716.98, the balance after the RMD is $481,132.08 and the total 5-year RMD is $103,603.81. Check the identities: RMD = balance ÷ factor; RMD as % = 100 ÷ factor; tax = RMD × tax rate; after-tax = RMD − tax; balance after = balance − RMD; year-1 balance = the balance as given, later balances = prior balance after × (1 + growth); total 5-year RMD = sum of the five yearly RMDs; factor = ULT[min(age, 120)]. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: balance $500,000.00, age 73, growth 5%, tax 22%.

Line 1 — the factor. The IRS Uniform Lifetime Table gives age 73 a factor of 26.5 — the IRS assumes the money must last 26.5 more years.

Line 2 — the RMD. $500,000.00 ÷ 26.5 = $18,867.92. That is 100 ÷ 26.5 = 3.77% of the balance.

Line 3 — the tax. $18,867.92 × 22% = $4,150.94, so after tax you keep $18,867.92 − $4,150.94 = $14,716.98. The balance after the withdrawal is $500,000.00 − $18,867.92 = $481,132.08.

Line 4 — the projection. Year 2: the balance grows 5% first — $481,132.08 × 1.05 = $505,188.68 — then the RMD at age 74’s factor 25.5 is $19,811.32. Year 3: $509,646.23 ÷ 24.6 = $20,717.33. Year 4: $513,375.35 ÷ 23.7 = $21,661.41. Year 5: $516,299.64 ÷ 22.9 = $22,545.84. The five RMDs total $103,603.81.

Reverse: the balance for a $25,000 RMD at age 73 is $662,500.00 (exact $662,500.00); at $662,499.00 the RMD is $24,999.96, at $662,501.00 it is $25,000.04. The balance for a $15,000 after-tax RMD at age 73 is $509,615.38 (exact $509,615.3846); the RMD is $19,230.77 and the after-tax RMD is $15,000.00. The first age where that year’s RMD exceeds $25,000 is 80 (RMD $25,729.85); at age 79 it is $24,626.53. The marginal tax rate for a $15,000 after-tax RMD is 20.50% (exact 20.50%); at 20.50% the after-tax RMD is $15,000.00. The growth rate for a $20,000 year-2 RMD is 6.00% (exact 6.0000%); at 6.00% the year-2 RMD is $20,000.00, at 5.99% it is $19,998.11. The first age where the RMD exceeds 5% of the balance is 81 (5.15%); at age 80 it is only 4.95%.

Every branch, checked

Balance $250,000: Factor 26.5, RMD $9,433.96, tax $2,075.47, after-tax $7,358.49, balance after $240,566.04, 5-year total $51,801.91. Half the balance, half the RMD — the percentages are the same, the tax halves to $2,075.47.

Balance $1,000,000: Factor 26.5, RMD $37,735.85, tax $8,301.89, after-tax $29,433.96, balance after $962,264.15, 5-year total $207,207.63. Twice the balance, twice the RMD — the tax is $8,301.89 and the 5-year total is $207,207.63.

Age 75: Factor 24.6, RMD $20,325.20, tax $4,471.54, after-tax $15,853.66, balance after $479,674.80, 5-year total $110,975.63. Two years older, a smaller factor — the RMD rises to $20,325.20.

Age 80: Factor 20.2, RMD $24,752.48, tax $5,445.54, after-tax $19,306.93, balance after $475,247.52, 5-year total $134,330.33. At 80 the factor is 20.2, so the RMD is $24,752.48 — and that is the first year the RMD passes $25,000 in the projection.

Age 85: Factor 16.0, RMD $31,250.00, tax $6,875.00, after-tax $24,375.00, balance after $468,750.00, 5-year total $167,185.58. At 85 the factor is 16.0, so the RMD is $31,250.00 — 6.25% of the balance.

Growth 0%: Factor 26.5, RMD $18,867.92, tax $4,150.94, after-tax $14,716.98, balance after $481,132.08, 5-year total $93,787.53. With no growth the year-1 RMD is unchanged at $18,867.92 — growth only affects later years. The year-2 RMD is $18,867.92 and the year-5 RMD falls to $18,548.51: the balance shrinks every year as RMDs come out, so the RMD falls even with the factor falling. The 5-year total is $93,787.53 — NOT 5 × $18,867.92.

