Future RMD & Roth Conversion Impact Calculator

A required minimum distribution, commonly called an RMD, is generally calculated by dividing the applicable prior December 31 retirement-account balance by an IRS life-expectancy factor. The factor depends on the account owner’s age and, in a limited spouse situation, the ages of both spouses. Because the denominator usually gets smaller as age increases, the percentage of the account represented by an RMD generally rises over time. [1]

This calculator applies that relationship once per modeled calendar year. The year’s beginning pre-tax balance represents the prior year-end amount. If the calendar year is at or after the selected RMD start year, the model divides that balance by the applicable factor. The projected RMD is then capped at the available pre-tax balance so the projection cannot create a negative account.

Future RMD estimates depend heavily on future balances. A constant return, additional contributions, withdrawals, fees, and market experience can all change the balance that reaches December 31. The projection therefore shows an internally consistent illustration, not an official future distribution amount. An actual RMD must be calculated from the applicable account values, beneficiary facts, plan terms, and law in effect for that year.

A modeled Roth conversion moves an amount from the pre-tax side of this illustration to the Roth side. That movement leaves less money in the modeled pre-tax balance. If the future pre-tax balance is lower when an RMD is calculated, dividing it by the same IRS factor may produce a lower projected RMD. The calculator compares that path with a no-conversion path using the same starting balances, return, contributions, RMD start, and ending age.

A lower projected RMD is not the same thing as tax savings or a better financial outcome. The taxable portion of a conversion generally creates ordinary income in the year of conversion, while the possible RMD difference occurs later. This tool does not calculate conversion tax, tax brackets, Medicare IRMAA, Social Security taxation, state tax, cash available to pay tax, or the time value of those payments. Review how Roth conversions are taxed and use the separate tax-bracket and IRMAA calculator for those distinct questions.

The model applies an RMD before a conversion whenever both occur in the same year. That order matters because the required amount is not eligible for rollover and does not count as a Roth conversion. Only the remaining eligible pre-tax balance can be moved in the modeled schedule. [1] The RMD and Roth conversion sequence guide explains the distinction in more detail.

The calculator uses a versioned modeling default rather than one age for everyone. It models age 73 for an owner born from 1951 through 1959 and age 75 for an owner born in 1960 or later. Because the federal applicable-age language overlaps for a 1959 birth year, the tool visibly flags that cohort for review; age 73 is an owner-selected modeling convention here, not an official determination. A person born before 1951 receives a separate review warning because earlier beginning-age rules may already apply. The manual start-year control is available for either situation, a qualifying employer-plan exception, or another fact that the simplified default cannot determine. [4]

Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs generally do not use the still-working exception. An employer plan may permit a later start for a participant who remains employed, but plan terms and ownership status can affect that treatment. Combining an IRA and a current-employer plan into one input can therefore apply one selected start year to balances that actually follow different rules. The calculator warns users to include only balances they intend to model under the same start assumption. [5]

A manual override is a modeling choice, not an official determination. Confirm the required beginning date for each account before relying on an RMD projection. The broader Roth conversions before RMDs guide discusses why the years before the applicable start date may be worth reviewing.

The default is the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. It is generally used by an original owner unless the owner’s spouse is the sole beneficiary for the entire year and is more than 10 years younger. The calculator stores the official published factors through age 120 in a versioned local table; it does not scrape or estimate factors at runtime. [2]

When the user confirms the spouse conditions and supplies the spouse’s birth year, the model uses the Joint and Last Survivor Life Expectancy Table. Both ages advance for each projection year, and the matching table intersection supplies the denominator. The condition is important: simply being married or having a younger spouse does not by itself make that table applicable.

The Single Life Expectancy Table is intentionally excluded. It is commonly relevant to beneficiary and inherited-account calculations, which can depend on the owner’s date of death, beneficiary type, distribution period, and special statutory rules. This version is limited to lifetime projections for original owners and should not be used for an inherited IRA.

The amount required to be distributed for a year is not eligible for rollover, so the RMD itself cannot be converted. A person may be able to complete a separate Roth conversion after satisfying the year’s RMD, subject to account eligibility, plan procedures, and remaining balance. The calculator reflects this rule mechanically: it calculates and subtracts the RMD first, then caps the modeled conversion at the eligible pre-tax amount still available.

That annual order prevents the same dollars from being shown as both a required distribution and a conversion. It does not confirm transaction eligibility or whether every custodian will sequence processing the same way. The model also assumes the full conversion reaches the Roth balance. It does not subtract federal or state withholding or estimate the tax generated by the conversion.

Federal rules may permit an owner to delay the first RMD until April 1 of the following year. Delaying does not eliminate that first distribution; it can place the first and second RMDs in the same calendar year. Two distributions in one year may affect taxable income and related calculations differently than taking the first RMD during its ordinary calendar year. [3]

This projection uses one transparent convention: the first RMD is taken by December 31 of the selected first RMD year. It does not model the April 1 delay. The simpler timing keeps annual scenario comparisons understandable and avoids suggesting that either timing choice is preferred. Someone evaluating the first-year deadline may need a separate calendar-year tax projection.

This educational projection begins in 2026 and uses the entered starting balances, selected first RMD year, selected IRS table, constant annual-return assumption, contributions, conversion schedule, and ending age. RMDs use the modeled prior year-end pre-tax balance and the selected life-expectancy factor.

The annual order is: identify beginning balances and age; calculate an RMD when due; apply the constant return; add eligible modeled contributions; subtract the RMD; then subtract a capped modeled conversion from pre-tax and add that amount to Roth. Contributions, distributions, and conversions are modeled at year end. All values are nominal dollars, and results are calculated with internal precision before display formatting.

The first RMD is assumed taken during the first RMD year. Taxes, withholding, investment volatility, future law changes, plan restrictions, fees, Social Security taxation, Medicare premiums, state taxes, and the April 1 first-year delay are excluded.