Withdrawals & RMDs
An RMD calculator your retired clients can run before they call
This RMD calculator for advisors and CPA firms estimates a client's required minimum distribution from their December 31 balance and age, using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, then hands you the result when they want help taking it.
Included on every plan, even the free Practitioner plan. No card needed.
How is a required minimum distribution calculated?
Divide the account's December 31 balance from the prior year by the distribution period for the owner's age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. RMDs begin at 73 (born 1951–1959); 75 (born 1960 or later)2026 · IRS. A $500,000 balance at age 75, with a period of 24.6, gives an RMD of about $20,325 for the year.
November, when the year-end deadline gets close
Statements show the RMD amount if the custodian calculates it, but clients with several IRAs, a new inherited account or a birthday that just crossed the starting age want to check the number themselves. They search in October and November, usually after a custodian letter, a news story about penalties or a spouse asking whether it has been done. The deadline is December 31, except the very first RMD, which can wait until April 1 of the next year at the cost of two distributions in one tax year.
What the client types into a search box
“how much do I have to take out of my IRA this year”
How a client works through it
Enter the year-end balance
The client types the account value from December 31 of the prior year, the figure on their January statement.
Add their age this year
The age they reach by December 31 sets the divisor from the Uniform Lifetime Table.
See the required amount
The calculator shows the distribution period and the minimum withdrawal for the year, updated as they type.
Ask your firm to review it
If you switch on lead capture, the client can send the inputs and result to you with one form.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
A request includes the prior year-end balance, the owner's age and the resulting RMD. A large balance with an age right at the starting threshold flags a first-year decision (take it now or by April 1). Several requests from one household suggest accounts that could be consolidated. A balance well above what you manage is an assets conversation for an RIA.
What does the RMD result tell a client?
The headline figure is the minimum that must leave the account by the deadline. It is a floor, not a recommendation: taking more is allowed, and some clients should, for example to fill a low bracket. The distribution period shown is the number the balance is divided by; it shrinks each year, which is why the RMD grows as a share of the account.
The estimate covers one account owner using the Uniform Lifetime Table. It does not apply to inherited accounts, which follow different rules and have their own calculator, and it does not use the Joint Life table for an owner whose spouse is more than ten years younger and the sole beneficiary.
Results shown: Required Minimum Distribution · Distribution Period · As % of Balance · Monthly Equivalent · Account Balance.
A worked example on the tape
A client turns 75 this year and had $500,000 in a traditional IRA on December 31. The Uniform Lifetime Table period at 75 is 24.6. $500,000 ÷ 24.6 = $20,325.20, so at least $20,325.20 must be withdrawn by December 31. At 22% withholding the client would receive $15,853.66 and $4,471.54 would go to the IRS.
Why put an RMD calculator on a CPA or advisory firm's site?
RMD questions are short, frequent and seasonal. Each one used to cost a staff member a phone call to explain the divisor. With the calculator on your site, the client gets the estimate in a minute and the firm only hears from people who want something done: aggregate several IRAs, plan the withdrawal around a Roth conversion, or route the distribution to charity.
For advisers it is also a retention tool. A retiree who checks the number on your site in November is reminded who handles it. For CPA firms it surfaces clients whose withholding on the distribution will matter at filing time, which is easier to fix in December than in March.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Confirm the RMD across all IRAs and decide which account to draw from
- Plan federal withholding on the distribution to avoid an underpayment at filing
- Review a qualified charitable distribution for charitably inclined clients
- Coordinate the RMD with a partial Roth conversion later in the year
What this calculator leaves out
- Uses the Uniform Lifetime Table only; the Joint Life and Last Survivor table for a much younger spouse is not modeled.
- Handles one account at a time; aggregating several IRAs, or 403(b) accounts, is left to the firm.
- Does not cover inherited IRAs or the 10-year rule; use the inherited IRA RMD calculator for those.
- Ignores income tax on the distribution and any qualified charitable distribution.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only. Uses the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (2022+) for account owners; RMDs begin at age 73 (age 75 for those born in 1960 or later). Beneficiaries, or a sole spouse beneficiary more than 10 years younger, use different tables. Consult a tax professional.
