Inherited IRA RMD Calculator
This inherited IRA RMD calculator shows how much you must withdraw from an inherited IRA or 401(k) in 2026, whether the 10-year rule applies to you and the date the account must be empty. It follows the SECURE Act and the IRS final regulations, with a year-by-year plan you can use to spread out the taxes.
Estimate only. Uses the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table. Does not cover trusts, estates, multiple beneficiaries or a beneficiary older than the owner. Confirm with your IRA custodian or a tax professional.
Your inherited IRA withdrawal plan
This table updates with your inputs. “Required” is the minimum the rules demand. “Even split” spreads what is left evenly over the remaining years, which can keep you in a lower tax bracket than one big withdrawal in the final year. Balances assume you take the larger of the two amounts each year.
| Year | Your age | Balance Dec. 31 prior year | Required | Even split |
|---|
Which inherited IRA rule applies to you?
For owners who died in 2020 or later, the SECURE Act puts beneficiaries into three groups:
| Beneficiary | Rule | Yearly RMDs? |
|---|---|---|
| Adult child, grandchild, sibling more than 10 years younger, friend | 10-year rule | Yes in years 1–9 if the owner had started RMDs; otherwise no |
| Eligible designated beneficiary: disabled, chronically ill, not more than 10 years younger than the owner, or the owner’s minor child | Stretch over your life expectancy | Yes, every year |
| Surviving spouse | Treat as your own, or stretch as a beneficiary | Depends on the option you choose |
| Estate, charity or other non-person | 5-year rule, or the owner’s remaining life expectancy | Depends on the owner’s age at death |
A minor child of the owner can stretch only until age 21, then switches to the 10-year rule. If the owner died in 2019 or earlier, the older stretch rules usually still apply to all individual beneficiaries, so choose “Eligible beneficiary” in the calculator.
How the 10-year rule works
Under the 10-year rule, the whole inherited account must be withdrawn by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death. A parent who died in 2024 means an empty account by December 31, 2034.
- Owner died before starting RMDs: no yearly minimum. You can take money in any amounts and any years, as long as it is all out by the deadline.
- Owner died after starting RMDs: under the IRS final regulations, you must also take a yearly RMD in years 1 through 9, then empty the account in year 10.
- 2021 to 2024: the IRS waived penalties for missed yearly RMDs in these years, and you do not need to make them up. Yearly RMDs are required from 2025.
Options for a surviving spouse
- Treat it as your own IRA (or roll it over). RMDs then follow your own age, starting at 73 or 75. Use our RMD calculator. Withdrawals before 59½ may face a 10% penalty.
- Keep it as an inherited IRA. You can take money at any age with no 10% penalty. RMDs use your life expectancy, recalculated each year. If your spouse died before their RMD age, you can wait to start until the year they would have reached it.
Many younger spouses keep the account as inherited until 59½, then move it into their own IRA. The calculator’s spouse option shows the inherited-IRA RMD.
IRS Single Life Expectancy Table
Beneficiaries use this table, not the Uniform Lifetime Table that account owners use. Non-spouse beneficiaries look up their age once, in the year after death, and subtract 1 each year after.
