Calculate your 2026 RMD
from your 12/31/2025 balance and age

Take your IRA or 401(k) balance on 12/31/2025 and divide it by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for the age you reach in 2026. At age 73 the divisor is 26.5, so a $500,000 balance means a 2026 RMD of $18,868 (3.77% of the balance).

Your 2026 RMD is due by December 31, 2026, unless 2026 is your first RMD year, in which case you can wait until April 1, 2027. Use one divisor per account and add the results; IRA RMDs can then be taken from any of your IRAs, but each 401(k) pays its own.

The same IRS Uniform Lifetime Table used for 2026. The divisors have applied since 2022 (T.D. 9930) and the final RMD regulations of July 2024 (T.D. 10001) kept them, only renaming the column "applicable denominator".

What changes for 2027 is the balance and your age: your 2027 RMD is your 12/31/2026 balance divided by the divisor for the age you reach in 2027 (73 = 26.5, 74 = 25.5, 75 = 24.6, 80 = 20.2). The IRS reprints the table in each new edition of Publication 590-B.

Anyone born in 1954 reaches age 73 in 2027, so 2027 is their first RMD year. That first RMD uses the 12/31/2026 balance and can be delayed to April 1, 2028, but the 2028 RMD is then also due by December 31, 2028, so two RMDs land in one tax year.

If you were born in 1960 or later, your RMD age is 75 under SECURE 2.0, so your first RMD year is 2035 at the earliest.

An RMD is a mandatory annual withdrawal from tax-deferred retirement accounts that begins once you reach RMD age — currently 73 for those born 1951-1959, rising to 75 for those born 1960 onward under the SECURE Act 2.0. Applies to Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Traditional 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and (until 2024) Roth 401(k) — though Roth 401(k) RMDs were eliminated starting 1 January 2024 by SECURE Act 2.0.

Roth IRAs have NEVER had RMDs for the original account owner. RMD = prior December 31 account balance ÷ IRS life expectancy factor for current age (Uniform Lifetime Table III).

Under SECURE Act 2.0 (effective 1 January 2023): RMDs start at age 73 if you were born 1951-1959 (turn 72 in 2023 onward); rises to 75 if you were born 1960 or later. Prior to SECURE Act 2.0, RMD age was 72 for those born 1949-1950 (since 1 January 2020 — SECURE Act 1.0); and 70½ for those born before 1949 (Pre-SECURE 1.0 rules).

If you turned 72 in 2022 or earlier, your RMD obligation started at 72. The first RMD must be taken by 1 April of the year AFTER you reach RMD age — but doing so means taking 2 RMDs in one year (April + December), which often pushes you into higher tax brackets.

Most retirees take the first RMD in the year they reach RMD age.

Per the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-9 Table III, effective 1 January 2022 with updated mortality): age 73 = 26.5 (3.77% withdrawal rate); 75 = 24.6 (4.07%); 80 = 20.2 (4.95%); 85 = 16.0 (6.25%); 90 = 12.2 (8.20%); 95 = 8.9 (11.24%); 100 = 6.4 (15.63%).

The Joint Life Table III applies if your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger — uses joint life expectancy, lower RMD. The Single Life Table (for inherited IRAs) is more aggressive.

The 2022 table update softened the RMDs relative to the pre-2022 table — about 1.6% lower withdrawal at any given age.

Under SECURE Act 2.0 (effective 2023), the penalty for failing to take an RMD is 25% of the shortfall — REDUCED from the previous 50% penalty. The penalty drops further to 10% if you correct the missed RMD within the 'correction window' (typically 2 years from the missed deadline) by withdrawing the shortfall and filing Form 5329.

Practical example: $50,000 RMD missed, full 25% penalty = $12,500; corrected within 2 years = 10% = $5,000. Many retirees ask their plan administrator or IRA custodian to set up automatic distributions to avoid the penalty.

The 50% penalty applied to missed RMDs through tax year 2022; 25%/10% from 2023 onward.

IRAs yes, 401(k)s no. For IRAs (Traditional, SEP, SIMPLE), you must calculate the RMD for each account separately, but the TOTAL can be taken from any one or combination of your IRAs — flexibility to drain accounts you prefer to deplete first.

For 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans, RMDs must be taken SEPARATELY from each plan — no aggregation across employer plans. Common exception: 403(b) plans CAN be aggregated with other 403(b) plans (per IRS Publication 575) but not with 401(k)s or IRAs.

Inherited IRAs cannot be aggregated with your own IRAs — separate RMD calculation and withdrawal required.

Roth IRA: never had RMDs for the original account owner. Beneficiaries inheriting a Roth IRA do have RMD-like distribution requirements under the 10-year rule (SECURE Act 2019).

