IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator 2026

Enter your December 31, 2025 account balance and your age in 2026. The calculator uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (T.D. 9930) to compute your required minimum distribution, show the estimated federal tax impact, flag any Medicare IRMAA surcharge risk, and project your RMD schedule over the next 10 years.

How the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table works

The IRS requires you to calculate your RMD by dividing your prior December 31 account balance by a "distribution period" — a number from the Uniform Lifetime Table that corresponds to your age. The table reflects joint life expectancy estimates, so even unmarried account owners use the joint-life table (it assumes a hypothetical beneficiary who is 10 years younger than you).¹

The divisors decrease each year as you age, so your RMD as a percentage of the account increases over time. A 73-year-old with a $1 million IRA must take $37,736 (divisor 26.5, or 3.77%). The same person at 85 must take $62,500 (divisor 16.0, or 6.25%). If the account grows at 6% per year but the RMD withdrawal rate exceeds that growth rate, the account balance will eventually decline — that's by design.

RMD starting age: SECURE 2.0 rules (2026)

SECURE 2.0 (§ 107) changed RMD starting age based on birth year:²

• Born January 1, 1951 – December 31, 1959: RMD age is 73. Your first RMD is due for the year you turn 73, with the option to defer the first payment to April 1 of the following year.
• Born January 1, 1960 or later: RMD age is 75. Your first RMD is due for the year you turn 75. If you are 73 or 74 in 2026 and were born 1960 or later, you are not yet subject to RMDs — but you may still do Roth conversions and QCDs (if age 70½+).
• Born before 1951: Your RMD starting age was 70½ or 72 under prior law. You are already in RMD territory and the Uniform Lifetime Table above applies.

Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the original owner's lifetime. Roth 401(k) accounts are also exempt from RMDs beginning in 2024 (SECURE 2.0 § 325).

The first-year deferral trap

If 2026 is your first RMD year (you turned 73 in 2026, or 75 if born 1960+), you have the option to defer your first RMD until April 1, 2027. This sounds appealing, but the trade-off is sharp: you must still take your second RMD by December 31, 2027. That means two taxable RMDs land in the same tax year — potentially pushing you into a higher bracket, triggering IRMAA, and increasing the portion of Social Security benefits subject to tax.

The deferral only makes sense if you expect significantly lower income in the year you defer into. Most people are better off taking the first RMD in its natural year and spreading distributions evenly.

IRA aggregation rules: which accounts can pool RMDs

The IRS allows you to aggregate your RMDs across all traditional IRAs you own (including rollover IRAs and SEP IRAs). You calculate each account's RMD separately using that account's December 31 balance, then sum them — and you can satisfy the total from any single IRA or any combination. Four traditional IRAs with a combined $2 million and a $90,000 total RMD? You can take the full $90,000 from one account if you prefer.

This aggregation rule does not apply to 401(k)s, 403(b)s (except among 403(b)s with each other), or inherited IRAs. Each 401(k) must satisfy its own RMD separately. If you're rolling a 401(k) to an IRA this year, you must take the 401(k)'s RMD from the plan before the rollover — the RMD amount is ineligible for rollover under IRC § 408(d)(3)(E).

Medicare IRMAA and your RMD

If you or your spouse are enrolled in Medicare, your RMD becomes part of your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) — and MAGI determines whether you owe an IRMAA Medicare surcharge. Medicare uses income from two years prior: events in 2026 affect your 2028 Medicare premiums.

The 2026 IRMAA Tier 1 threshold is $109,000 MAGI for single filers and $218,000 for married filing jointly.³ If your RMD plus other income pushes MAGI above this threshold, you owe an extra $81.20/month per enrolled Medicare beneficiary — $974/year per person. For couples where both are on Medicare, the cost is $1,948/year just for crossing Tier 1.

IRMAA is a cliff function: $1 over the threshold triggers the full surcharge for that tier. The calculator above warns you if your income plus RMD crosses the Tier 1 line. Strategies to manage it include a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), a smaller Roth conversion in the same year, or working with an advisor to sequence distributions across years.

QCD strategy: offset your RMD without adding to income

If you are age 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows you to transfer up to $111,000 directly from your traditional IRA to a qualifying charity in 2026 — and that amount is excluded from your gross income entirely.⁴ A QCD counts toward satisfying your RMD without adding to MAGI. This makes it superior to taking the RMD as income and then deducting a charitable gift — the deduction only helps if you itemize, while the QCD income exclusion works for everyone, including standard-deduction filers.

Practical use case: you owe a $40,000 RMD and your other income is $75,000 (single). Your MAGI would be $115,000 — over the $109,000 IRMAA Tier 1 threshold. If you donate $10,000 via QCD, your MAGI from the IRA drops to $105,000 — below the cliff — saving $974/year in Part B premiums. The remaining $30,000 is taxable as usual.

See the full QCD guide for eligibility rules, common mistakes, and a tax-savings calculator comparing the QCD path to a regular distribution plus deduction.

Roth conversions to shrink future RMDs

Every dollar you convert from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA today is one less dollar subject to mandatory distribution in the future. Converting during the "gap years" — after retirement but before Social Security and RMDs begin — is often the most tax-efficient window. The pre-RMD window typically spans ages 60–72 (or 60–74 for born 1960+), during which income tends to be at its lowest point in retirement.

Example: A 68-year-old with a $1.5 million IRA and $40,000 in other income (single) can convert $20,000/year and stay entirely in the 22% bracket. After five years, the IRA is $100,000 smaller — and at age 73, the RMD obligation is reduced by roughly $3,800/year indefinitely. The Roth account grows tax-free and has no RMD.

Use the Roth Conversion Tax Calculator to model how much you can convert this year while staying in your current bracket and below the IRMAA cliff.

1. IRS Publication 590-B — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) — Appendix B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table). The updated table per T.D. 9930 has been effective since 2022. Verified June 2026.
2. IRS — Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) — SECURE 2.0 § 107 RMD age changes: age 73 for born 1951–1959; age 75 for born 1960+. Also confirms aggregation rules and first-year deferral to April 1.
3. CMS — 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles — Part B base premium $202.90/month; IRMAA Tier 1 threshold $109,000 single / $218,000 MFJ (2024 MAGI); Tier 1 surcharge $81.20/month per beneficiary. Published November 2025.
4. IRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 Retirement Plan Limits — QCD annual limit $111,000; split-interest QCD limit $55,500. Verified June 2026 against IRS Notice 2025-67.

Tax values verified June 2026 against IRS Publication 590-B (T.D. 9930 table), IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRS Notice 2025-67, and CMS.gov. Calculator outputs are estimates. Consult a tax professional for your specific situation.

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