Use the prior year-end balance
The current RMD generally divides the retirement account’s value at the previous December 31 by the applicable IRS factor.
Required distribution and retirement-account drawdown
Calculate this year’s minimum and follow what happens afterward
Aggregate retirement balances, select the IRS Uniform Lifetime or a custom factor, estimate QCD and tax effects, test a shortfall, and project future RMDs and balances.
Plan with context
A required minimum distribution is an annual tax-and-cash-flow obligation, not a one-time percentage.
Each year’s minimum starts with the prior December 31 balance and the applicable life-expectancy factor, then interacts with charitable giving, spending, tax brackets, investment returns, and account-specific aggregation rules.
The factor changes annually
Uniform Lifetime Table denominators decline with age, so the required percentage tends to rise even as the account balance changes.
The first deadline is unusual
An owner may delay the first RMD until April 1 of the following year, but that can place two taxable distributions in one calendar year.
QCDs can satisfy the minimum
An eligible qualified charitable distribution can count toward the RMD while potentially excluding the qualifying amount from income.
Accounts do not all aggregate alike
Traditional IRA RMDs may be aggregated under specific rules, while employer plans commonly require separate calculations and withdrawals.
A shortfall can trigger excise tax
A missed amount may face a 25% excise tax, potentially reduced to 10% when corrected within the statutory correction window.
Included
IRS Uniform Lifetime factors through age 120+, custom first-year factor, three balance groups, return, QCD, extra withdrawal, effective tax, inflation, amount already taken, shortfall tax scenarios, chart, and multi-year ledger.
Not included
Inherited-account classification, full Joint Life Table lookup, first-year deadline optimization, account-level aggregation compliance, Roth owner exclusions, plan-specific delays, prior-year adjustments, tax brackets, Medicare IRMAA, or state tax.
Use it well
Confirm every December 31 statement, use the correct IRS table for the beneficiary relationship, calculate employer-plan obligations separately, and complete charitable transfers directly from the custodian.