RMD Calculator 2026: Required Minimum Distribution by Age and Balance

Enter your IRA or 401(k) balance and age to calculate your 2026 required minimum distribution using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. The calculator also projects your RMD schedule for the next 10 years and estimates how your RMD stacks against Social Security income to flag IRMAA Medicare surcharges and the Social Security taxation cliff.

How the RMD calculator works

The IRS requires you to withdraw a minimum amount from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s each year once you reach RMD age. The formula is simple: divide your account balance at December 31 of the prior year by the applicable Uniform Lifetime Table (ULT) divisor for your age in the current year.¹

RMD age under SECURE 2.0

Your required beginning date depends on your birth year:²

• Born 1960 or later: RMDs begin at age 75 — April 1 of the year after you turn 75
• Born 1951–1959: RMDs begin at age 73 — April 1 of the year after you turn 73
• Born 1950 or earlier: RMDs already started at age 72 (pre-SECURE 2.0)

Uniform Lifetime Table — ages 73 through 88

Most account owners use Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table). The exception: if your sole beneficiary is your spouse who is more than 10 years younger, use the Joint and Last Survivor Table instead — your divisors will be larger, resulting in smaller RMDs.¹

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table), effective for RMDs beginning in 2022 per T.D. 9930.¹

The RMD tax cascade: why RMDs hit harder than expected

Your RMD is ordinary income — but the tax cost is usually higher than the marginal rate alone suggests, because RMDs trigger two secondary effects:

1. More Social Security becomes taxable

The IRS determines what portion of Social Security is taxable using provisional income: your adjusted gross income (excluding SS) plus tax-exempt interest plus 50% of your SS benefit.³ RMD income goes directly into provisional income and can push you across the thresholds:

• Provisional income below $25,000 single / $32,000 MFJ: 0% of SS taxable
• Between those thresholds and $34,000 / $44,000: up to 50% of SS becomes taxable
• Above $34,000 / $44,000: up to 85% of SS is taxable

Most retirees with a meaningful IRA and SS income are already above $34K/$44K, meaning 85% of their SS is taxable. But an RMD increase can also push a retiree from the 0%/50% tier into the 85% tier — effectively taxing each additional RMD dollar at rates of 50–85 cents higher than the marginal rate alone.

2. IRMAA Medicare surcharges kick in at two-year lag

IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) adds surcharges to Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income Medicare beneficiaries. For 2026, the first tier triggers at $109,000 MAGI (single) / $218,000 MAGI (married filing jointly).⁴ The critical wrinkle: IRMAA is based on your income from two years prior. Your 2026 RMD income affects your 2028 Medicare premiums.

Crossing into Tier 1 adds roughly $974/year per person to Medicare costs — even a $1 excess above the threshold triggers the full surcharge tier.

Five strategies to reduce future RMDs

The window to act closes when RMDs begin. Before then — and sometimes after — here are the main levers:

1. Roth conversions (most powerful lever)

Converting traditional IRA money to Roth eliminates future RMDs on that balance. Every dollar converted now is one less dollar that will be forced out as ordinary income at 73, 75, 80. The pre-RMD years are the optimal window — income is often lower, bracket headroom is wider, and IRMAA lookback years haven't started yet. Our Roth conversion calculator shows exactly how much to convert each year to fill your bracket without triggering IRMAA.

2. Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)

If you're age 70½ or older, you can transfer up to $111,000 per year (2026) directly from your IRA to a qualifying charity.⁵ The distribution counts toward your RMD but is excluded from gross income entirely — meaning it doesn't raise your provisional income or push you toward IRMAA. For charitably inclined retirees, QCDs are typically more tax-efficient than taking the RMD, paying tax, and then donating the after-tax amount.

3. QLAC — qualified longevity annuity contract

You can invest up to $210,000 (2026 limit, indexed for inflation) of your IRA balance in a QLAC — an income annuity that starts paying at a later age (often 80 or 85).⁶ The QLAC balance is excluded from your RMD calculation until the annuity payments begin, permanently reducing RMDs in early retirement years. The tradeoff: you're locking in capital with limited liquidity and betting on longevity.

4. Spend from traditional accounts first

The conventional wisdom — "spend taxable accounts first, preserve tax-deferred" — is often wrong for retirees with large IRAs. Spending from your IRA before RMDs begin shrinks the balance that drives future RMDs. Our tax-efficient withdrawal order guide breaks down the tradeoffs in detail.

5. Still-working exception

If you're still employed and participating in your current employer's 401(k) (not an IRA), RMDs from that specific plan are not required while you're still working — even past age 73 or 75. This doesn't apply to IRAs or old 401(k)s from prior employers. Roll those into your current employer's plan to extend the delay.

1. IRS Publication 590-B (2025). "Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)." Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table, effective for 2022 and later per T.D. 9930 (November 2020). Divisors confirmed: age 73 = 26.5, age 75 = 24.6, age 80 = 20.2. irs.gov/publications/p590b.
2. SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, §107 (P.L. 117-328). RMD age raised to 73 for taxpayers born 1951–1959; raised to 75 for taxpayers born 1960 or later. Effective for distributions in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022. IRS RMD overview.
3. IRS Publication 915 (2025). "Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits." Provisional income formula and tier thresholds: $25,000/$34,000 single; $32,000/$44,000 MFJ. These statutory thresholds are not adjusted for inflation (IRC §86). irs.gov/publications/p915.
4. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles." CMS Fact Sheet, November 2025. 2026 IRMAA Tier 1 thresholds: $109,000 single / $218,000 MFJ. Part B base premium: $202.90/month. Tier 1 surcharge: $81.20/month per person. cms.gov.
5. IRS Notice 2024-2 and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. QCD annual limit for 2026: $111,000 per individual, indexed for inflation. IRC §408(d)(8). Available to account owners age 70½ or older; distributions must go directly to qualifying public charities (not donor-advised funds or private foundations). IRS QCD overview.
6. IRS Notice 25-67 (October 2025). "2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs." QLAC premium limit for 2026: $210,000 (increased from $200,000 in 2025). SECURE 2.0 §202 removed the 25%-of-account cap and raised the dollar limit. IRC §401(a)(9); Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-6(q). IRS Notice 25-67 (PDF).

Calculator uses IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (T.D. 9930, effective 2022). IRMAA thresholds and Part B premiums from CMS 2026 Fact Sheet. Social Security taxation thresholds from IRC §86 (not inflation-adjusted). Projection assumes 5% average annual growth on portfolio balance after RMD; actual returns will vary. Does not model state income tax, itemized deductions, or QCD elections. Not financial or tax advice. Values verified May 2026.