How the calculator works
- Your starting age: 73 or 75, from the year you were born.
- This year’s RMD: your balance on December 31 of last year, divided by the IRS figure for the age you reach this year.
- The years ahead: your balance grows at the rate you choose, less each year’s RMD.
The Uniform Lifetime Table
The IRS figure falls every year, so the share of your balance you have to take rises:
| Age | IRS figure | Share of your balance |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.8% |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.1% |
| 80 | 20.2 | 5.0% |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.3% |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.2% |
| 95 | 8.9 | 11.2% |
| 100 | 6.4 | 15.6% |
If your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your only beneficiary, a different IRS table gives a smaller RMD.
RMD on common balances
The RMD for a year, on the balance at the end of the year before:
| Balance | At 73 | At 80 | At 85 | At 90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $9,434 | $12,376 | $15,625 | $20,492 |
| $500,000 | $18,868 | $24,752 | $31,250 | $40,984 |
| $1,000,000 | $37,736 | $49,505 | $62,500 | $81,967 |
Your RMD is the least you must take. You can always take more, but it’s all taxed as income in the year you take it.
Your first RMD
Born in 1953, you turn 73 in 2026. With $500,000 in an IRA on December 31, 2025, your first RMD is $18,868. You can wait until April 1, 2027 to take it, but then you also take your 2027 RMD (about $19,800 at 5% growth) by December 31, 2027, and both are taxed in 2027. Taking the first one in 2026 usually keeps your tax lower.
Still working?
If you still work for the employer whose 401(k) or 403(b) it is, and don’t own 5% or more of the company, that plan’s RMDs can usually wait until April 1 after the year you retire. This doesn’t apply to IRAs, or to plans from earlier jobs.
What this calculator doesn’t include
Inherited IRAs and plans, which usually have to be emptied within 10 years and may need yearly RMDs; the joint table for a much younger spouse; and the tax on your RMD, which is taxed as income except for any after-tax money you put in.
Learn more
See how long your savings could last with the retirement withdrawal calculator, and read our year-end tax moves for the December 31 deadline. Converting to a Roth before RMDs start lowers them later: the Roth conversion calculator shows the tax now. A large RMD can also raise your Medicare premiums two years later; see the IRMAA calculator.