RMD Calculator — Required Minimum Distribution Estimator (2026)

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) force you to withdraw — and pay ordinary income tax on — a growing percentage of your traditional IRA and 401(k) each year, starting at age 73 (or 75 if born in 1960 or later). This calculator projects your RMD schedule for the next 15 years, estimates the federal income tax on each distribution, and shows how qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) can eliminate taxes on up to $111,000 of those withdrawals per year.

Estimates use 2026 federal income tax brackets and standard deductions. State taxes are not modeled. The projection applies a constant growth rate to the post-RMD balance each year. Actual RMDs use your December 31 prior-year balance divided by your age-based IRS divisor.

How RMDs are calculated

Each year, the IRS requires you to divide your December 31 prior-year account balance by a "distribution period" — a life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Publication 590-B, Table III). This produces the dollar amount you must withdraw. The divisor decreases every year as you age, so the required percentage rises even if your balance stays flat.

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table (updated T.D. 9930, effective 2022).

On a $1 million IRA at age 73, your first RMD is about $37,700. On a $1.5M IRA, it's $56,600. Add that to Social Security and pension income, and a retiree who thought they were in the 12% bracket can easily find themselves in the 22% or 24% bracket every year for the rest of their life.

When RMDs begin — SECURE 2.0 rules

The SECURE 2.0 Act (2022) changed RMD starting ages based on birth year:⁴

• Born 1951–1959: RMDs begin at age 73.
• Born 1960 or later: RMDs begin at age 75 — two additional years of tax-deferred growth and potential Roth conversion.

Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts are now exempt from lifetime RMDs (SECURE 2.0 § 325, effective 2024). Roth IRAs have never had lifetime RMDs. Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SEPs, SIMPLEs, and 457(b)s all remain subject to RMDs.

Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach RMD age — but delaying means two RMDs in that calendar year (one by April 1, one by December 31), which can push you into a higher tax bracket and trigger IRMAA. Most people are better off taking the first RMD in the year they turn 73 or 75.

The tax impact of RMDs

Every dollar of a traditional IRA or 401(k) RMD is ordinary income — taxed at your marginal federal rate, the same as wages. The critical planning issue is that RMDs are mandatory: you can't skip them or defer them, and they stack on top of Social Security, pension, dividends, and any other income. Three compounding effects to watch:

• Social Security taxation. Above $44,000 (MFJ) or $34,000 (single) in combined income, up to 85% of your Social Security benefit becomes taxable. A large RMD can push you into this zone or deepen how much of your benefit is taxed.
• IRMAA Medicare surcharges. Income above $218,000 (MFJ) or $109,000 (single) triggers Medicare Part B and Part D premium surcharges. A modest $30,000 RMD can cross a threshold and cost $974–$5,844 extra per year in premiums — per person — based on a 2-year lookback.
• Capital gains rate shifts. Higher ordinary income from RMDs can push qualified dividends and long-term capital gains into a higher rate bracket (0% → 15% → 20%).

Reducing RMDs with qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)

Starting at age 70½, you can instruct your IRA custodian to transfer funds directly to a qualified charity as a qualified charitable distribution. For 2026, the annual QCD limit is $111,000 per person (up from $108,000 in 2025).³ A QCD:

• Is excluded from your gross income entirely — it never appears on your 1040 as income
• Counts toward satisfying your RMD for the year
• Does not require you to itemize deductions — unlike a standard charitable deduction
• Does not trigger the Social Security taxation "income test" or push you above an IRMAA threshold

For a retiree who doesn't need the RMD cash to live on, a QCD can eliminate the tax on up to $111,000 of mandatory withdrawals in a single year. A married couple with IRAs in both names can exclude up to $222,000 combined — but each spouse's QCD must come from their own IRA.

Contrast this with taking the RMD as cash and then writing a charitable check: you pay income tax on the RMD first, then claim a deduction only if you itemize — which most retirees no longer do after the standard deduction effectively made itemizing obsolete for them. The QCD avoids the income entirely.

RMD penalty for missed distributions

If you miss an RMD or withdraw less than required, the shortfall is subject to a 25% excise tax — reduced to 10% if you correct the shortfall within two years. The IRS has historically been willing to waive the penalty for first-time, good-faith mistakes (Form 5329 with a reasonable cause letter), but that's not something to count on as a planning strategy.

1. IRS Publication 590-B — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (Uniform Lifetime Table III, T.D. 9930)
2. IRS — Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
3. Kiplinger — QCD limit $111,000 for 2026 (indexed for inflation from $108,000 in 2025)
4. SECURE 2.0 Act (2022) — § 107 RMD age changes (73/75), § 325 Roth 401(k) RMD elimination
5. IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 tax brackets, standard deductions, and senior additions

RMD divisors from IRS Pub 590-B Uniform Lifetime Table (T.D. 9930, effective 2022). QCD limit verified against 2026 guidance (Kiplinger / IRS). Tax brackets and standard deductions from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. IRMAA thresholds from CMS / Kiplinger. Values current as of April 2026.