First RMD Timing Calculator
Take the first required distribution in its own year, or delay it to April 1 and take two the next year? Every piece below can be linked to, so it opens in a window on your reader's screen, current as of the record. No form to fill in.
2026 law · Reviewed September 6, 2026 · The full page, with methodology and sources · the terms · All tools
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The balance, your birth year, other income, Social Security, and filing status in; the two-year tax each way, the Medicare tiers, and the difference out. In a frame it carries no cookies, no tracking, and a visible link back to the methodology. Your site has to allow frames; most do. The link that opens it in a small window is on the professionals page.
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- 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.
The facts
Six quotable sentences on the first required distribution.
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- The first required distribution is for the year you reach the applicable age (73, or 75 for those born in 1960 or later), but it may be taken as late as April 1 of the following year (§ 401(a)(9)(C)). Every later one is due by December 31 of its year.
- Delaying the first one does not skip it: the second is still due that same December, so the following year carries two distributions and one year's worth of tax on both.
- The amount is the prior December 31 balance divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age: 26.5 at 73, 25.5 at 74. A delayed first distribution leaves the balance larger, so the second is larger too.
- Example: $800,000 at 73, with $60,000 of other income and $30,000 of Social Security. Taking each distribution in its own year costs $31,127 of federal tax over the two years; delaying the first into the second year costs $31,881: $754 more.
- The stacked year can also cross a Medicare tier (the return sets premiums two years later) and pull more of the Social Security benefit into income; in the example the second year lands in tier 2 delayed against tier 1 spread.
- Delay makes sense in one situation: when the first year's other income is unusually high, from a final salary or a sale, so the distribution would be taxed at a higher rate than the following year's stack.
The first two factors
The divisor for the first distribution and the second.
The button shows exactly what your reader sees when they click the link. Paste the link where a link goes; it opens this table in a small window, always current as of the record, with the attribution and a link to the full page. Nothing to copy out, nothing to update later.
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| First distribution year | Factor, first year | Factor, second year |
|---|---|---|
| Age 73 (born 1951 through 1959) | 26.5 | 25.5 |
| Age 75 (born 1960 or later) | 24.6 | 23.7 |
Cite and link.
The clean address, a citation generated from the record so it can never carry a stale review date, and an address for every section so you can point a reader at the exact table or method.
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- Link
- https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing
- Citation
- Considerate Capital, "First RMD Timing Calculator," reviewed September 6, 2026, https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing.
Link to a section
- The calculator https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#calculator
- The facts https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#facts
- The first two factors https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#key-numbers
- How the April 1 rule works https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#how-it-works
- Methodology https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#methodology
- Sources https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#sources
- Revision history https://consideratecapital.com/tools/first-rmd-timing#revision-history
Everything here reads from one reviewed record, so a copied piece carries its year and its review date. When the law moves, the embed updates by itself; a copied table or chart keeps the year in its caption. Corrections are welcome through the contact page.