RMD Calculator vs RMD Forecaster

Welcome to the RMD Calculator! The US government requires persons 73 years of age or older to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from their tax-deferred retirement accounts each year based on the current RMD calculation. This app helps you calculate the RMD for different combinations of account balance and age. This app uses information sourced from the IRS but is not endorsed or certified by the IRS. This app should be used as a rough guide and for informational purposes only as the rules governing RMDs can, will, and do change. Always seek the advice of a tax professional. This app and the results therein do not constitute tax advice.

There are many web sites where you can calculate the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for next year. But what about all the future years? The IRS Distribution Period table requires a larger and larger percent of tax deferred retirement accounts be withdrawn each year. How long is your retirement account going to last? How large is your RMD going to become? The Distribution Period table was designed by the IRS to ensure the owner withdraws all the retirement account by the time they are age 120. If your retirement account is invested in the stock market and if the market goes up, the market growth will slow the account decrease. What does this mean to your future? The RMD Forecaster app gives you an idea of how RMDs and IRA/401K balances will grow and shrink in the future. Enter the current year, owner date of birth, prior end-of-year IRA/401k account balance, and the stock market rate-of-return that YOU anticipated for the future. RMD Forecaster uses the initial balance and the applicable IRS distribution period to calculate the RMD amount. It subtracts the RMD from the account balance. Then the stock market rate-of-return is used to forecast how the remaining account balance will grow during the year. This calculation is repeated each year until age 120. The rate you entered will not be correct each year so the forecast will not exactly correct. But you can get an indication of your future income by trying a lower, conservative rate of return and trying a higher, optimistic rate. Neither may be the actual future rate, but seeing the trend of future RMD amounts and account balances is helpful. The anticipated future stock market rate-of-return is a "best guess" entered by the user. The taxes due on the RMD amounts are not calculated by this app. The IRS could change the Uniform Lifetime Table and the tax laws at any time. The forecasts provided should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice. This tool is intended for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current tax laws or regulations. You should consult with a qualified tax professional or financial advisor before making any decisions based on the information provided by this tool.