CalcStack — free, instant, no signup. The interactive calculator loads automatically.
The IRS set a floor under your patience.
Once you reach age 73 (75 if born 1960 or later), the IRS requires annual withdrawals from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s: your prior December 31 balance divided by the Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for your age. Miss it and the excise tax is 25% of the shortfall. This calculator applies the current Table III divisors — unchanged since 2022 — and shows the monthly equivalent and the penalty you're avoiding.
Retirees use it every December: the divisor shrinks every year, so the RMD percentage climbs — this shows both. Advisors use it to size Roth conversions in the gap years between retirement and age 73.
Age 73 for anyone born 1951–1959; age 75 for those born 1960 or later (SECURE 2.0). Your first RMD can be delayed to April 1 of the following year — but every later one is due December 31, so delaying the first means two taxable RMDs in one year.
25% of the amount you failed to withdraw — on a $20,000 RMD, a $5,000 tax. It drops to 10% if you correct the shortfall within the IRS correction window and file the amended return. The penalty applies per year, so catching up quickly matters.
Not for the original owner — Roth IRAs are exempt during the owner's lifetime, which is a core argument for Roth conversions in low-income years before 73. Inherited Roth IRAs do have beneficiary distribution rules (the 10-year rule). And since 2024, Roth 401(k)s are RMD-free too.