Bureau of Wealth

Retirement Withdrawal Calculator: Taxes and RMDs

By the Bureau of Wealth team Updated

This calculator is general information, not financial advice. Check your own figures with the provider or a qualified adviser before acting on them.

Enter your balance, birth year and the yearly amount you want to withdraw to see the federal tax on it, when RMDs start, and roughly when the money runs out.

Using 2026 rates rates checked 14 September 2026

Account type

In today’s dollars. It rises with inflation each year.

Pensions, wages or the taxable part of Social Security.

Check the highlighted fields to see your results.

What this calculator assumes

  • Each year's withdrawal is taken at the start of the year and rises with the inflation rate you enter. The rest grows at the same steady return every year, so a market fall early in retirement is not shown.
  • Only federal income tax is included, using the 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status, held at today's figures. The extra standard deduction for age 65 and over is not included, and neither are state or local taxes.
  • Every dollar withdrawn from a traditional account is taxed as ordinary income, with no after-tax basis. The 10% additional tax that generally applies to withdrawals before age 59½ is not included.
  • Roth withdrawals are treated as qualified distributions, so they are tax-free and have no required minimum distributions during your lifetime.
  • Required minimum distributions use the Uniform Lifetime Table on a single account. Your age each year is the age you reach on your birthday that year, which is how Publication 590-B counts it.

You might also want to check

  • Social Security Calculator

    Social Security is often the other income your withdrawals are taxed on top of, so estimate your benefit before setting a withdrawal amount.

  • Retirement Savings Calculator

    Not retired yet? Project how large your 401(k) or IRA balance could be by the time you start withdrawing.

How the calculator works

The calculator follows your account year by year. At the start of each year it takes out the amount you asked for, raised by inflation, works out the federal tax, and grows what is left at your chosen return after fees. It stops when the money runs out or when it reaches the age you plan to.

For a traditional 401(k) or IRA, tax is worked out on the withdrawal stacked on top of your other taxable income, such as a pension, wages or the taxable part of Social Security. It taxes your other income after the standard deduction, then your other income plus the withdrawal, and the difference is the tax on the withdrawal. Roth withdrawals are not taxed.

A worked example

Say you were born in 1959, so you are 67 in 2026, and have $800,000 in a traditional IRA. You want $40,000 a year, have $24,000 of other taxable income, file as single, and assume a 5% return and 2.5% inflation.

Your other income minus the $16,100 standard deduction leaves $7,900 of taxable income. Adding the $40,000 withdrawal brings that to $47,900, which reaches the 12% bracket, so the withdrawal adds $4,710 of federal tax and you keep $35,290. At that pace the money runs out at about 93. Filing jointly with the same figures, the first year's tax falls to $3,320.

The same balance in a Roth account runs out at the same age, because the same amount comes out each year, but you keep the full $40,000.

Required minimum distributions

Traditional IRAs and workplace plans require withdrawals from a set age. Under the final IRS regulations, that age is 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1958 and 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. The law is ambiguous for people born in 1959: it gives both 73 and 75, and the IRS has proposed 73, which the calculator uses.

Each year's RMD is the account balance at the end of the previous year divided by the factor for your age in the Uniform Lifetime Table, which is 26.5 at 73. If your planned withdrawal is smaller, the calculator takes the RMD instead. For example, born in 1956 with the same $800,000 and only $20,000 a year planned, the RMD at 73 is $32,388, so that is what comes out. That plan still has about $599,761 left at the end of the plan. Missing an RMD can mean a 25% excise tax on the amount not taken, reduced to 10% if you correct it within two years.

What changes the result

The withdrawal amount and the return do most of the work. In the first example, a 3% return instead of 5% brings the end forward from about 93 to about 87. Your other income matters for tax: the more of your standard deduction and lower brackets it uses, the more each withdrawal costs.

If you have both traditional and Roth savings, run each separately to see how drawing from one first changes your tax. The IRS publishes the details in Publication 590-B, and a tax professional can help with a withdrawal order that suits your situation.

To estimate the Social Security income to enter as other income, use the Social Security calculator.

Frequently asked questions

When do I have to start taking RMDs?

The IRS says you generally have to start at 73, with the first distribution due by April 1 of the following year. If you were born in 1960 or later, the age is 75. For people born in 1959 the law is unclear, and the IRS has proposed 73.

Do Roth IRAs have required minimum distributions?

Not while the owner is alive. The same applies to designated Roth accounts in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth account are subject to the RMD rules.

Are Roth withdrawals always tax-free?

Qualified distributions are. Generally that means at least five years have passed since the first tax year you contributed to a Roth IRA, and you are 59½ or older. Payments because of disability, to a beneficiary, or for a first home up to a $10,000 lifetime limit can also qualify. The calculator assumes your withdrawals meet those conditions.

Can I withdraw more than my RMD?

Yes. The RMD is a minimum, and you can take more in any year. The calculator always takes whichever is larger, your planned withdrawal or the RMD.

Why does the calculator ignore state taxes?

State income tax rules for retirement withdrawals differ from state to state, so one set of figures would not fit everyone. Check your state's rules and set aside extra if your state taxes these withdrawals.

Sources

Figures come from institutions millions of people rely on. How we keep calculators accurate.