Inherited IRA RMD Calculator
Work out this year's required minimum distribution from an inherited IRA or 401(k): which SECURE Act rule applies to you, whether you need an RMD every year under the 10-year rule, your IRS life expectancy factor, and the year the account must be empty.
Inherited IRA RMD calculator
Beneficiary IRA RMD calculator: the 2026 rules in plain English
For owners who died in 2020 or later, the SECURE Act sorts beneficiaries into three groups:
- Eligible designated beneficiaries: the surviving spouse, the owner's minor child (until 21), a disabled or chronically ill person, or anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. They can still "stretch" withdrawals over their life expectancy.
- Other designated beneficiaries (most adult children and grandchildren): the 10-year rule. The account must be empty by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death.
- No designated beneficiary (an estate or charity): 5 years if the owner died before the required beginning date, otherwise the owner's remaining life expectancy.
Do I have to take an RMD every year under the 10-year rule?
Only if the owner had reached their required beginning date (April 1 of the year after they reached RMD age: 73 for people born 1951 to 1959, 75 for 1960 or later). The IRS final regulations (July 2024) require annual RMDs in years 1 to 9 in that case, starting with 2025; the IRS waived the penalty for missed 2021–2024 amounts but did not extend the 10-year deadline. If the owner died before that date, or it's a Roth IRA, there are no annual RMDs: just empty it by the deadline.
Calculating RMD for inherited IRA accounts, step by step
To calculate RMD from inherited IRA money: RMD = account balance on December 31 of last year ÷ life expectancy factor. A non-spouse beneficiary looks up their age in the year after the owner's death in the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I), then subtracts 1 for each later year; they don't look the table up again. If the owner died on or after the RBD and was younger than you, you may use the owner's remaining life expectancy instead (the longer one). A spouse who keeps an inherited IRA looks up their current age every year.
Example: owner born 1945 dies in June 2022 at 77, after the RBD. A beneficiary born 1975 is 48 in 2023: factor 38.1. In 2026 the factor is 38.1 − 3 = 35.1, so on a $500,000 balance the 2026 RMD is $14,245, and the account must be empty by December 31, 2032.
The same steps apply when calculating RMD from inherited IRA rollovers of a 401(k) or 403(b), and when calculating beneficiary IRA RMD amounts for a see-through trust.
Inherited IRA minimum distribution calculator: other names for this tool
Brokerages label it differently: beneficiary RMD calculator, bene IRA RMD calculator (bene is short for beneficiary), BDA IRA RMD calculator (BDA stands for beneficiary distribution account, one firm's name for an inherited IRA) or inherited IRA required minimum distribution calculator. They all do the same job: calculating RMD for inherited IRA balances under the rules above.
Inherited IRA distribution calculator: the year of death
If the owner hadn't taken their own RMD for the year they died, the beneficiary must take it by December 31 of that year (or the IRS may waive the penalty if it's corrected promptly). The missed-RMD excise tax is 25%, cut to 10% if you correct it within two years.
IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I, ages 18 to 98)
| Age | Factor | Age | Factor | Age | Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 67.0 | 19 | 66.0 | 20 | 65.0 |
| 21 | 64.1 | 22 | 63.1 | 23 | 62.1 |
| 24 | 61.1 | 25 | 60.2 | 26 | 59.2 |
| 27 | 58.2 | 28 | 57.3 | 29 | 56.3 |
| 30 | 55.3 | 31 | 54.4 | 32 | 53.4 |
| 33 | 52.5 | 34 | 51.5 | 35 | 50.5 |
| 36 | 49.6 | 37 | 48.6 | 38 | 47.7 |
| 39 | 46.7 | 40 | 45.7 | 41 | 44.8 |
| 42 | 43.8 | 43 | 42.9 | 44 | 41.9 |
| 45 | 41.0 | 46 | 40.0 | 47 | 39.0 |
| 48 | 38.1 | 49 | 37.1 | 50 | 36.2 |
| 51 | 35.3 | 52 | 34.3 | 53 | 33.4 |
| 54 | 32.5 | 55 | 31.6 | 56 | 30.6 |
| 57 | 29.8 | 58 | 28.9 | 59 | 28.0 |
| 60 | 27.1 | 61 | 26.2 | 62 | 25.4 |
| 63 | 24.5 | 64 | 23.7 | 65 | 22.9 |
| 66 | 22.0 | 67 | 21.2 | 68 | 20.4 |
| 69 | 19.6 | 70 | 18.8 | 71 | 18.0 |
| 72 | 17.2 | 73 | 16.4 | 74 | 15.6 |
| 75 | 14.8 | 76 | 14.1 | 77 | 13.3 |
| 78 | 12.6 | 79 | 11.9 | 80 | 11.2 |
| 81 | 10.5 | 82 | 9.9 | 83 | 9.3 |
| 84 | 8.7 | 85 | 8.1 | 86 | 7.6 |
| 87 | 7.1 | 88 | 6.6 | 89 | 6.1 |
| 90 | 5.7 | 91 | 5.3 | 92 | 4.9 |
| 93 | 4.6 | 94 | 4.3 | 95 | 4.0 |
| 96 | 3.7 | 97 | 3.4 | 98 | 3.2 |
Used for distribution years from 2022 on. Ages 0 to 17 and 99 to 120+ are in IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B.
Common questions
How do I calculate the RMD on an inherited IRA?
Divide last December 31's balance by your factor from the IRS Single Life Table: your age in the year after death, minus 1 for each year since.
Do I have to take annual RMDs from an inherited IRA under the 10-year rule?
Only if the owner died on or after their required beginning date. Then annual RMDs are required in years 1 to 9, starting in 2025, and the rest by the end of year 10.
Does the 10-year rule apply to inherited Roth IRAs?
Yes, but with no annual RMDs, because Roth owners are treated as dying before their RBD. Qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free.
What is the beneficiary IRA RMD for a spouse?
A spouse can roll it into their own IRA, or keep it inherited and take RMDs over their own life expectancy, recalculated each year.
What happens if I miss an inherited IRA RMD?
A 25% excise tax on the shortfall, cut to 10% if corrected within two years. Missed 2021–2024 annual RMDs under the 10-year rule were waived.
Sources
- IRS: Required minimum distributions for IRA beneficiaries
- IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B: Single Life Expectancy Table (via Fidelity)
- Grant Thornton: Final RMD rules retain 10-year rule for inherited accounts (TD 10001)
- IRS: Retirement topics, beneficiary
Related
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check important numbers with the official source before acting on them.