RMD calculator: how much do I have to take out?
See your required minimum distribution for 2026, when your RMDs start, and what you'll have to take out every year after that.
Your 2026 RMD
Your 2026 required minimum distribution is $19,608.
- Share of your account
- 3.9%
- Balance ÷ 25.5, the IRS divisor at age 74
- Your RMDs start
- 2025
- The year you turn 73
- Taken out by age 90
- $0
- All required withdrawals added up
Your RMD year by year
Each year's RMD is the balance at the end of the year before, divided by the IRS number for your age.
Not financial advice. Future years are estimates that assume your account grows the same amount every year. Your real RMD each year uses your real Dec 31 balance.
How RMDs work
- They start at 73 or 75If you were born from 1951 to 1959, your RMDs start the year you turn 73. Born in 1960 or later, they start at 75.
- The IRS sets the shareEach year, divide last year's Dec 31 balance by the IRS number for your age. At 73 that's 26.5, so you take out about 3.8%. The share grows as you get older.
- Take it by Dec 31Your first RMD can wait until April 1 of the next year, but then you take two that year. Every later RMD is due by December 31.
Common questions
What is an RMD?
A required minimum distribution is the smallest amount the IRS makes you take out of a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or similar account each year once you reach a certain age. It exists so that money you never paid tax on eventually gets taxed. You can always take out more.
At what age do RMDs start?
It depends on the year you were born. Born from 1951 to 1959, your RMDs start the year you turn 73. Born in 1960 or later, they start the year you turn 75. People born before 1951 started at 72 or earlier.
How is my RMD worked out?
Take your account balance on December 31 of last year and divide it by the IRS number for the age you turn this year, from its Uniform Lifetime Table. At 73 the number is 26.5, so a $500,000 account has an RMD of about $18,868. The number gets smaller each year, so the share you take out grows.
When is the deadline?
December 31 each year. The one exception is your very first RMD, which can wait until April 1 of the next year. If you wait, you take two RMDs that year, the delayed one and the regular one, which can mean a bigger tax bill.
What happens if I miss my RMD?
The IRS can charge a penalty of 25% of the amount you should have taken. If you take it and file a corrected return within about two years, the penalty drops to 10%, and the IRS sometimes waives it for honest mistakes. Take the missed amount as soon as you notice.
Do Roth IRAs have RMDs?
No, not while the original owner is alive. Since 2024, Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts have no RMDs for the owner either. People who inherit a Roth account do have rules to follow, covered on our inherited IRA calculator.
I have several IRAs. Do I take an RMD from each one?
You work out the RMD for each IRA, add them up, and can take the total from any one or more of your IRAs. 401(k) accounts are different: each one needs its own RMD taken from that account.
Do I have to take an RMD if I am still working?
For a 401(k) at the company you still work for, you can usually wait until you retire, as long as you don't own 5% or more of the company. IRAs and old 401(k)s from past jobs still need RMDs.
Are RMDs taxed?
Yes. RMDs from traditional accounts are taxed as regular income in the year you take them. You can have taxes withheld from the withdrawal. From age 70½, giving money straight from your IRA to a charity (a qualified charitable distribution) can count toward your RMD without being taxed.