Inherited IRA RMD Calculator

Inherited IRA rules in plain English

Inherited IRA planning is one of those topics that sounds simple until real life gets involved. A beneficiary may hear that the account must be emptied in 10 years, but that headline leaves out the practical questions that matter most: whether annual required minimum distributions still apply, how taxes change between a traditional and Roth inherited IRA, and how a withdrawal pattern can affect both the remaining balance and the cash that actually reaches the beneficiary. This calculator is designed to make that conversation easier by turning those moving parts into a readable year-by-year schedule.

Under the SECURE Act, many non-spouse beneficiaries can no longer stretch withdrawals over a lifetime. Instead, the inherited account often has to be fully distributed by December 31 of the tenth year after the year of death. Some beneficiaries are treated differently, though. Surviving spouses, certain disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, minor children of the original owner, and beneficiaries who are not more than 10 years younger may have special options or additional rules. Even among non-eligible designated beneficiaries, timing can change depending on whether the original owner died before or after their required beginning date for lifetime RMDs.

That is why this page focuses on estimates rather than legal certainty. The calculator gives you a simplified planning model for a 10-year inherited IRA distribution window. You choose the balance, account type, year of death, beneficiary type, assumed investment return, tax rate, and a withdrawal strategy. The tool then shows what those assumptions imply for withdrawals, estimated taxes, after-tax cash flow, and ending balances. It is especially helpful when you want to compare the feel of a smooth annual schedule against a highly deferred plan that saves taxes today but risks a large year-10 distribution later.

If you are planning for an actual inherited account, the best way to use this calculator is not to search for a single perfect answer. Instead, run two or three plausible scenarios. For example, you might compare even withdrawals with maximum deferral, or front-loaded withdrawals with back-loaded withdrawals. When the outputs look very different, that difference is often more informative than any one number by itself. It tells you where tax timing, growth assumptions, or year-10 pressure are doing the most work.

How to use the calculator

Start with the account details. Enter the inherited IRA balance and choose whether the account is traditional or Roth. Then enter the year of the original owner’s death. The tool assumes a post-2019 planning framework and is meant for 2020-and-later inherited IRA scenarios under the SECURE Act structure. After that, select the beneficiary category that best describes the person inheriting the account. If you choose a non-eligible beneficiary or a minor child, the form also asks for the original owner’s age at death because that affects the simplified check for whether annual RMDs may apply during the 10-year window.

1. Enter the current inherited IRA balance.
2. Choose Traditional IRA or Roth IRA.
3. Enter the year of death and the beneficiary type.
4. Provide the beneficiary’s age and, when prompted, the original owner’s age at death.
5. Set an expected annual return and an estimated marginal tax rate.
6. Select a withdrawal strategy and click Calculate Distributions.

The strategy menu is where the planning tradeoffs come to life. Even annual distributions aim for a smoother path across the ten years. Maximum deferral keeps more money inside the inherited account until late in the window, which can be attractive when you value continued tax-deferred or tax-free growth, but it also raises the risk of a concentrated final withdrawal. Front-load and Back-load create deliberately uneven schedules. Minimum required is the most conservative strategy in this model: if annual RMDs are triggered, it takes only those simplified minimums during years 1 through 9 and clears out whatever remains in year 10.

After you calculate, pay attention to more than just the totals. The year-by-year table often tells the more important story. It reveals whether withdrawals are bunched into the end of the window, whether the projected balance still grows despite annual distributions, and whether a traditional IRA strategy may create a large tax estimate in one or two specific years. Those patterns are exactly what many beneficiaries want to see before they talk with a CPA, estate attorney, or financial planner.

How the model estimates withdrawals

The math here is intentionally simple enough to inspect. For each year, the calculator chooses a withdrawal based on the selected strategy. If the simplified rule says annual RMDs apply, the calculator also estimates a required minimum amount and ensures the modeled withdrawal is not lower than that minimum. Once the withdrawal is set, the remaining balance is grown by the expected annual return that you entered. That means the result should be read as an annual projection model, not as a daily market simulation or a custodian-level tax document.

The main balance relationship is shown below. It keeps the logic transparent: the prior balance is reduced by the year’s withdrawal, and the remaining amount is then multiplied by one plus the assumed annual return.

• B_t is the projected ending balance for year t.
• W_t is the withdrawal taken during year t.
• r is the expected annual return, expressed as a decimal.

The tax estimate is equally straightforward. For a traditional inherited IRA, the calculator applies your stated marginal tax rate to the taxable withdrawal amount, so the tool’s tax line is essentially an estimated marginal-rate overlay on top of the distribution schedule. For a Roth inherited IRA, the calculator sets estimated tax to zero because the purpose here is to compare timing and depletion rather than to model Roth qualification edge cases. When annual RMDs are flagged, the tool looks up the beneficiary age in a maintained IRS Single Life Expectancy table and then reduces that denominator over time to model the changing minimum distribution requirement.

The most important assumption to remember is that the model uses a single constant return. Real markets do not move in a straight line, and real tax outcomes do not come from a single flat rate. Still, a simplified framework is often exactly what you need for first-pass planning. It helps answer questions like, “How different would year 10 look if I waited?” or “Would a smoother pattern lower the size of my taxable withdrawals each year?” Those are planning questions, not auditing questions, and they are the questions this calculator is built to support.

