A quiet tool

The year the IRA starts paying you, whether you asked or not.

From 73, or 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later, a set share of every pre-tax account must come out each year: 3.8% at first, more every year after. Enter the balance and the birth year to see this year's figure and the next ten.

Table for 2026 · Last reviewed September 6, 2026 · Facts · The table · Methodology

https://consideratecapital.com/tools/rmd-calculator

Account balance last December 31

Add up your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. A 401(k) has its own required withdrawal, figured on its own balance.

Year of birth

Your required withdrawals begin at age 73, in 2026.

Assumed yearly return

Used only for the ten-year projection. The figure for this year needs no assumption.

Required withdrawal for 2026, at age 73

$18,868

This is the least you must take out of the account this year, what the IRS calls a required minimum distribution. It is 3.8% of your balance. The rule divides your $500,000 by 26.5, the IRS life expectancy figure for age 73. This is your first one. You may put it off until April 1, 2027, but then two withdrawals land in that year.

Each year's figure is the balance on the previous December 31 divided by the IRS table's figure for the age you reach that year. That figure shrinks with age, so the share you must withdraw rises every year even as the balance falls. It is 3.8% at 73, 5.0% at 80, and 8.2% at 90. Missing a withdrawal brings a 25% penalty tax, or 10% if you fix it within two years.

This uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, which applies to your own account when your spouse is not more than ten years younger than you. It leaves out inherited accounts, a spouse more than ten years younger, and Roth IRAs, which have no required withdrawals during your lifetime. 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.

Built by Joshua Mangoubi, CFA, MBA. By using this tool you agree to the tool terms, which include that results vary with each use and over time. Cite this tool, or take a table or chart

How it counts. The Uniform Lifetime Table from the Treasury regulations, applied to the balance you enter for the age reached this year; the applicable age from the statute as amended by SECURE 2.0. The projection takes each year's distribution and grows the remainder at the return you set.

What it assumes. Your own account, with any spouse not more than ten years younger. An inherited account, a much younger spouse who is the sole beneficiary, or a Roth IRA follows different rules, and a workplace plan may allow a delay while you are still working there.

Where we fit in. We integrate tax considerations into your investment strategy and collaborate with estate attorneys and CPAs to ensure your plan is coordinated. We are not a law firm or accounting firm, so we do not provide legal or tax advice. Everything in this material is for educational purposes, based on primary sources. Before taking any action, please consult the appropriate professionals to apply these ideas to your situation.

The facts, in one place.

Six quotable sentences from the regulations and the statute.

Required minimum distributions begin at 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959 and at 75 for people born in 1960 or later (SECURE 2.0). Those born in 1950 or earlier are already taking them.
The first distribution may be delayed until April 1 of the year after the applicable age is reached. Every later one is due December 31, so delaying the first puts two distributions in one tax year.
The amount is the account balance on the prior December 31 divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table's period for the age reached that year: 26.5 at 73, 24.6 at 75, 20.2 at 80, 12.2 at 90.
On a $500,000 balance the first distribution at 73 is $18,868, 3.8% of the account. The required share rises every year: 5.0% at 80, 8.2% at 90, 15.6% at 100.
A distribution that is missed or short carries a 25 percent excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10 percent if it is corrected within two years.
Roth IRAs have no lifetime required distributions for the owner. The Uniform Lifetime Table applies to an owner's own account when the spouse is the sole beneficiary and not more than ten years younger, or when there is no such spouse; inherited accounts follow different rules.

The Uniform Lifetime Table.

The table itself, 72 to 100, with each divisor turned into the percentage of the account it requires.

Distribution period by age, 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c), for distribution years from 2022, with the share of the balance each period requires. Ages 101 to 120 continue down to 2.0.
Age reached in the year	Distribution period	Share of the balance
72	27.4	3.65%
73	26.5	3.77%
74	25.5	3.92%
75	24.6	4.07%
76	23.7	4.22%
77	22.9	4.37%
78	22	4.55%
79	21.1	4.74%
80	20.2	4.95%
81	19.4	5.15%
82	18.5	5.41%
83	17.7	5.65%
84	16.8	5.95%
85	16	6.25%
86	15.2	6.58%
87	14.4	6.94%
88	13.7	7.30%
89	12.9	7.75%
90	12.2	8.20%
91	11.5	8.70%
92	10.8	9.26%
93	10.1	9.90%
94	9.5	10.53%
95	8.9	11.24%
96	8.4	11.90%
97	7.8	12.82%
98	7.3	13.70%
99	6.8	14.71%
100	6.4	15.63%

How the rules work.

A traditional IRA or workplace plan defers tax, not forever. From the applicable age, the owner must withdraw at least a set share each year and pay ordinary income tax on it. The share is one over the table's distribution period for the age reached that year, computed on the account's value at the end of the prior year. Because the period shrinks each year, the required share rises: under 4 percent at 73, 5 percent at 80, more than 8 percent at 90.

The first year has a grace period to April 1 of the following year. Using it means two distributions, and two years of taxable income, land in the same year, which is why most people take the first one in the year it is due. Each IRA is computed separately, but the total may be taken from any of them; each workplace plan must pay its own.

Methodology.

Inputs. The balance on the prior December 31, the year of birth, and an assumed yearly return for the projection.
Applicable age. 73 for those born 1951 through 1959 and 75 for 1960 or later, under 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v) as amended by SECURE 2.0, with the 1959 overlap resolved at 73 by the Treasury's proposed regulations (the fourth source below). Those born in 1950 or earlier are already taking distributions.
This year's figure. The balance divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table period for the age reached in 2026. Zero before the applicable age.
The projection. Each later year takes the distribution at the start of the year and grows the remainder at the assumed return; the following year's figure divides that balance by the next period. It is an illustration of the shape, not a forecast.
Validation. The table is checked for completeness and monotonic decline from 72 to 120, seven divisors are pinned to the regulation, the age rule is pinned for 1950, 1951, 1959, and 1960 births, and a worked figure is pinned. A transcription error fails the build.
Not modeled. Inherited accounts, the Joint Life table for a spouse more than ten years younger, qualified charitable distributions, still-working exceptions for workplace plans, and state tax. Educational, not advice.

Sources.

1. Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII), 26 CFR § 1.401(a)(9)-9 — Life expectancy and distribution period tables. The Uniform Lifetime Table in paragraph (c), every age from 72 to 120 and over, in effect for distribution calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. Also the Single Life Table (paragraph (b)) for ages 40 through 70, used by the 72(t) tool. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
2. Internal Revenue Service, Retirement topics — Required minimum distributions (RMDs). Age 73 as the current beginning age; the April 1 deadline for the first distribution and December 31 for later ones; two distributions falling in one year when the first is delayed; the 25 percent excise tax, reduced to 10 percent if corrected within two years. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
3. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 401(a)(9)(C) — Required beginning date; applicable age. The applicable age: 73 for those who attain 72 after 2022 and 73 before 2033; 75 for those who attain 74 after 2032 (SECURE 2.0 § 107). Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.
4. Federal Register, Required Minimum Distributions — proposed regulations, 89 FR 58886 (July 19, 2024). That the applicable age for individuals born in 1959 is 73, resolving the overlap in the statute's two clauses. Retrieved September 4, 2026; verified September 4, 2026.

Revision history.

September 6, 2026: Added the Single Life Table for ages 40 through 70 from the same regulation, for the 72(t) periodic payment tool.
September 4, 2026: First release: the Uniform Lifetime Table from 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c), the SECURE 2.0 applicable ages by birth year with the 1959 resolution from the 2024 proposed regulations, and the RMD calculator built on them.

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