What is my inherited IRA RMD?
Enter who you are, when the owner died and the year-end balance to find your required minimum distribution from an inherited IRA or 401(k) under the SECURE Act rules.
- Required minimum distribution
- $8,522.73
Your required minimum distribution for 2026 from the inherited account is $8,522.73 (your life expectancy, then empty by 2034).
- Life expectancy used
- 35.2
- Rule
- your life expectancy, then empty by 2034
- Account must be empty by
- 2034
Required minimum distribution: $8,522.73. Your required minimum distribution for 2026 from the inherited account is $8,522.73 (your life expectancy, then empty by 2034).
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Works out the required minimum distribution from an inherited IRA or 401(k) for a year, for a spouse, an eligible designated beneficiary, or another beneficiary under the 10-year rule, with the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table.
Example with the default inputs (You are Other individual (10-year rule), The owner died After RMDs began, Year the owner died 2024, Owner’s year of birth 1948, Your year of birth 1975, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $300,000.00): Your required minimum distribution for 2026 from the inherited account is $8,522.73 (your life expectancy, then empty by 2034).
Method: RMD = prior year-end balance ÷ life expectancy: Table I at your age in the year after death, less 1 each later year (a spouse looks it up each year); after the owner’s required beginning date, the owner’s Table I value in the year of death less 1 a year if longer; 10-year rule: empty by the tenth year.
- For owners who died in 2020 or later (SECURE Act). An eligible designated beneficiary is the surviving spouse, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner; a minor child is one until 21 and then moves to the 10-year rule (not modelled).
- A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary is treated as a beneficiary with Table I looked up each year. A spouse may instead treat the IRA as their own, or use the Uniform Lifetime Table, which gives a smaller RMD.
- An eligible designated beneficiary may elect the 10-year rule instead of life expectancy payments when the owner died before the required beginning date.
- One individual beneficiary; estates, trusts and charities follow other rules (5-year rule or the owner’s life expectancy).
- Inherited Roth IRAs: no yearly RMD under the 10-year rule, because the owner is treated as dying before the required beginning date.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- You are Eligible designated beneficiary, The owner died After RMDs began, Year the owner died 2021, Owner’s year of birth 1941, Your year of birth 1967, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $100,000.00 gives Life expectancy used 27.6, Required minimum distribution $3,623.19.Source: IRS Publication 590-B (2025), "Redetermination of initial life expectancies" example: age 55 in 2022, 31.6 − 4 = 27.6 for 2026
- You are Eligible designated beneficiary, The owner died Before RMDs began, Year the owner died 2025, Owner’s year of birth 1970, Your year of birth 1969, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $298,000.00 gives Life expectancy used 29.8, Required minimum distribution $10,000.00.Source: IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Table I example: an eligible designated beneficiary age 57 in 2026 uses 29.8
- You are Other individual (10-year rule), The owner died After RMDs began, Year the owner died 2024, Owner’s year of birth 1948, Your year of birth 1975, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $300,000.00 gives Life expectancy used 35.2, Required minimum distribution $8,522.73, Account must be empty by 2034.Source: IRS Pub 590-B Table I and 10-year rule
- You are Other individual (10-year rule), The owner died Before RMDs began, Year the owner died 2024, Owner’s year of birth 1962, Your year of birth 1990, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $300,000.00 gives Required minimum distribution $0.00, Account must be empty by 2034.Source: IRS Pub 590-B, 10-year rule: no life expectancy payments when the owner died before the required beginning date
- You are Surviving spouse, The owner died After RMDs began, Year the owner died 2024, Owner’s year of birth 1940, Your year of birth 1950, Distribution year 2026, Balance on December 31 of the year before $200,000.00 gives Life expectancy used 14.1, Required minimum distribution $14,184.40.Source: IRS Pub 590-B Table I
How it works
Let D be the year of death, Y the distribution year (Y ≥ D + 1), and L(a) the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I) value at age a (ages 0 to 120; 120 and over is 1.0). Ages are ages at the birthday in that year. RMD = balance on December 31 of year Y − 1 ÷ divisor.
1. Your life expectancy.
- Surviving spouse (sole beneficiary): L(Y − your year of birth), looked up again each year.