Worked example

Imagine you inherit a $500,000 traditional IRA in 2024. You are age 45, the original owner died at age 75, and you expect the assets to earn 6% per year. You also assume your marginal tax rate is 24%. In the calculator, those assumptions create a ten-year planning window that begins in 2025 and ends in 2034. Because the original owner died after the simplified required beginning date used by this model, the calculator flags annual RMDs as required for a non-eligible designated beneficiary.

If you choose Even annual distributions, the schedule spreads withdrawals more steadily across the window, which usually produces less concentration in the later years. If you switch to Maximum deferral, the model allows most of the balance to remain invested until late in the period, subject to any required minimums along the way. That can increase the amount available to distribute in year 10, but for a traditional IRA it also means more of the tax estimate may show up in one large year. The example is useful because it mirrors the real tradeoff many beneficiaries face: smoother taxes and cash flow now versus the possibility of more tax-deferred growth if distributions are delayed.

There is no universal winner between those approaches. A beneficiary expecting unusually low income in a future year may intentionally prefer a later withdrawal pattern. A beneficiary who wants predictable after-tax cash flow may prefer the even schedule. Someone inheriting a Roth account might be more comfortable deferring because the tax estimate stays at zero in this model. The point of the example is not to tell you which strategy is always best. It is to show how the output can frame the decision in concrete, measurable terms.

How to read the results and compare strategies

When the results table appears, start with the first three columns. Start Balance is the amount available at the beginning of that year. Required RMD appears only when the simplified annual-minimum rule is triggered. Withdrawal is the actual amount the chosen strategy takes in that year, and it will never fall below the required minimum when the model says an RMD applies. The last columns then translate that withdrawal into estimated tax, after-tax cash, and the projected year-end balance.

A useful habit is to compare one “smooth” strategy with one “concentrated” strategy. If the concentrated plan produces a much larger year-10 withdrawal, ask yourself whether that is acceptable from a tax and cash-flow perspective. If the smoother plan reduces growth but gives you steadier after-tax amounts, ask whether that tradeoff better matches your real needs. The calculator cannot know your future filing status, state tax situation, Medicare thresholds, or charitable plans, but it can make those questions visible by showing where the money lands year by year.

Do I have to take something every year, or can I wait until year 10? In real life, the answer depends on the beneficiary category and sometimes on whether the original owner died before or after their required beginning date. This calculator uses a simplified rule so that you can see how the planning consequences differ. If annual RMDs are flagged, the output is telling you that the model expects a minimum yearly distribution in years 1 through 9 in addition to the year-10 deadline. Treat that flag as a planning indicator, not as a substitute for formal tax advice.

Why does the tax estimate sometimes look too high or too low? The calculator applies a single marginal rate to each taxable withdrawal from a traditional inherited IRA. That is useful for comparison, but it is not a full tax return. Real-world results can differ because of tax brackets, deductions, Social Security interactions, state taxes, filing status, IRMAA thresholds, and other income sources. If you want a more realistic planning range, rerun the same strategy at two or three different tax rates and compare how sensitive the year-by-year table is to that assumption.

How should I think about Roth inherited IRAs? Roth inherited IRAs are often tax-free when distributions are qualified, but timing still matters because the account generally must be depleted on schedule. This calculator therefore keeps the focus on withdrawal timing and projected balance depletion while setting estimated tax to zero for Roth. That makes it easier to isolate the growth-versus-timing question without pretending to resolve every Roth qualification detail.

What if the output seems too aggressive or too gentle? That usually means the assumptions are doing their job. A high return assumption makes late withdrawals easier to tolerate because more money remains invested. A low or negative return assumption makes delay less attractive because the balance is not compounding as strongly. In other words, if two strategies look almost identical, challenge the inputs. If they look dramatically different, you have identified a planning choice worth discussing with a professional.

Assumptions and limitations worth knowing

Every inherited IRA calculator needs guardrails, and this one is intentionally simple so you can understand the moving pieces. It is best used for education, rough comparisons, and pre-meeting planning rather than for filing decisions. The most important limitations are listed below so you can interpret the output responsibly.

• Educational model only: results are estimates and may not match custodian or preparer calculations.
• Constant annual return: the model does not simulate market volatility, fees, contributions, or intra-year withdrawal timing.
• Flat tax rate: the tax estimate does not calculate progressive brackets, credits, deductions, or state-specific rules.
• Life expectancy factors: the annual RMD estimate uses the maintained Single Life Expectancy table included on this page, but real accounts can still depend on custodian records, beneficiary status, missed distributions, and later IRS guidance.
• Incomplete coverage of special cases: trusts, multiple beneficiaries, successor beneficiaries, pre-2020 deaths, and certain elections can follow different rules.
• Roth nuance: the calculator assumes zero estimated tax for Roth inherited IRAs to keep the focus on distribution timing.

If your situation involves a trust, multiple inheritors, disability or chronic illness determinations, or uncertainty about the original owner’s required beginning date, use the calculator as a starting point and then confirm the actual rules with a qualified tax advisor. The value of the tool is that it helps you ask sharper questions. Instead of asking, “What do I do with this inherited IRA?” you can ask, “How different is my year-10 exposure if I smooth distributions versus defer them?” That is a much better planning conversation.