Gypes

2026 retirement distributions

Required minimum distribution calculator

Calculate a standard 2026 RMD, subtract distributions already taken, and see the exact IRS Uniform Lifetime Table denominator used.

Use this only after your IRA custodian or plan administrator confirms a 2026 RMD is due. It covers a living original owner using the standard IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. Choose your situation below first; the calculator stops instead of guessing when different rules may apply.

1Confirm this is the right calculation

RMD eligibility depends on account type, birth year, employment, ownership, and beneficiary status. This step prevents a plausible-looking answer from being shown for the wrong rule.

What this 2026 RMD calculator answers

The calculator answers one narrow question: if a living original owner has already confirmed that a 2026 required minimum distribution is due and the standard IRS Uniform Lifetime Table applies, how much is the full modeled RMD and how much remains after verified distributions already taken? It does not decide whether an RMD is required.

The arithmetic is:

2026 RMD = adjusted December 31, 2025 balance ÷ IRS denominator for the owner’s age in 2026.

The calculator then subtracts the amount you say has already counted toward that RMD. It displays the adjusted balance, denominator, equivalent distribution percentage, full modeled RMD, counted distributions, and remaining amount so the result can be checked against a provider’s calculation.

Why the first question comes before the balance

A calculator can divide two numbers correctly and still produce the wrong answer for the person using it. The table and deadline can change for inherited accounts, a spouse who is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, annuity interests, workplace plans, and first-year timing. Original-owner Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts generally do not have lifetime RMDs for the owner. That is why this form asks users to confirm the rule before it asks for money.

The IRS publishes a current RMD questions and answers page covering account types, starting ages, deadlines, table selection, and multiple accounts. Use it together with the current plan or IRA documents.

Where to find each input

Your age for the table

Use the age you reach on your birthday during 2026. Do not enter the age shown today if your birthday has not occurred yet. For example, someone who turns 75 at any point in 2026 uses age 75 and the Uniform Lifetime Table denominator of 24.6.

The December 31 balance

Use the account value at the close of business on December 31, 2025, not today’s balance and not the amount originally contributed. IRA custodians generally report or offer to calculate an RMD when one is required and provide the prior-year-end value. Ask the provider when a statement is missing or a year-end transaction makes the figure uncertain.

Unusual balance adjustments

Most people should leave the adjustment field at zero. IRS Publication 590-B describes situations such as certain outstanding rollovers that can require an amount to be added to the prior-year balance. Do not invent an adjustment from a current account change; use a nonzero value only when the provider or a qualified tax professional identifies it.

Distributions already taken

Enter the gross amount of distributions that have been confirmed as counting toward the 2026 obligation. Tax withholding does not reduce the gross distribution for this tracking input. Rollovers are generally not eligible RMD distributions, and transfers between custodians are not automatically distributions. Qualified charitable distributions and other transactions have separate tax and reporting details, so verify how the provider recorded them.

Which IRS table is built in

Most living original owners use Table III, the Uniform Lifetime Table. This calculator contains the current Table III denominators published in Appendix B of IRS Publication 590-B. At age 75, the denominator is 24.6, so a $100,000 adjusted balance produces a modeled RMD of $4,065.04.

If a spouse is the sole beneficiary for the entire year and is more than 10 years younger, the IRS generally directs the owner to Table II, the Joint and Last Survivor Life Expectancy table. That is not a single fixed adjustment. The calculator intentionally stops for this choice and directs the user to the official table or provider calculation rather than asking a nonexpert to copy an unfamiliar denominator. Publication 590-B gives a 2026 example in which an owner age 75 and spouse age 64 use a denominator of 25.3.

Inherited accounts can depend on who died, when the owner died, the owner’s required beginning date, beneficiary type, separate-account timing, and the 5-year, 10-year, or life-expectancy rules. This calculator does not model inherited accounts.

Calculate each account before deciding where to withdraw

The IRS says an owner must calculate the RMD separately for each IRA. In many cases, the total IRA RMD can then be taken from one or more IRAs. Employer plans such as 401(k)s generally have separate distribution requirements, and aggregation rules differ by plan type. Do not combine balances in this form unless current IRS guidance and the administrators confirm that the specific accounts may be handled that way.

The deadline is not calculated here

After the first RMD year, the usual deadline is December 31. A first RMD can sometimes be delayed until April 1 of the following year, but delaying it can place two required distributions in that following calendar year and affect taxable income. Workplace-plan “still working” exceptions and plan ownership rules can also matter. Confirm the applicable deadline shown by the custodian or administrator instead of inferring it from this result.

Current law generally uses an applicable age of 73 for people who reach age 73 before 2033 and age 75 for later cohorts described by the statute. Because birth-year transitions, plan exceptions, and future law matter, this page is deliberately labeled for 2026 and should not be reused as a future-year eligibility test.

What the result does not estimate

The result is not an income-tax estimate, withholding recommendation, qualified charitable distribution calculation, penalty calculation, portfolio withdrawal plan, or investment forecast. It does not determine the taxable portion of a distribution, account basis, state tax, Medicare premium effects, Social Security taxation, or whether taking more than the minimum is appropriate.

Compare the modeled full RMD and denominator with the provider’s written amount. If they differ, check the year-end balance, age, account ownership, beneficiary status, table, balance adjustments, and whether the provider is calculating for one account or several. Resolve the difference before relying on either number.

Use the retirement savings calculator for long-range funding, the systematic withdrawal calculator for a user-defined withdrawal scenario, and the Roth vs. Traditional 401(k) calculator for contribution-stage tax scenarios. Those tools answer different questions and should not be substituted for an RMD calculation.

This calculator provides general educational arithmetic for a confirmed 2026 standard original-owner RMD. It does not determine eligibility, account classification, table choice, deadline, tax, penalty, withholding, or legal compliance. It excludes inherited accounts, the younger-spouse Table II calculation, annuity special rules, and plan-specific exceptions. Verify the current requirement, balance, table, distributions, and deadline with the IRA custodian, plan administrator, current IRS guidance, and a qualified tax professional before acting.