| Age | Life expectancy | Age | Life expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 65.0 | 58 | 28.9 |
| 21 | 64.1 | 59 | 28.0 |
| 22 | 63.1 | 60 | 27.1 |
| 23 | 62.1 | 61 | 26.2 |
| 24 | 61.1 | 62 | 25.4 |
| 25 | 60.2 | 63 | 24.5 |
| 26 | 59.2 | 64 | 23.7 |
| 27 | 58.2 | 65 | 22.9 |
| 28 | 57.3 | 66 | 22.0 |
| 29 | 56.3 | 67 | 21.2 |
| 30 | 55.3 | 68 | 20.4 |
| 31 | 54.4 | 69 | 19.6 |
| 32 | 53.4 | 70 | 18.8 |
| 33 | 52.5 | 71 | 18.0 |
| 34 | 51.5 | 72 | 17.2 |
| 35 | 50.5 | 73 | 16.4 |
| 36 | 49.6 | 74 | 15.6 |
| 37 | 48.6 | 75 | 14.8 |
| 38 | 47.7 | 76 | 14.1 |
| 39 | 46.7 | 77 | 13.3 |
| 40 | 45.7 | 78 | 12.6 |
| 41 | 44.8 | 79 | 11.9 |
| 42 | 43.8 | 80 | 11.2 |
| 43 | 42.9 | 81 | 10.5 |
| 44 | 41.9 | 82 | 9.9 |
| 45 | 41.0 | 83 | 9.3 |
| 46 | 40.0 | 84 | 8.7 |
| 47 | 39.0 | 85 | 8.1 |
| 48 | 38.1 | 86 | 7.6 |
| 49 | 37.1 | 87 | 7.1 |
| 50 | 36.2 | 88 | 6.6 |
| 51 | 35.3 | 89 | 6.1 |
| 52 | 34.3 | 90 | 5.7 |
| 53 | 33.4 | 91 | 5.3 |
| 54 | 32.5 | 92 | 4.9 |
| 55 | 31.6 | 93 | 4.6 |
| 56 | 30.6 | 94 | 4.3 |
| 57 | 29.8 | 95 | 4.0 |
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table I (Single Life Expectancy), in use since 2022. Ages under 20 and over 95 are also in the IRS table.
Taxes and smart ways to take inherited IRA money
- Withdrawals are taxed as income. Money from an inherited traditional IRA or 401(k) is added to your taxable income that year. Check your bracket with our income tax calculator.
- Spread it out. Taking a large inherited balance in one year can push you into a much higher bracket. Even withdrawals over the 10 years often cost less tax.
- No 10% early penalty. Beneficiaries can take inherited IRA money at any age without the early withdrawal penalty.
- Inherited Roth IRAs. Withdrawals are usually tax-free, and no yearly RMDs are required under the 10-year rule, so many beneficiaries leave a Roth to grow until year 10.
- Missed an RMD? The penalty is 25% of the shortfall, cut to 10% if fixed within two years. Take the missed amount and file Form 5329.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to take RMDs from an inherited IRA every year?
It depends on who you are and whether the original owner had started RMDs. Most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited in 2020 or later follow the 10-year rule. If the owner had already started RMDs, you must take a yearly RMD in years 1 through 9 and empty the account by the end of year 10. If the owner died before starting RMDs, no yearly withdrawal is required, but the account must still be empty by the end of year 10.
How is an inherited IRA RMD calculated?
Find your age in the year after the owner died and look up your life expectancy in the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table. That is your first-year divisor. Subtract 1 for each later year. Divide the account balance on December 31 of last year by the divisor. For example, if you were 50 in the year after death, your first divisor is 36.2 and your second-year divisor is 35.2.
What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?
Under the SECURE Act, most beneficiaries who are not a spouse or other eligible designated beneficiary must withdraw the entire inherited account by December 31 of the 10th year after the year the owner died. For a 2024 death, that is December 31, 2034.
Who is an eligible designated beneficiary?
Eligible designated beneficiaries are the owner's surviving spouse, the owner's minor child until age 21, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. They can stretch withdrawals over their own life expectancy instead of following the 10-year rule.
Did I have to take inherited IRA RMDs for 2021 through 2024?
No penalty applies. The IRS waived the penalty for missed annual RMDs under the 10-year rule for 2021 through 2024 and said you do not need to make them up. Annual RMDs are required starting in 2025 when the owner had already begun taking RMDs.
Is an inherited Roth IRA taxed?
Withdrawals from an inherited Roth IRA are generally tax-free if the original Roth IRA was at least five years old. Non-spouse beneficiaries still must empty it within 10 years, but because Roth owners never have RMDs, no yearly withdrawal is required before year 10.
Sources and how we calculated
Life expectancy factors come from the Single Life Expectancy Table in IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B. The 10-year rule, eligible designated beneficiary groups and yearly RMDs for owners who had started RMDs follow the SECURE Act and the IRS final regulations issued in July 2024, as summarized by Kiplinger. Penalty rates come from the IRS page Retirement topics: Required minimum distributions.
This calculator is for educational purposes only and is not tax or legal advice. Inherited account rules are complex and depend on details such as trusts, multiple beneficiaries and the owner’s exact age. Confirm your withdrawals with your custodian or a tax professional.