Roth 401(k): had RMDs through tax year 2023 (with rollover-to-Roth-IRA workaround). SECURE Act 2.0 ELIMINATED Roth 401(k) RMDs effective 1 January 2024 — Roth 401(k) now treated like Roth IRA for RMD purposes for the original participant.

This is a significant change for high-balance Roth 401(k) holders who previously had to either take RMDs or roll the Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA to avoid them. Inherited Roth 401(k) accounts still subject to beneficiary distribution rules.

Yes — your FIRST RMD has a Required Beginning Date (RBD) of April 1 of the year AFTER the year you reach RMD age. Example: if you reach age 73 in 2026, your first RMD can be delayed until April 1, 2027.

BUT that strategy creates a 'double RMD' problem — you'd take the 2026 RMD by 4/1/2027 AND the 2027 RMD by 12/31/2027, both in 2027 income — likely pushing you into higher brackets, triggering IRMAA Medicare surcharges, and increasing Social Security taxation. Most planners take the first RMD by 31 December of the RMD year to spread income evenly.

After the first year, all RMDs must be taken by 31 December annually.

Yes — and if you defer your first RMD, you MUST. Your first RMD may be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach RMD age (the Required Beginning Date), but every later RMD is due by December 31.

So anyone who turned 73 in 2025 and deferred their first RMD to April 1, 2026 must also take the 2026 RMD by December 31, 2026 — two fully taxable RMDs stacked into 2026 income. The trade-off: deferral keeps the first RMD out of the prior year's income (useful if that year was unusually high-income), but the doubled-up year often lands in a higher marginal bracket, makes more of your Social Security taxable, and lifts MAGI past the IRMAA thresholds ($109k single / $218k MFJ in 2026) — triggering Medicare surcharges two years later (2028).

Most planners recommend taking the first RMD by December 31 of the RMD year unless the deferral-year tax math clearly wins.

Yes — for IRAs only. Calculate the RMD for each IRA separately using each account's December 31 prior-year balance and your current age factor.

Then sum the total RMD requirement, and take that total from ANY one or combination of your IRAs. This is useful for: (a) draining an underperforming IRA first, (b) preserving Roth-conversion potential in another IRA, (c) avoiding multiple small distributions across many accounts.

For 401(k)/403(b)/457(b), each plan stands alone — RMD must come from that specific plan. Inherited IRAs are calculated and distributed separately from your own IRAs.

RMDs from Traditional IRA, Traditional 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), SEP, and SIMPLE accounts are fully taxable as ordinary income in the year of distribution (at your marginal federal rate plus state income tax). Reported on Form 1099-R, included on Form 1040 line 5b (pensions/annuities).

Mandatory 20% federal withholding for 401(k) RMDs (employer plans); no automatic withholding for IRA RMDs (you can elect any amount). State tax withholding varies.

IRMAA Medicare surcharges (Tier 1 starts at MAGI $109k single / $218k MFJ in 2026) trigger two years after the RMD. OAS-equivalent in US: Social Security itself becomes 85% taxable when combined income exceeds modest thresholds — RMDs contribute to this calculation.

Usually, if you take the standard deduction. From 2026 a cash gift earns a deduction of up to $1,000 ($2,000 on a joint return), and the withdrawal still counts in your adjusted gross income.

A QCD keeps the whole gift out of AGI, which can also lower the taxable part of your Social Security, protect the senior deduction and keep you under an IRMAA tier. If you itemize, a cash gift is deductible only above 0.5% of your AGI and still raises your AGI.

Yes, once you have an RMD for the year. The IRA trustee must pay the charity directly, by December 31.

Money already paid to you can't be turned into a QCD later, and a QCD above your RMD gives no credit toward next year's RMD. You can start QCDs at age 70½, before RMDs begin, but those gifts don't satisfy a future RMD.

A QCD allows IRA owners age 70½+ to donate up to $111,000 (2026, per IRS Notice 2025-67; indexed annually from $100k base) directly from their IRA to a qualified 501(c)(3) charity. The QCD COUNTS toward your RMD requirement AND is excluded from taxable income — better than a regular charitable deduction because it doesn't increase AGI (preserving thresholds for IRMAA, Social Security taxation, and credit phase-outs).

The QCD must go directly from the IRA trustee to the charity — you cannot withdraw and then donate. Available only from IRAs (not 401(k)/403(b)).

Donor-advised funds and private foundations are NOT eligible recipients. Married couples can each do up to $111,000 from their own IRAs.

SECURE Act 2.0 added a one-time $55,000 (2026, indexed) QCD to a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust.