RMD calculator: compute required minimum distributions from account balances using IRS life expectancy factors. Editable, free, runs locally, no signup.
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Calculation details
Every figure above is calculated locally in your browser from the assumptions shown. No inputs are sent anywhere. See the methodology section below for the formulas used.
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RMD calculator: compute required minimum distributions from account balances using IRS life expectancy factors. Editable, free, runs locally, no signup.
Age 85 forces $23,810 a year from the same $400,000.
Transparent methodology
How this calculator works
Reviewed August 2026 · BoringToolsKit Editorial Team
Formula
RMD = prior-year-end account balance / life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age.
Worked example
A $500,000 balance with a 24.6 life-expectancy factor requires a $20,325 minimum distribution for the year.
BoringToolsKit. “RMD Calculator.” boringtoolskit.com/rmd-calculator/ (reviewed August 2026). Free to reference in articles, syllabi, and answer posts with a link.
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A worked example: age 75 with $400,000
Take an investor who is 75 with a $400,000 traditional IRA. The Uniform Lifetime factor at 75 is 24.6, so the arithmetic is $400,000 divided by 24.6, which equals $16,260.16. The calculator displays this as about $16,260 for the year, roughly 4.07% of the balance. Each monthly installment would be about $1,355 if spread evenly.
The factor does the real work. At 80 the factor drops to 20.2, so the same $400,000 forces a withdrawal of $19,802, or about 4.95%. At 85 it is 16.8, giving $23,810, about 5.95%. The balance grows the payout linearly, but age grows it faster: the same investor five years older withdraws over $7,500 more per year from an unchanged balance.
Watch rounding direction. The IRS accepts withdrawals of at least the computed amount, so rounding down to $16,260 is fine at $16,260.16 required, but rounding a $16,260.99 requirement down to $16,260 leaves a 99 cent shortfall. Missing the minimum by any amount triggers a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, reduced to 10% if corrected within two years.
Where the simple formula breaks down
The factor table here covers only 73, 75, 78, 80, 85, and 90, defaulting everything else to 24.6, the age 75 figure. A real 90-year-old's factor is 12.9, meaning this calculator understates their required withdrawal by about 48%: $400,000 demands $31,008 under the real table, not $17,431. Ages outside the listed values need the full IRS Uniform Lifetime table.
Other cases the single-balance formula cannot see. A spouse more than 10 years younger shifts you to the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy table, which lowers the required amount. Multiple IRAs let you total balances and withdraw from any one of them, but 401(k)s must be drawn from the employer plan itself. Roth IRAs carry no lifetime RMDs at all, and a first-year distribution can be delayed until April 1, which then stacks two withdrawals into one tax year and can push you into a higher bracket.