- Anyone else: L(D + 1 − your year of birth) − (Y − (D + 1)): the value in the first year, less 1 for each later year.
2. The owner’s remaining life expectancy (only if the owner died on or after the required beginning date): L(D − owner’s year of birth) − (Y − D).
3. Divisor = the larger of 1 and 2. If the divisor is 1 or less, the whole balance must come out; a spent life expectancy (below 0) shows as a factor of 0. An age below 0 (a beneficiary born after the year after the death) is looked up at age 0.
4. Rules by case.
| You are | Owner died before RMDs began | Owner died after RMDs began |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Divisor = your life expectancy; no RMD until the year the owner would have reached RMD age (73 if born 1951 to 1959, 75 if 1960 or later, 72 before) | Divisor = larger of yours and the owner’s |
| Eligible designated beneficiary | Divisor = your life expectancy | Divisor = larger of yours and the owner’s |
| Other individual (10-year rule) | No yearly RMD in years D + 1 to D + 9; the whole balance in year D + 10 | Yearly RMD with the larger divisor in years D + 1 to D + 9; the whole balance in year D + 10 |
After year D + 10 an account under the 10-year rule must already be empty, so there is no answer. No answer either for a year up to D, an owner born in or after the year of death, or a beneficiary born after the distribution year. “After RMDs began” with an owner younger at death than the owner’s RMD age (70 if born before 1950; 72, 73 or 75 otherwise) gives no answer: that owner had not started RMDs.
Assumptions
- Owners who died in 2020 or later. A minor child is an eligible beneficiary only until 21; the change is not modelled.
- A surviving spouse can instead treat the IRA as their own, or use the Uniform Lifetime Table as a beneficiary; both give a smaller RMD.
- One individual beneficiary; estates, trusts and charities follow other rules.
Worked examples by hand
IRS example: new tables reset. The owner, born 1941, died in 2021 at 80, after RMDs began. You were born 1967: 55 in 2022, L(55) = 31.6. For 2026: 31.6 − 4 = 27.6. Owner: L(80) = 11.2, less 5 = 6.2, shorter. With $100,000: 100,000 ÷ 27.6 = $3,623.19.
IRS example: first year at 57. An eligible designated beneficiary who is 57 in 2026, the year after the death (2025), owner died before RMDs began: divisor 29.8. With $298,000: $10,000.
10-year rule, owner had started RMDs. Owner born 1948 died in 2024 (age 76). You were born 1975: 50 in 2025, L(50) = 36.2. For 2026: 36.2 − 1 = 35.2. Owner: L(76) = 14.1, less 2 = 12.1, shorter. RMD = 300,000 ÷ 35.2 = $8,522.73. The account must be empty by the end of 2034.
10-year rule, owner had not started RMDs. Owner born 1962 died in 2024: no yearly RMD in 2026 ($0); empty by the end of 2034.
Surviving spouse. Owner born 1940 died in 2024 (age 84), after RMDs began. Spouse born 1950 is 76 in 2026: L(76) = 14.1. Owner: L(84) = 8.7, less 2 = 6.7. RMD = 200,000 ÷ 14.1 = $14,184.40.
Other questions people ask
What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?
Most non-spouse beneficiaries of an owner who died in 2020 or later must empty the account by December 31 of the tenth year after the year of death. If the owner had already started RMDs, you must also take a yearly RMD in years 1 to 9, based on your life expectancy.
Who is an eligible designated beneficiary?
The surviving spouse, the owner’s minor child (until 21), a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. They can stretch distributions over their life expectancy instead of 10 years.
How is the life expectancy found?
Take your age at your birthday in the year after the owner’s death and look it up in the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Publication 590-B, Table I). Subtract 1 for each later year. At 57 the table gives 29.8, so the next year uses 28.8.
What if the owner had started RMDs?
Then the divisor is the longer of your life expectancy and the owner’s remaining life expectancy: the owner’s Table I value at their age in the year of death, less 1 for each year after.
Do I have to take an RMD for the year the owner died?
If the owner died after starting RMDs and had not taken all of that year’s RMD, the beneficiary must take the rest, figured with the owner’s table. This calculator starts with the year after the death.