What a required minimum distribution is
A traditional IRA lets money grow without yearly tax, but not forever. Once you reach a certain age, the IRS requires you to take a minimum amount out each year. That amount is the required minimum distribution, or RMD. It is taxed as ordinary income when you take it, and if you take too little you may owe an excise tax on the shortfall. This calculator estimates the amount for 2026 for one traditional IRA that you own, using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table.
The scope is deliberately narrow so that the number can be right. It covers 2026 only, the living original owner of a traditional IRA, and an age of 73 or more reached in 2026. It does not cover inherited IRAs, Roth IRAs, workplace plans such as a 401(k), or an owner whose only beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger. For those cases it says so and gives no figure, rather than using a table that does not apply.
The formula
The IRS rule is a division. Take the balance of the IRA at the close of business on 31 December of the previous year, and divide it by the distribution period from the table for the age you reach this year. For 2026 the balance is the one at the end of 2025. At age 73 the Uniform Lifetime Table gives 26.5, so an IRA of 265,000 produces 10,000.00. At age 74 the factor is 25.5, so 255,000 also produces 10,000.00.
The IRS publication works the same kind of example for 2026: a balance of 100,000 at age 75 with a factor of 24.6 gives 4,065.04, which the publication rounds to 4,065. The default example here, 265,000 at age 75, gives 10,772.36. The factor falls as you get older, which raises the percentage of the balance you must take. The default balance at age 85 gives 16,562.50, at age 95 29,775.28, and at age 120 or over, where the factor is 2.0, 132,500.00.
The 2026 table and how it was checked
The table inside the calculator was compared value by value with the Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B (the 2025 edition, which explains how to figure the 2026 amount) on 2 November 2026. All 48 ages from 73 to 120 matched, and the page lets you open the whole table. Tables and rules can change, so the page is labelled with the year it covers. From 1 January 2027 it shows an expiry notice and tells you not to use it for a later year until it has been reviewed again.
When the first distribution is due
If you reach 73 in 2026, your first required distribution is for 2026. The IRS allows you to delay it until 1 April 2027. If you do, you must also take your 2027 distribution by 31 December 2027, so two distributions fall in the same tax year, which can raise that year's taxable income. The 2027 amount is figured separately, with the balance at the end of 2026 and the factor for your age in 2027, and this calculator does not compute it. For every later year the distribution must be taken by 31 December of that year.
What the estimate leaves out
The calculator uses the single balance you enter and does not adjust it for rollovers that were in transit at year end or for contributions made after 31 December. It does not subtract distributions already taken, and it does not model qualified charitable distributions, which can count toward the requirement. It does not calculate tax or any penalty, and it does not combine several IRAs. Your IRA custodian is required to report the amount or offer to calculate it for you, and you should rely on that figure or a tax professional for your own filing.
For planning beyond the required amount, see the retirement planning calculator, work out how long a withdrawal could last with the annuity payout calculator, or test the effect of poor early returns on withdrawals with the sequence of returns risk calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Which balance do I use?
Use the value of the IRA at the close of 31 December 2025, as shown on your year-end statement. The balance during 2026 does not matter for the 2026 amount.
Why does the calculator refuse some cases?
Because the table it uses applies only to an owner of a traditional IRA, and a different table or rule applies to inherited accounts, workplace plans and certain spouse beneficiaries. A confident number from the wrong table would be worse than none.
Do Roth IRAs have required distributions?
The IRS says the original owner of a Roth IRA does not have to take distributions regardless of age. Beneficiaries of a Roth IRA may have to.
Can I take more than the minimum?
Yes, but extra taken in one year does not count toward a later year's requirement.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is an estimate for one account under stated assumptions. See the disclaimer.
Sources
Table and rules: IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (2025 edition, read on 2 November 2026). The factors apply to the 2026 calculation described on this page only.