Withdrawals & RMDs
An inherited IRA RMD calculator for beneficiaries who just found out
An inherited IRA RMD calculator using the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table: beneficiaries enter the balance, their type, age and years since the first RMD year to estimate this year's required distribution.
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How do you calculate an RMD on an inherited IRA?
Divide the prior year-end balance by the beneficiary's life expectancy factor from the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table. A sole spouse beneficiary looks up a new factor each year; a non-spouse beneficiary using life expectancy fixes the first-year factor and subtracts 1.0 each year. Many non-spouse beneficiaries also face the 10-year rule.
The first fall after a parent or spouse dies
Beneficiaries rarely know the rules, and the rules changed with the SECURE Act. In the first autumn after a death, custodians send letters and beneficiaries search for what they owe. They are often grieving and busy with an estate, which makes a clear estimate and a trustworthy firm valuable.
What the client types into a search box
“do I have to take money out of my inherited IRA”
How a client works through it
Enter the prior year-end balance
The inherited account's value on December 31 last year.
Choose beneficiary type
Sole spouse or non-spouse; the factor method differs.
Enter age and timing
The beneficiary's age this year and years since the first RMD year.
See the RMD
The required distribution and the life expectancy factor used.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
Balance, beneficiary type and age show the size of the inheritance and which rules may apply. A non-spouse beneficiary in peak earning years faces a ten-year window that needs planning to avoid stacking distributions in high-income years.
What does the life expectancy factor represent?
Life Expectancy Factor is the divisor from the Single Life Expectancy Table, recalculated or reduced each year depending on beneficiary type. Required Minimum Distribution is the Prior Year-End Balance divided by it.
For beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule, the account must be emptied by the end of the tenth year, and annual RMDs may also apply depending on whether the original owner had started RMDs. The calculator flags that the rules may differ.
Results shown: Required Minimum Distribution · Life Expectancy Factor · Prior Year-End Balance.
Why are inherited IRA questions high-value for firms?
The beneficiary is often a new client: an adult child inheriting from a parent who worked with a different adviser or preparer. Getting distributions right across a ten-year window, alongside the beneficiary's own income, is meaningful tax planning.
Advisers have an asset-retention reason too: inherited accounts are often moved when the beneficiary finds a firm they trust.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Confirm which distribution rules apply to this beneficiary
- Plan distributions across the ten-year window around other income
- Set up the inherited account correctly titled
- Check for a missed RMD from the year of death
What this calculator leaves out
- Does not determine whether the 10-year rule applies.
- Eligible designated beneficiary categories (minor children, disabled, chronically ill) are not evaluated.
- Trusts as beneficiaries are not modeled.
- Inherited Roth IRA rules are not covered.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only, using the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Pub. 590-B, post-2021). A sole spouse beneficiary re-enters the table each year; a non-spouse beneficiary fixes the first-year factor and subtracts 1.0 each later year. Beneficiaries subject to the SECURE Act 10-year rule may differ. Confirm with a tax advisor.
Compliance note for firms
Inherited IRA rules are among the most error-prone in retirement tax. Advice on which rule applies is written advice under Circular 230 §10.37 and depends on the original owner's age, the beneficiary category and account documents. Treat the estimate as a starting point only.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
2026 figures this page relies on
| Figure | Value | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RMD starting age (SECURE 2.0) | 73 (born 1951–1959); 75 (born 1960 or later) | 2026 | IRS |
The same values drive the calculator. Full list on the 2026 figures page.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- Required minimum distribution (RMD)
- The smallest amount the IRS requires a beneficiary to withdraw from an inherited IRA for the year. This calculator divides the prior year-end balance by the applicable life expectancy factor. Withdrawing more is allowed; withdrawing less can trigger an IRS excise tax on the shortfall. Withdrawals from a traditional inherited IRA are generally taxable income.
- Inherited IRA
- An individual retirement account that passes to a beneficiary after the original owner dies. The beneficiary cannot add new contributions, and withdrawals follow beneficiary rules rather than the owner’s own schedule. Which rule applies depends on the beneficiary’s relationship to the owner and on when the owner died, which is why this calculator asks for the beneficiary type.
- Life expectancy factor
- The divisor used to calculate the RMD, taken from the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table. A larger factor means a smaller required withdrawal. In this calculator, a sole spouse beneficiary looks up a new factor each year, while other beneficiaries fix their first-year factor and subtract 1.0 for each later year.
- Single Life Expectancy Table
- The IRS table, published in Publication 590-B and updated for years after 2021, that lists a life expectancy factor for each age. Beneficiaries of inherited IRAs use it instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table that account owners use. This calculator reads the factor for the beneficiary’s age at the end of the distribution year.
- Prior year-end balance
- The value of the inherited IRA on December 31 of the year before the distribution year. It is the numerator in the RMD formula, so this year’s requirement is fixed by last year’s closing value, not by today’s balance. Your custodian’s year-end statement is the usual source for this figure.
- Spouse beneficiary
- A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary of the inherited IRA. For RMD purposes, a sole spouse beneficiary re-enters the Single Life Expectancy Table each year at their current age, which usually produces a smaller required withdrawal than the fixed-factor method. A spouse may also have other options, such as treating the account as their own.
In our glossary: Required minimum distribution · Ten-year rule
Inherited IRA RMD calculator: questions from firms and clients
What is the 10-year rule?
Most non-spouse beneficiaries of owners who died after 2019 must empty the inherited account by the end of the tenth year after death.
Do I need annual RMDs under the 10-year rule?
If the original owner had begun RMDs, annual distributions are generally required too. The firm should confirm.
What can a surviving spouse do?
Treat the IRA as their own, or remain a beneficiary. Each has different RMD timing.
Who is an eligible designated beneficiary?
Spouses, minor children of the owner, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and people not more than ten years younger than the owner.
What if the owner missed their final RMD?
The beneficiary generally must take it by year-end. Check with the firm promptly.
Does this cover inherited Roth IRAs?
No. Inherited Roth accounts have their own rules.
When do owner RMDs start?
For owners, at 73 (born 1951–1959); 75 (born 1960 or later)2026 · IRS. See the owner RMD calculator.
Which plan includes it?
Network. See pricing.
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