RMD calculator and formula
By Jude Wallis
A required minimum distribution is the prior year-end balance divided by the IRS life-expectancy factor. A $530,000 balance and a 26.5 factor produce a $20,000 minimum.
Required minimum distribution
$20,000.00
3.7736% of the prior year-end balance.
- Prior year-end balance
- $530,000.00
- Life-expectancy factor
- 26.5
- Share of the balance
- 3.7736%
The account balance on the previous 31 December, not the balance today.
From the Uniform Lifetime Table for most owners. Age 73 is 26.5.
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On this page
The formula
is the prior 31 December balance. is the life-expectancy factor for the owner's age. is the minimum that must leave that account.
One balance, one table factor
The identity is a division. is the account balance at the end of the prior calendar year. is the factor from the table that applies to the owner for the distribution year. is the floor for that account.
For most original owners, comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At age 73 the factor is 26.5, so a $530,000 prior-year balance produces $20,000. That is about 3.7736 percent of the starting balance.
The factor is a divisor, not a price and not a number of payments. Keep it written as 26.5.
How required minimum distributions work is the explainer. This page is the working identity.
The table can change with the relationship
The Uniform Lifetime Table covers most original owners. A narrower exception uses the Joint and Last Survivor Table when the owner's spouse is the sole beneficiary and is more than ten years younger.
Inherited accounts are a different branch. Beneficiaries may use the Single Life Expectancy Table, a deadline that empties the account in a stated period, or a mix of those rules. Do not drop an inherited account into the owner's Uniform Lifetime Table just because the beneficiary has reached the same age.
Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMD for the original owner in the United States. An inherited Roth follows beneficiary rules.
These are classifications before they are arithmetic. Tax-advantaged accounts sets the wrappers beside one another.
A floor, not a spending plan
An RMD is the least that must leave the wrapper. Taking more does not create a credit against a later year. Taking less leaves a shortfall for that year.
Safe withdrawal rates study how long a drawdown may last. How FIRE numbers work sizes a pot from planned spending. Neither replaces the legal minimum, and the legal minimum does not replace either planning calculation.
The second example keeps the same $20,000 distribution on a $492,000 balance because the age 75 factor is 24.6. The lower divisor takes a larger share of the pot.
What this page is not doing
It does not pick the table, the starting age, or the due date. Those come from the account type, the owner's birth year, and current IRS instructions.
It also does not tax the withdrawal. A distribution from a fully pre-tax account is generally ordinary income. Basis and qualified charitable distributions have their own rules.
Treat the output as divided by from the two inputs you typed. This is educational material, not financial advice.
Worked examples
Age 73 with the Uniform Lifetime Table
The prior December 31 balance is $530,000. The owner is age 73, and Table III gives a divisor of 26.5. What is the required minimum distribution?
- Use the prior year balance of $530,000 and the age 73 divisor of 26.5.
- Divide: .
- The result is $20,000. As a share of the starting balance, is about 3.7736 percent.
The required minimum distribution is $20,000 from a $530,000 prior year balance using the 26.5 divisor.
Age 75 with a lower divisor
The prior December 31 balance is $492,000. The owner is age 75, and Table III gives a divisor of 24.6. What is the required minimum distribution?
- Use the prior year balance of $492,000 and the age 75 divisor of 24.6.
- Divide: .
- The result is $20,000. The lower divisor takes a larger fraction of the balance than the age 73 factor.
The required minimum distribution is $20,000 from a $492,000 prior year balance using the 24.6 divisor.
Using this year's balance instead of last December 31
The divisor belongs to the current distribution year. The balance belongs to the previous 31 December. A withdrawal during the year reduces next year's base, not the figure already fixed for this year's calculation.
Using today's statement after a large withdrawal understates the minimum. Using today's statement after a large gain overstates it. The dates point in opposite directions on purpose.
Common questions
Do Roth IRAs have required minimum distributions?
Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMD for the original owner in the United States. Once the account is inherited, beneficiary distribution rules apply.
Can extra this year reduce next year's RMD?
It can reduce the balance that feeds a later calculation. It does not create a direct credit against a later minimum.
Can every RMD be taken from one IRA?
Traditional IRA minimums can generally be added together and taken from one or more traditional IRAs. Workplace plans normally stay separate.
Keep reading
This page is educational material, not financial advice. The figures come from the formula shown and assume the inputs you enter hold for the whole term. Your own rate, fees, taxes and timing will differ, so treat the output as arithmetic to check a decision against, not as a recommendation.