First RMD Timing Calculator

The RMD rules · reviewed September 6, 2026

Compares taking your first required withdrawal in its own year with delaying it to April 1 and taking two the following year. About

In plain words. The year you reach the age for required withdrawals, the law lets you wait until April 1 of the next year to take the first one. But the second one is still due that December, so waiting means two withdrawals, and the tax on both, in one year. This tool computes the federal tax over the two years each way, with Social Security and Medicare in the picture.

Why it matters. Two withdrawals stacked in one year usually push income into a higher bracket, make more of a Social Security benefit taxable, and can raise Medicare premiums two years later. The delay looks like a free postponement and rarely is.

An example. With $800,000 in the IRA at 73, $60,000 of other income, and $30,000 of Social Security, taking each withdrawal in its own year costs about $750 less in federal tax over the two years than stacking both into the second, and the gap grows with the balance.

Where it stops. It assumes the same other income both years. If the first year is unusually high, from a last paycheck or a sale, delaying can win, and that is the case to run with your actual numbers. State tax and other phase-outs are not included. Everything it leaves out.

IRA balance on December 31 of the year before your first required withdrawal

All your pre-tax IRAs added together. A 401(k) has its own required withdrawal, worked out on its own balance.

Year of birth

Your required withdrawals start at 73. The first one is for 2026 and can be delayed as late as April 1, 2027.

Yearly growth on the balance

How much the balance grows from one year end to the next.

Other income each year

Pensions, interest, dividends, and wages. The tool uses the same figure both years.

Social Security benefits each year

Filing status

SingleMarried filing jointly

The tool assumes everyone on the return is on Medicare.

Taking each withdrawal in its own year saves

$754

Your first required withdrawal is $30,189 and the second is $31,698. Taking the first in 2026 and the second in 2027, the two years cost $31,127 in federal tax. Delaying the first to April 1 puts both withdrawals in 2027, and the two years then cost $31,881. The doubled-up year also raises your Medicare premiums to tier 2 instead of tier 1, two years later.

First required withdrawal: $30,189; The balance divided by 26.5, the IRS life-expectancy factor at 73
Tax over two years, each withdrawal in its own year: $31,127; $15,388 in the first year, then $15,740
Tax over two years, first withdrawal delayed: $31,881; $8,348 in the first year, then $23,533

The April 1 deadline delays only the first required withdrawal. The second is still due by the end of its own year, so a delay puts two withdrawals into one year. Doubling up can push income into a higher bracket and make more of your Social Security benefit taxable. It can also cross a Medicare income tier, which raises premiums for a full year two years later. Delaying tends to win only when the first year's other income is unusually high and the second year's will be lower.

This uses the starting age for required withdrawals and the IRS life-expectancy table, and works out the federal tax each year with the 2026 brackets, deductions, Social Security taxation rules, and Medicare premium tiers, held the same for both years. It assumes your other income is the same both years and the balance grows at the rate you set. It leaves out state tax, capital gains, and a 401(k)'s separate balance. Hypothetical; educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

Educational only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates that vary with each use and over time and are not guaranteed accurate or complete. Using this tool creates no client relationship with Considerate Capital, and the site that linked here is not affiliated with it. By using it you agree to the tool terms.