RMD Planner — The IRS's Hidden Retirement Tax Bill

Your numbers

Enter what you have today. Defaults are filled in so you can just press the button to see how it works.

1. Birth year

Sets the age your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) must begin, under the SECURE 2.0 Act.

2. Current pre-tax balance

Total of your Traditional IRA, Traditional 401(k), 403(b), and similar pre-tax accounts. Roth IRAs and (from 2024) Roth 401(k)s are not subject to RMDs for the owner, so leave them out.

3. Assumed annual growth on the account

A steady yearly return assumption. Real markets vary year to year.

4. Assumed blended income-tax rate on withdrawals

A rough average rate. Real tax is figured bracket by bracket, and large RMDs can push you into a higher bracket, so treat this as an estimate.

5. Plan-to age

How far out to project. Many people plan to age 90–95.

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Estimated first-year RMD

Estimated tax on that RMD

Estimated total lifetime tax on RMDs through age

The key insight: RMDs usually rise over the years even as the balance is drawn down — because the IRS divisor shrinks faster than your account does. The forced withdrawal, and its tax, tend to climb with age.

Your RMDs by age

Each bar/line is one year's forced withdrawal and the estimated tax on it.

Yearly RMD Yearly tax on RMD

Year-by-year detail

The entered balance is treated as the prior year-end balance for your first RMD year. Each year: RMD = balance ÷ divisor; the rest grows at your assumed rate and carries forward.

Age	Start balance	Divisor	RMD	Est. tax	End balance

What people in this situation often consider

A large pre-tax balance means larger forced withdrawals — and more tax — later in retirement. Because the IRS divisor falls every year, the same-size account can produce a bigger RMD at 80 than it did at 75.

People in this situation often look at partial Roth conversions in the lower-income years before RMDs begin, to move some money out of pre-tax accounts and spread that tax over more years rather than facing it all at once. Whether that fits depends entirely on your own brackets, income, and goals.

This is general education, not a recommendation. A conversation with a qualified tax professional about your actual numbers is the right next step before acting.

Important things this tool does not capture

!First-RMD timing. Your very first RMD can be delayed to April 1 of the year after your start-age year — but that can stack two RMDs into a single year and spike that year's tax. This tool assumes you take each RMD in its own year.
!Brackets & Medicare IRMAA. RMDs can push you into a higher tax bracket and across Medicare IRMAA income lines, so the real cost can exceed the single blended rate shown here. (A separate IRMAA tool covers that.)
!Younger spouse. The Uniform Lifetime Table assumes your spouse is not more than 10 years younger and your sole beneficiary. Otherwise a different Joint Life table applies and your RMD would be smaller.
!Pre-tax only. Roth IRAs, and from 2024 Roth 401(k)s, have no RMDs for the owner. This tool covers pre-tax accounts only.