| Capability | Schwab | Vanguard | SmartAsset | Fidelity | RMD Answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic owner RMD (one account) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inherited IRA calculator | ✓ separate tool, beneficiary-options flow | Partial public tool; annual-RMD years unconfirmed | ✗ article only | Partial rules page, no calculator | ✓ all six regimes, one guided flow |
| Still-working exception inputs | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ explained in text | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-account aggregation rules | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Missed-RMD penalty estimator | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Roth conversion / QCD modeling | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| One-page report for your CPA | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Independent, no sales funnel | ✗ ends with "call us" | ✗ account required | ✗ advisor lead-gen | ✗ customer tool | ✓ |
| Price | Free (customer funnel) | Free (customer funnel) | Free (lead-gen) | Free (customer funnel) | Free core · $39/yr premium |
Tip: swipe sideways to see every column.
Fairness note: Schwab and Vanguard deserve credit, both have dedicated inherited-IRA calculators, and Schwab's beneficiary-options flow is genuinely useful. The gap isn't that they ignore inherited IRAs; it's that every one of these tools exists to acquire or retain their customers, none handles multiple accounts together, and none models penalties or trade-offs.
The four gaps, in plain English
1. "Which rules apply to me?" has no single answer elsewhere
Inherited IRA rules branch six ways based on relationship, date of death, the owner's RMD status, and your beneficiary category. Schwab splits this across tools, Vanguard doesn't confirm its calculator handles the new annual-RMD years, Fidelity's own tool warns its estimate is wrong for that case, and SmartAsset explains it in articles you piece together yourself. One guided flow, every regime, no account needed, that's the product.
2. Nobody models real life: multiple accounts
Everyone with a 401(k) and an IRA (which is most people) gets told to run the calculator twice and figure out aggregation themselves. IRAs aggregate, 403(b)s aggregate together, 401(k)s don't, inherited IRAs from different people don't. Getting this wrong means a missed RMD and a 25% penalty on the shortfall.
3. Nobody shows the cost of getting it wrong
Miss an RMD and the excise tax is 25% of the shortfall, 10% if you correct within two years. Not one of the big four calculators will show you that number. When the penalty is five figures on a large inherited IRA, people pay $39/year to see the math.
4. Every free calculator is a sales funnel
Schwab's pages end with "Questions? Call 800-435-4000." SmartAsset's exists to match you with advisors. That's fine, but it means the tool's job is lead generation, not your answer. An independent tool has exactly one customer: you.