Inherited IRA RMD Calculator United States

This inherited IRA RMD calculator estimates your required minimum distribution using the IRS Single Life Expectancy factor and the subtract-one method.

Prior year-end account balance US$

Beneficiary age in first distribution year

Who inherited the account

The owner had reached their required beginning date before they died

Advanced options

Years since first RMD

The owner died before 1 January 2020 (pre-SECURE Act)

Owner's age in the year of death (needed only for an estate or charity)

Life expectancy factor override (optional)

Required minimum distribution —

Which rule applies —

Years until the account must be empty —

Life expectancy factor —

Monthly withdrawal —

Withdrawal rate —

Balance after RMD —

We always strive to use the latest data for every variable so our results and reports are as accurate as possible. Even so, errors are possible — you should not rely on this tool or its report alone, and we accept no liability for any decision made based on it.

What it does

The Inherited IRA RMD Calculator estimates the required minimum distribution a beneficiary must take from an inherited IRA by dividing the prior year-end balance by the IRS life expectancy factor.

Data sources & parameters

The figures below drive this calculator. We keep them aligned with the latest official guidance, and each result recalculates automatically whenever a value changes.

Parameter	Value	Source	Last updated
Single Life Table (Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-9(b)): life expectancy by age, ages 0 to 120	Rate schedule	ecfr.gov, irs.gov	Effective 2022-01-01Redate 2026-10-24: all 121 values verified against the regulation; the table has applied since 2022 and is not an annual figure.
Years within which a designated beneficiary who is not an eligible designated beneficiary must empty an inherited account (IRC 401(a)(9)(H)(i))	10	congress.gov, law.cornell.edu, irs.gov	Effective 2020-01-01New 2026-10-24: inherited-ira-rmd-us implemented only the lifetime stretch, which the SECURE Act removed for most beneficiaries from 2020. Read from the statute and the July 2024 final regulations.
Years within which a beneficiary that is not a designated beneficiary must empty an inherited account where the owner died before the required beginning date (IRC 401(a)(9)(B)(ii))	5	law.cornell.edu, irs.gov	Effective 1987-01-01New 2026-10-24: inherited-ira-rmd-us implemented only the lifetime stretch, which the SECURE Act removed for most beneficiaries from 2020. Read from the statute and the July 2024 final regulations.
Age at which a minor child of the owner stops being an eligible designated beneficiary and the ten-year rule begins (Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(9)-4(e)(3))	21	ecfr.gov, irs.gov	Effective 2020-01-01New 2026-10-24: inherited-ira-rmd-us implemented only the lifetime stretch, which the SECURE Act removed for most beneficiaries from 2020. Read from the statute and the July 2024 final regulations.

The formula

RMD = prior year-end balance / life expectancy factor

How it works

It reads the life expectancy factor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy table at the beneficiary's age, reduces it by one for each year since the first distribution, and divides the balance by that factor.

Where it is used

Estimating an inherited IRA required minimum distribution
Checking the withdrawal rate against the balance
Planning the annual distribution schedule

Worked example

On a $500,000.00 inherited IRA with a life expectancy factor of …, the required minimum distribution is …, a withdrawal rate of …, leaving ….

What the inherited IRA RMD calculator does

The inherited IRA RMD calculator estimates the required minimum distribution you must take from an IRA you inherited. It divides the prior year-end balance by a life expectancy factor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy table and shows the required amount, the withdrawal rate it represents and the balance left afterward.

Inherited IRAs follow different rules from your own accounts, and the requirements are easy to misjudge. Knowing the annual figure helps you take at least the required amount on time, avoid the penalty for taking too little, and plan the distribution into your income and taxes for the year.

How the required minimum distribution is found

The prior year-end balance divided by the life expectancy factor is the RMD. A larger factor gives a smaller withdrawal and a smaller factor, for an older beneficiary, a larger one, so the required percentage of the account rises over time as the factor shrinks.

The calculator reads the factor from the Single Life Expectancy table at the beneficiary’s age, interpolating between published points. If you know the exact factor for your situation, enter it in the override field and the calculator uses it instead.

The single life expectancy factor

For most non-spouse beneficiaries the factor is fixed in the first year distributions are required, based on the beneficiary’s age that year, and then reduced by 1.0 each later year. This subtract-one method means the factor is not looked up again each year. Enter the number of years since your first required distribution: zero uses the first-year factor, and a later number reduces it by that many years, which increases the required distribution.

The balance to use

RMDs are based on the account value on December 31 of the prior year, not the current balance, so market movements this year do not change the amount required. If you hold more than one inherited IRA from the same original owner, the rules can allow the total required amount to be taken from one of them; run each account separately and add the results for a household figure.

What you need to enter

The inherited IRA balance as of December 31 of the prior year.
The beneficiary’s age in the first distribution year.
The number of years since your first required distribution.

The age-based lookup gives a close estimate; use the override once you have confirmed the exact factor from the current IRS tables.

Reading your result

The output shows the required minimum distribution, the factor used, the equivalent monthly withdrawal, the withdrawal rate as a share of the balance, and the balance remaining. The withdrawal rate tends to rise each year as the factor falls.

The RMD is a minimum; you can always withdraw more. Distributions from a traditional inherited IRA are generally taxed as ordinary income, so consider the tax effect too. The IRS updates its life expectancy tables periodically and the inherited account rules have changed in recent years, so revisit the estimate each year. This is a planning estimate, not a substitute for advice from a tax or retirement professional.

This is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Inherited IRA RMD Calculator

Use this inherited IRA RMD calculator to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official IRS guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.

Tax year 2026

Frequently asked questions

How is an inherited IRA RMD calculated?

Divide the account balance from December 31 of the prior year by a life expectancy factor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy table. The result is the required minimum distribution for the year.

Which life expectancy table applies to an inherited IRA?

Most non-spouse beneficiaries use the IRS Single Life Expectancy table. The factor is set in the first distribution year based on the beneficiary's age and then reduced by one each following year.

What is the subtract-one method?

For non-spouse beneficiaries, the life expectancy factor is looked up once, in the first distribution year, and then reduced by 1.0 each year after that instead of being looked up again. Enter the years since your first RMD and the calculator applies the reduction.

Does the 10-year rule change the RMD?

Many beneficiaries who inherited after 2019 are subject to a 10-year payout rule, and some must also take annual RMDs within those ten years. This tool estimates the annual life-expectancy RMD; check whether the 10-year rule and its full-payout deadline also apply to you.

What happens if I miss an RMD?

Missing a required minimum distribution can trigger a significant excise tax on the amount not taken, though the penalty can be reduced if corrected promptly. Taking at least the required amount on time avoids it.

Is my data private?

Yes. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or shared.

About the author

Written and reviewed by

Taha Kheirandish

Economics student and independent researcher

Taha Kheirandish reads tax codes the way other people read maps — to find out where a system actually leads, not where it claims to go.

He is an economics student, and his work here is comparative by design. A pension deferral bonus in Quebec, a commuting allowance in Germany, a rent-increase ceiling in the Netherlands: each is a decision a government made about how money should move, and each reads differently once you set it beside eight others. He builds and checks these calculators across nine markets from primary sources — the regulation rather than a summary of it, the ministry’s own circular rather than a news item quoting it.

That is the editorial standard of the site as well as his habit. Every rate, threshold and bracket here carries the document it was read from and the date it takes effect, and gets re-checked when the law moves rather than when someone happens to notice.

He is a researcher, not a licensed adviser, and nothing on this site is personal financial advice. It is arithmetic done carefully with its sources shown — so that you can check it, and take it to someone who is.

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