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Beneficiary Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) - Current Year

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When you are the beneficiary of a retirement plan, specific IRS rules regulate the minimum withdrawals you must take. If you want to simply take your inherited money right now and pay taxes, you can. But if you want to defer taxes as long as possible, there are certain distribution requirements with which you must comply. Use this calculator to determine your Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) as a beneficiary of a retirement account.

Beneficiary Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) - Current Year Definitions

Calculation notes
This calculator follows the SECURE Act of 2019 Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules. If you have questions, please consult with your own tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

Use this calculator if any of the following apply:

  1. The original account owner died before 1/1/2020
  2. The spouse is the only beneficiary of the account
  3. The beneficiary isn't a non-spouse Designated Eligible Beneficiary
  4. The beneficiary is a non-spouse Designated Eligible Beneficiary but chose to use the standard RMD method.

This calculator is not designed for the additional RMD options that are available to non-spouse Designated Eligible Beneficiaries for years 2020 and after. However, non-spouse Eligible Designated Beneficiaries can choose to use the standard RMD calculations. Using the additional RMD options available to them is a choice made when the account is inherited, it is not a requirement. Non-spouse Eligible Designated Beneficiaries include a child of the account owner that is under age 21 or are permanently disabled or are chronically ill. A child, once they reach 21, is no longer considered an Eligible Designated Beneficiary and the 10-year distribution rule will apply starting in the year they turn 21. For more information please see Modification of Required Distribution Rules for Designated Beneficiaries.

This calculator has been updated for SECURE 2.0 of 2022, the SECURE Act of 2019, the CARES Act of 2020 and IRS Notices through December 31st, 2025. Future IRS notices, updated rules and procedures may have an impact on enforcement and interpretation of these Acts and notices.

Life expectancy calculations

The SECURE Act of 2019 new RMD rules are used when an account owner dies after 12/31/2019. The pre-SECURE Act rules apply for account owners who died on or before 12/31/2019.

The pre-SECURE Act RMD calculations are used if the beneficiary is 10 or less years younger than the original account owner or an if the beneficiary is classified as an Eligible Designated Beneficiary.

The SECURE Act of 2019 doesn't change a spouse's option to treat inherited account as his or her own. In this case, no distributions are required until the year in which the spouse reaches age 75 (or 70 1/2 if you were born before 7/1/1949, 72 if you were born 7/1/1949 to 12/31/1951, 73 if you were born 1/1/1951 to 1/1/1960). This calculator assumes that a spouse will wish to treat an inherited IRA as their own.

If the account owner was younger than the beneficiary, and it was past the required begin date for required minimum distributions when the account owner died, the beneficiary can choose to use the account owner's life expectancy to calculate Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). In this special case, the result will always produce a lower RMD. If this situation occurs, this calculator will use the account owner's age to determine the applicable life expectancy when calculating RMDs.

When using the 10-year rule, the IRS requires a beneficiary to withdraw an RMD for year 1 through 9 if the original account owner had already begun taking RMDs themselves. The remainder is required to be withdrawn in its entirety in year 10.

Year of RMD
The year to calculate the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). This is typically the current year. Change the year to calculate a previous year's RMD.
Amount Subject to RMD
This is the fair market value of your account as of the close of business on December 31st of the prior year.
Owner birthdate
Enter the original account owner's birthdate.
Beneficiary birthdate
Enter the beneficiary's birthdate. This is used for calculating life expectancy. For spousal beneficiaries this is used to lookup your annual life expectancy at year. Non-spousal RMDs not subject to the SECURE Act use this to calculate the life expectancy of the beneficiary.
Owner dies
Enter the date that the original account owner died.
Is account owner beneficiary's spouse?
If the original account owner was your spouse, and you were the sole beneficiary, then you have the ability to treat the inherited account as if it were your own. This is the most flexible and usually the best choice for this type of beneficiary. This calculator assumes that this is an option you would like to take. If you check this box, normal account owner distribution rules apply, including, but not limited to, minimum distributions not being required until you reach age 75 (or 70 1/2 if you were born before 7/1/1949, 72 if you were born 7/1/1949 to 12/31/1951, 73 if you were born 1/1/1951 to 1/1/1960).