RMD Calculator 2026: Project Your Required Minimum Distributions

Once you reach RMD age (73 for those born 1951–1959; 75 for those born 1960 or later), the IRS forces you to withdraw a minimum amount from your traditional IRA each year — whether you need the money or not. This calculator projects those forced withdrawals decade by decade using the official IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, and shows you the tax bracket each RMD lands in. Enter an optional annual Roth conversion amount to see how converting now shrinks your future RMD burden.

How the IRS Calculates Your RMD

Every year starting at your RMD age, the IRS requires you to withdraw at least:

RMD = IRA balance (December 31 of prior year) ÷ IRS distribution period (your age from the Uniform Lifetime Table)

The distribution period is a life-expectancy factor that shrinks by roughly 1.0 each year, so your RMD percentage rises as you age. At 73 you divide by 26.5 (3.77% of balance). At 80 you divide by 20.2 (4.95%). At 90 you divide by 12.2 (8.20%). With a $2M IRA compounding at 6%, your year-1 RMD at 73 is ~$75,500 — and the annual amounts keep rising even as the balance may also be growing.

2026 IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) — Key Ages

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table) — 2022 update, in effect for 2026.

Why RMDs Are the Core Argument for Roth Conversion

Every dollar you leave in a traditional IRA is a dollar the IRS will eventually force you to withdraw at ordinary income rates. The math compounds the problem:

• IRA growth before RMDs. A $1.5M IRA earning 6% becomes $2.39M by age 73 for a 63-year-old. The first RMD alone is ~$90,000.
• Bracket stacking. If you have $50,000 in pension and Social Security income, a $90,000 RMD puts your combined income at $140,000 — the 22% bracket for MFJ filers. Add two spouses' Medicare IRMAA and your effective rate rises further.
• The widow bracket problem. When one spouse dies, the survivor files as single. The 22% bracket starts at $47,150 for single filers. A $70,000 RMD alone likely pushes a surviving spouse to the 24% bracket.
• Heirs pay your rate. Under the SECURE Act 10-year rule, non-spouse beneficiaries must empty inherited traditional IRAs within 10 years — typically at their peak earning years. An heir in a 32–37% bracket can owe more in taxes than you would have paid converting at 22%.

How Roth Conversions Reduce Future RMDs

Each dollar you convert before RMD age is a dollar permanently removed from the traditional IRA pool. Since RMDs are calculated as a percentage of the IRA balance, a smaller balance means smaller forced distributions — indefinitely.

Worked example. Diane, age 63 (born 1963), has $1.5M in a traditional IRA and $40,000 in other income (pension + Social Security, MFJ). Her RMD age is 75. Without conversions, her IRA grows to $3.02M by 75 and her first RMD is ~$122,700 — putting combined income at $162,700 and pushing her into the 22% bracket. By converting $80,000/year for 12 years at 10–12% effective rate (her $40K other income leaves plenty of 12% bracket room), she reduces her IRA to $1.59M at age 75. Her first RMD drops to ~$64,500 — keeping combined income at $104,500 and staying comfortably in the 12% bracket.

The conversion cost her only ~$9,300/year in incremental federal tax (most of the $80K conversion falls in the 12% bracket, not 22%). The RMD reduction saves ~$58,000 of first-year forced income. Over a 15-year RMD horizon, the math strongly favors the conversion strategy.

The First RMD Deadline Trap

Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the following year. But this forces you to take two RMDs in that same year (the delayed first RMD + the regular second-year RMD), which can push you into a higher bracket or across an IRMAA tier. In most cases, taking the first RMD in the year you actually reach RMD age (December 31 deadline) is cleaner. The calculator assumes you take each RMD in the year it's due without delay.

Roth Conversions Don't Have RMDs

Once money is in a Roth IRA, it is never subject to required minimum distributions during the owner's lifetime. SECURE 2.0 § 325 also eliminated the Roth 401(k) and Roth TSP lifetime RMD requirement starting in 2024. This lets Roth balances compound tax-free indefinitely — and your heirs receive inherited Roth IRAs with no annual RMD requirement during the 10-year period (T.D. 10001 annual-RMD rule applies only to inherited traditional IRAs when the decedent was past their required beginning date).