Inherited RMD Calculator

When you inherit a tax-deferred retirement account, the IRS requires you to draw it down on a set schedule. The required minimum distribution (RMD) is the smallest amount you must withdraw in a given year. The rules depend on whether you are a surviving spouse, another eligible designated beneficiary, or a beneficiary subject to the 10-year rule.

With the life-expectancy method, the RMD equals the prior year-end balance divided by a factor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Publication 590-B, Table I). A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary looks up a fresh factor at their current age each year. A non-spouse eligible beneficiary looks up the factor once, in the year after the owner's death, then subtracts 1.0 from it for each later year.

For most non-spouse beneficiaries when the original owner died after 2019, the entire inherited account must be emptied by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death. If the owner died before their required beginning date, no specific amount is required in years 1 to 9, so spreading withdrawals evenly across the window can soften the final-year tax hit. This tool shows that even-split estimate.

Eligible designated beneficiaries can still use the life-expectancy stretch instead of the 10-year rule. The group includes a surviving spouse, a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. Most adult children and other heirs are not eligible and fall under the 10-year rule.

Enter your age in the first distribution year, which is the calendar year after the owner's death. The calculator finds that age in the Single Life Expectancy table to set your starting factor, then subtracts 1.0 for each later distribution year you select. So distribution year 1 uses the full starting factor, year 2 subtracts 1.0, and so on.

No. This calculator gives an educational estimate using the current IRS tables and is not financial or tax advice. Special situations can change the result, including Roth accounts, trusts named as beneficiaries, owners who died on or after their required beginning date, and pre-2022 deaths under transition rules. Confirm your distribution with the IRS instructions or a qualified tax professional.