The cases other calculators skip
Most free calculators handle one simple scenario: your own IRA, one account, standard table. Real life is messier. That is where this tool lives.
Inherited IRA? Which rules apply to you?
Answer 5 questions and get the exact regime you are under: 10-year rule with or without annual RMDs, life-expectancy stretch, 5-year rule, spousal options, or successor rules. This is the part that trips up even CPAs.
Still working past 73?
The still-working exception only covers your current employer's plan, not your IRAs or old 401(k)s. We check every account you hold and tell you which ones actually qualify.
More than one account?
IRAs aggregate. 403(b)s aggregate together. 401(k)s do not: each plan stands alone. Inherited IRAs from different people stay separate. We apply the aggregation rules across all your accounts automatically.
Worried about the penalty?
A missed RMD costs 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct it in time (generally by the end of the second following tax year, though a deficiency notice can end the window earlier). Our penalty estimator shows exactly what is at stake, and the deadline calendar keeps you ahead of it.
One tool, four starting points
Pick the situation that matches yours. The free calculator answers the confusing question (which rules apply) and handles single-account RMDs. The one-time report, now in development, computes your numbers across every account.
Free vs. One-time report
One flat price, planned. No subscription, no upsells, no advisor calling you afterward.
| Free | One-time report · $79 planned | |
|---|---|---|
| Single-account RMD calculation | ✓ | ✓ |
| RMD start-age lookup by birth year | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inherited IRA regime finder (which rules apply) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Year-by-year inherited IRA dollar schedule | ✕ | ✓ |
| Multi-account aggregation | ✕ | ✓ |
| Missed-RMD penalty estimator | ✕ | ✓ |
| Roth conversion & QCD modeling | ✕ | ✓ |
| One-page PDF report for your CPA | ✕ | ✓ |
Free tells you which rules apply to you: the confusing part. The one-time report computes your numbers across every account and hands you a printable review: the part where a 25% penalty is on the line. It isn't on sale yet: $79 is the working test price, and the waitlist in the calculator's Report tab is how we decide whether it's worth building.
Questions people actually ask
Straight answers, no jargon where plain words will do.
At what age do RMDs start?
It depends on your birth date: before July 1, 1949, age 70½; July 1949 through Dec 1950, age 72; Jan 1951 through Dec 1959, age 73; after Dec 1959, age 75. These brackets come from the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0. One wrinkle: the IRS reserved the question for the 1959 birth year in its final regulations, so that bracket follows the proposed treatment. Worth confirming with a professional if it affects you.
I inherited an IRA. Do I have to take RMDs every year?
Maybe. It depends on whether the original owner had started RMDs, when they died, and your relationship to them. If they died in 2020 or later after starting RMDs, most non-spouse beneficiaries must take annual distributions in years 1 through 9 and empty the account by the end of year 10. Our regime finder gives you the exact answer for your situation.
I'm still working at 74. Do I owe RMDs?
The still-working exception can delay RMDs from your current employer's plan, if you own 5% or less and the plan allows it. It never covers IRAs or old employers' plans. Those still need RMDs.
Can I take all my IRA RMDs from one account?
Yes for your own traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. Calculate each, then withdraw the total from any of them. 401(k)s are different: each plan's RMD must come from that plan. Inherited IRAs from different decedents stay separate.
Why not just use Schwab's or Vanguard's calculator?
Their calculators handle a basic single-account RMD well, and Schwab even has a dedicated inherited-IRA tool. What none of them put in one place: multi-account aggregation, the full inherited-IRA decision tree, penalty modeling, and trade-off modeling, with no account needed and no sales funnel. See the side-by-side.