Compliance note for firms
An RMD estimate is arithmetic on the client's own inputs, but a firm that adds commentary in an email is giving written advice. For CPAs and EAs, Circular 230 §10.37 expects reasonable assumptions and consideration of the relevant facts, such as other IRAs and beneficiary details. Advisers should keep the calculator's not-advice line visible and avoid pairing the result with investment recommendations on the same page.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
2026 figures this page relies on
| Figure | Value | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RMD starting age (SECURE 2.0) | 73 (born 1951–1959); 75 (born 1960 or later) | 2026 | IRS |
| RMD life-expectancy table | IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, in use since 2022 | 2026 | IRS Publication 590-B |
The same values drive the calculator. Full list on the 2026 figures page.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- Required minimum distribution (RMD)
- The minimum amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and similar tax-deferred accounts once you reach the starting age. For account owners it is the prior year-end balance divided by a distribution period from IRS tables. Withdrawals count as taxable income, and you may always take more than the minimum.
- RMD starting age
- The age at which required distributions begin. Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs begin at age 73, or age 75 for those born in 1960 or later (IRS, 2026). This calculator assumes the age you enter is at or past your starting age; below it, no RMD is due for that year.
- Distribution period
- The divisor from the IRS table for your age; your RMD equals the prior year-end balance divided by it. The period shrinks each year, so the required share of your balance rises with age. The as-a-percentage-of-balance result in this calculator is simply one divided by the distribution period.
- Uniform Lifetime Table
- The IRS table most account owners use to find their distribution period, in its updated form for 2022 and later years. Owners whose sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger use the Joint and Last Survivor Table instead, which gives a longer period and a smaller RMD. This calculator uses the Uniform Lifetime Table only.
- Prior year-end balance
- The account value on December 31 of the year before the distribution year. It is the only balance used in the calculation, so market moves during the current year do not change this year’s RMD. Adjustments can apply for rollovers or transfers that were in transit at year-end.
- Taxation of RMDs
- Distributions from traditional, pre-tax accounts are generally taxed as ordinary income in the year you take them. A large RMD can raise your tax bracket and affect other income-based costs. This calculator shows the amount you must withdraw, not the tax on it, so budget for the tax separately or have it withheld.
In our glossary: Required minimum distribution · Uniform Lifetime Table · Required beginning date · Qualified charitable distribution
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) calculator: questions from firms and clients
At what age do clients have to start RMDs in 2026?
RMDs begin at 73 (born 1951–1959); 75 (born 1960 or later)2026 · IRS, under the SECURE 2.0 schedule. The age depends on birth year, so a client born in 1960 or later starts later than one born in the 1950s. The calculator applies the age the client enters; the RMD year-to-begin calculator works out the starting year itself.
Which balance should the client enter?
The fair market value on December 31 of the previous year. For a 2026 RMD that is the December 31, 2025 balance, which custodians report on the year-end statement and on Form 5498. Using today's balance gives the wrong answer, especially after a market move.
Does the calculator handle inherited IRAs?
No. Beneficiaries follow different rules, including the 10-year rule for most non-spouse beneficiaries. Point those clients to the inherited IRA RMD calculator, which uses the single life expectancy approach.
Can a client with several IRAs add them together?
They can run each account and add the results. The IRS lets an owner total the RMDs for all traditional IRAs and take the sum from any one or more of them, which is often the conversation that brings the request to your firm.
Is the first RMD deadline different?
Yes. The first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year after the client reaches the starting age. Every later RMD is due by December 31, so delaying the first one means two distributions in the same tax year, which can push a client into a higher bracket.
Will our firm's name and colors appear on the calculator?
Yes. You set the colors, fonts, title and button text, and paid plans remove the platform credit so the calculator reads as your firm's tool. It can also be served from your own domain.
Can we turn off lead capture and just offer the estimate?
Yes. Lead capture is optional per calculator. Some firms leave it off for existing clients' portal pages and switch it on for public pages where prospects arrive from search.
Does the calculator include the penalty for a missed RMD?
No. It estimates the amount due, not the excise tax on a shortfall. If a client has already missed a distribution, that is a conversation for the firm, including whether to request a waiver.
Can clients use it in another language?
Yes. Every calculator can show in English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese or Arabic, and the visitor can switch. The definitions and disclaimer switch with it.
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Next entry
Answer the November question before the client calls
Embed the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) calculator on your firm's site in an afternoon and receive requests with the numbers already filled in.
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