Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): 2026 Planning Guide + Calculator

What are RMDs and who has to take them?

Required Minimum Distributions are annual mandatory withdrawals from pre-tax retirement accounts. The IRS deferred the tax when you contributed — RMDs are how it eventually collects. Once you reach your required beginning date, you must withdraw at least a minimum amount each year whether or not you need the income.

Accounts subject to RMDs include: traditional IRAs (including rollover IRAs), SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and employer plans — 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and profit-sharing plans. Inherited IRAs have their own rules; see our inherited IRA planning guide.

SECURE 2.0: New RMD starting ages in 2026

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (§107) changed the required beginning date (RBD) in two steps based on birth year.¹

The first-year delay trap. You may delay your first RMD to April 1 of the following year. The catch: you still owe the regular RMD for that second year, so two distributions land in the same calendar year. For IRMAA purposes, the SSA uses a two-year income lookback — that compressed income year could push Medicare premiums up two years later.

How RMDs are calculated: the Uniform Lifetime Table

Divide your December 31 prior-year account balance by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age that year. The factor (called a distribution period) represents the IRS's estimate of your remaining life expectancy plus a small spousal adjustment.³

Example: $2 million IRA as of December 31, 2025. Owner turns 73 in 2026. Distribution period = 26.5. RMD = $2,000,000 ÷ 26.5 = $75,472.

If your spouse is the sole beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger than you, you may use the more favorable Joint Life and Last Survivor table (Table II), which produces lower annual RMDs. Most owners use Table III above.

Why RMDs hit the $2M–$20M bracket hardest

At this wealth level, RMDs rarely solve a cash-flow problem — they create a tax problem. A retired couple with $400,000 in combined portfolio income, Social Security, and pension doesn't need another $150,000 in forced withdrawals. But they take it anyway, taxed at ordinary income rates up to 37%, and — because of the two-year IRMAA lookback — potentially triggering Medicare surcharges of $9,000–$13,800/year two years later.

The math compounds against you. If you reinvest the after-tax RMD in taxable accounts, the money is now exposed to annual dividends and capital gains you weren't facing inside the IRA. Over a 15-year retirement, the cumulative tax drag from unneeded RMDs compounds significantly.

RMD calculator: year-by-year projection

Enter your current age, total pre-tax IRA/401(k) balance, and assumed annual return. The calculator grows your balance to RMD start age, then shows the full mandatory withdrawal schedule through age 95.

6 strategies to manage RMDs at $2M–$20M

1. Roth conversions before RMDs start

This is the primary lever. Every dollar converted from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA during the pre-RMD window reduces the balance that will eventually generate mandatory withdrawals. A 65-year-old with a $3M IRA who converts $200,000/year for 8 years (at 35% effective rate, paying tax from non-IRA funds) can reduce lifetime RMDs substantially while filling the Roth with permanently tax-free, no-RMD money.

The optimal window is the gap between retirement (when income drops) and age 73/75 (when RMDs and potentially Social Security begin). See our full Roth conversion strategy guide and IRMAA coordination for conversion sizing.

2. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

Starting at age 70½, you can direct up to $111,000 per person in 2026 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity.⁴ A QCD counts as satisfying your RMD but is never included in your income — it never appears in AGI. For a charitably inclined couple at the top IRMAA tier, two QCDs of $111,000 each eliminate $222,000 in otherwise taxable forced income.

Key rules: the distribution must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity (no "withdraw and donate" workaround), the charity must be a 501(c)(3), and QCDs cannot go to a donor-advised fund or private foundation.

3. Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC)

A QLAC lets you move up to $210,000 per person in 2026 from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a deferred income annuity.⁵ The amount in the QLAC is excluded from your RMD calculations until payments begin. QLAC income can begin no later than age 85. This strategy defers both the RMD and the associated tax on up to $210,000 per person — and provides a longevity hedge against outliving other assets.

4. Still-working exception (employer plans only)

If you're still employed by the company sponsoring your 401(k) or 403(b), you can delay RMDs from that plan until April 1 of the year after you retire — even past your normal RMD age. This exception does not apply to IRAs (which always require distributions starting at RMD age) or to old employer plans. High earners working into their 70s can use this to defer a significant sum.

5. IRMAA lookback management

Because IRMAA uses income from two years prior, a large RMD or delayed double-distribution year can spike Medicare costs two years later. Plan your first-year RMD timing (don't delay unless the income deferral is truly worth a higher IRMAA tier), and coordinate Roth conversions to keep MAGI below the nearest IRMAA threshold. See our IRMAA planning guide for the full 2026 bracket table and tier analysis.

6. Spousal planning: rollover vs. inherited IRA election

A surviving spouse who inherits a traditional IRA has a unique choice: roll it into their own IRA (using their own age for RMD calculations) or treat it as an inherited IRA (which may allow earlier access before 59½ without penalty). If the surviving spouse is younger, rolling into their own IRA delays RMD start to their RMD age — often adding several years of tax-deferred growth. See our inherited IRA guide for the full decision framework.

What a specialist advisor actually models

• Pre-RMD Roth conversion sizing: How much to convert each year to minimize lifetime taxes, accounting for bracket thresholds, IRMAA tiers, state income tax, and investment returns
• RMD projection: Forward project your IRA/401(k) balances 15–20 years to identify which years produce the highest MAGI — and where early conversions pay off most
• QCD coordination: For charitably inclined clients, how much of the annual RMD to satisfy with QCDs vs. cash distributions, balancing tax savings against DAF strategy
• IRMAA 2-year lookback modeling: Flag which years a conversion, business sale, or capital gain realization will create a Medicare premium spike and size them accordingly
• Estate impact: Roth accounts pass to heirs with no lifetime RMDs on the inherited Roth IRA (though non-spouse heirs still have the 10-year rule). Pre-tax IRA assets inherited by adult children face full ordinary income tax over 10 years — a $3M IRA inherited at age 45 generates $300,000+/year in taxable income

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