Growth 8%: Factor 26.5, RMD $18,867.92, tax $4,150.94, after-tax $14,716.98, balance after $481,132.08, 5-year total $109,970.07. With 8% growth the year-2 RMD is $20,377.36 and the 5-year total is $109,970.07 — growth outruns the withdrawals, so the balance keeps rising.

Tax 12%: Factor 26.5, RMD $18,867.92, tax $2,264.15, after-tax $16,603.77, balance after $481,132.08, 5-year total $103,603.81. A lower rate changes only the tax: $2,264.15 of tax, $16,603.77 kept — the RMD itself is unchanged.

Tax 37%: Factor 26.5, RMD $18,867.92, tax $6,981.13, after-tax $11,886.79, balance after $481,132.08, 5-year total $103,603.81. At the top rate the tax is $6,981.13 and you keep only $11,886.79 of the $18,867.92 RMD.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes the balance you enter is the Dec 31 balance of the year BEFORE the RMD year, and that the account grows at the rate you enter before each later year’s RMD. It assumes a single account and a single owner — it does not model state tax, the 10-year inherited-IRA rule, QCDs, or Roth accounts (Roth IRAs have no RMDs while the owner is alive). It assumes the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (2022) — the table is the same from 73 on, and it ends at 120 with factor 2.0, so an age-120 projection uses 2.0 for every year. Age below 73 is a validation error at the calc level — RMDs do not start before 73. With a $0 balance the RMD is $0.00 and the tax is $0.00, but the RMD as % is still 3.77% — the % depends only on age. At age 100 the factor is 6.4 and the RMD is $78,125.00 (15.63% of the balance). At age 120 the factor is 2.0 (clamped — “120 and over”), the RMD is $250,000.00 and the RMD as % is 50.00%. At 0% tax the after-tax RMD is the full $18,867.92. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum; the reverses are nearest-value solutions, and the exact unrounded figures ($662,500.00, $509,615.3846, 20.50%, 6.0000%) are stated wherever the rounded figures appear.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The retiree turning 73 with a $500,000 IRA: they learn their first RMD is $18,867.92 — and they check the $25,000 reverse ($662,500.00) to see the balance where the RMD hits $25,000.
• The planner at 80: they learn the RMD at 80 is $24,752.48 — and they check the 5% reverse (age 81) to see when the RMD passes 5% of the balance.
• The saver with a $1,000,000 balance: they learn the RMD is $37,735.85 and the 5-year total is $207,207.63 — and they check the 37% branch ($11,886.79) to see what the top rate leaves.
• The retiree whose account is not growing: they learn at 0% growth the year-5 RMD falls to $18,548.51 — and they check the 8% branch ($109,970.07) to see growth outrun the withdrawals.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles IRS arithmetic: RMD = balance ÷ factor; RMD as % = 100 ÷ factor; tax = RMD × tax rate; after-tax = RMD − tax; balance after = balance − RMD; projection: year 1 uses the balance as given, later years grow the balance first, then divide by that year’s factor. The 4-decimal exact is shown where the rounding matters: the balance for a $15,000 after-tax RMD is $509,615.3846 (shown as $509,615.38); the RMD is $19,230.77 and the after-tax RMD is $15,000.00. The growth rate for a $20,000 year-2 RMD is 6.0000% (shown as 6.00%); at 6.00% the year-2 RMD is $20,000.00 (on the nose), at 5.99% it is $19,998.11. What the model cannot do is give tax advice: it ignores state tax, the 10-year inherited-IRA rule, QCDs and Roth accounts, and it assumes a single account with a single growth rate — a real retirement has several accounts, several rates, and a tax bracket that moves. The 25% missed-RMD penalty (reduced to 10% if corrected promptly) is why the Dec 31 deadline matters. For the table itself, see the 2026 RMD table; for taking money out early, see the 72(t) SEPP calculator; for the income the RMD joins, see the annuity calculator. This is a calculator, not tax advice.