Retirement Calculators
RMD Estimator
Your prior year-end balance divided by a published IRS life expectancy factor.
Enter your account's prior year-end balance and your age this year to estimate your required minimum distribution using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, the table that applies to most account owners. A second calculator below estimates the excise tax on a missed or short RMD.
Direct Answer
This estimator looks up the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age you enter and divides your prior year-end balance by it, giving the amount you would need to withdraw this year to satisfy the required minimum distribution for that account. It also shows the excise tax that applies to a missed RMD. It does not connect to any account and does not replace the RMD figure your custodian calculates and reports, which is the one that actually governs your distribution.
How Is My RMD Calculated?
Divide your account's prior year-end balance by the life expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age. That table covers most account owners; a different, more favorable table applies only when your sole primary beneficiary is your spouse and that spouse is more than 10 years younger than you.
RMD Estimator
This is an educational estimate under the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, for education only. Not personalized tax advice, and not a substitute for your account custodian's own RMD calculation.
Enter your account's prior year-end balance and your age this year.
All calculation happens locally in your browser. No values are sent to any server or captured in analytics.
What This Estimator Does
It looks up the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for the age you enter, then divides your entered balance by that factor. The result is the estimated dollar amount you would need to withdraw from that account this year to satisfy the RMD requirement, exactly as described in Swoopr's Required Minimum Distributions guide.
It does not connect to any account, does not know your real balance, and does not replace the RMD figure your account custodian calculates and reports to you (most custodians report an estimated RMD annually, and that figure, not this tool's, is the one that governs your actual distribution requirement).
The Formula
Estimated RMD = prior year-end account balance ÷ Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age.
The Uniform Lifetime Table factor decreases as age increases, reflecting a shorter remaining life expectancy: age 73 uses a factor of 26.5, age 80 uses 20.2, age 90 uses 12.2, and so on down to a floor of 2.0 at age 120 and above. Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table III, effective for distribution calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
Worked Example
Hypothetical example, for education only.
A traditional IRA owner turns 75 this year. Their account balance on December 31 of the prior year was $400,000.
- Uniform Lifetime Table factor for age 75: 24.6
- Estimated RMD: $400,000 ÷ 24.6 = $16,260.16
- Roughly per month, if spread evenly: $1,355.01
If this owner has more than one traditional IRA, the RMD must be calculated separately for each account (each account's own balance divided by the same age-based factor), but the combined total may be withdrawn from any one or combination of those IRAs. Employer plan accounts such as a 401(k) do not share this aggregation option.
What Happens If I Miss an RMD?
The IRS imposes a 25% excise tax on the amount that should have been withdrawn but was not. SECURE 2.0 reduced this penalty from the prior 50% rate, and reduces it further, to 10%, if the shortfall is corrected within a two-year correction window.
Limitations and Edge Cases
- Uses only the Uniform Lifetime Table. It does not calculate the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table that applies when the sole primary beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger; checking that box returns a message directing you to IRS Publication 590-B, Table II, or a tax professional instead of a number.
- Does not aggregate across multiple IRAs, apply the special April 1 first-year deadline, or calculate inherited-account RMD rules, which follow different schedules.
- Treats the entered balance and age as the only inputs; it does not connect to any brokerage or custodian account.
- Figures are estimates for planning purposes only, not a substitute for your account custodian's official RMD calculation.
Privacy and Data Handling
All calculations run in your browser. Values you type into this estimator are not sent to Swoopr Investment's servers, stored, or logged; closing or reloading the page clears them. No account or sign-in is required to use this tool.
RMD Estimator FAQs
How is my RMD calculated?
Divide your account's prior year-end balance by the life expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for your age. For most account owners, that table (not the Joint Life table) applies. This estimator performs that division for you.
What happens if I miss an RMD?
The IRS imposes a 25% excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn but did not. If the shortfall is corrected within a two-year correction window, the penalty drops to 10%. This estimator's second calculator applies those rates to a shortfall amount you enter.
Does this estimator handle a spouse beneficiary more than 10 years younger?
No. When your sole primary beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger than you, the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table applies instead, which depends on both spouses' ages. This estimator does not calculate that table; check that box and it will tell you to consult IRS Publication 590-B, Table II, or a qualified tax professional instead of giving a possibly-wrong number.
Is this an official RMD calculation?
No. This is an educational estimate using the published IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, not an official calculation from the IRS or your account custodian. Your custodian's own RMD calculation, based on their records of your account balance, is the one that actually governs your distribution requirement.
References
- IRS: Publication 590-B (Distributions from IRAs): source of the Uniform Lifetime Table (Appendix B, Table III) used by this estimator.
- IRS: Retirement Topics, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): RMD start age, affected account types, and the excise tax on a missed distribution.
Results are estimates from the balance and age you enter, using the published Uniform Lifetime Table; they are a planning baseline, not an official calculation or a substitute for advice from a qualified tax professional.