IRS RMD Table for 2026

No — the Uniform Lifetime Table itself is not year-indexed. The current version has been in effect for every distribution year since 2022 (finalized in T.D. 9930, based on updated mortality data). When people search for the "2026 RMD table," they mean the table used to compute a 2026 distribution, not a new set of divisors. The same divisors — 26.5 at age 73, 24.6 at age 75, and so on — applied in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and keep applying until Treasury issues another revision.

Age 73, if you were born between 1951 and 1959. If you were born in 1960 or later, your RMDs don't start until age 75 — that later start age doesn't affect anyone until 2035. Your very first RMD can be delayed to April 1 of the year after you reach your start age, but doing so stacks two RMDs into that following calendar year, which usually creates a larger tax bill than just taking the first RMD on schedule.

The RMD percentage is 1 divided by your Uniform Lifetime Table divisor. In 2026 that is 3.77% at age 73, 4.07% at 75, 4.95% at 80, 6.25% at 85, 8.20% at 90 and 11.24% at 95 of your prior December 31 balance. The percentage rises every year because the divisor shrinks as you age. The full percentage column is in the table above.

Born in 1953: you turn 73 in 2026, so 2026 is your first RMD year (divisor 26.5), and you may delay that first withdrawal to April 1, 2027. Born in 1955: your start age is 73, reached in 2028. Born in 1960 or later: your start age is 75, so your first RMD year is 2035 or later, starting at a divisor of 24.6 (4.07% of the balance).

Divide your retirement account balance as of December 31 of the prior year by the distribution period (divisor) for your age on your birthday in the distribution year, from the applicable IRS life-expectancy table. For most owners that's the Uniform Lifetime Table — a $500,000 balance at age 75 divided by the 24.6 divisor gives an RMD of $20,325 (4.07% of the balance).

No — it only delays RMDs from the 401(k), 403(b), or similar plan of your CURRENT employer, and only while you're still working past your RMD start age. It doesn't apply to IRAs, to plans from former employers, or to anyone who owns 5% or more of the sponsoring employer. Once you retire, the exception ends and that plan's RMDs become due.

Roth IRAs have never required lifetime RMDs for the original owner. Since 2024, SECURE 2.0 extended the same treatment to designated Roth accounts inside 401(k)s and 403(b)s — those no longer generate lifetime RMDs either. Inherited Roth accounts still have their own distribution deadlines (typically the 10-year rule), even though qualified distributions from them are tax-free.

A 25% excise tax under IRC §4974 on the amount you should have withdrawn but didn't. If you correct the shortfall within the IRS's correction window and file Form 5329, SECURE 2.0 reduces the penalty to 10%. First-time, reasonable-cause shortfalls can often be waived entirely by attaching a letter to Form 5329 explaining the cause and showing the missed amount has now been distributed.

It depends on account type. Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs can be aggregated — compute each account's RMD separately, then withdraw the combined total from any one (or a mix) of those IRAs. 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans cannot be aggregated with each other or with IRAs — each plan's RMD must come out of that specific plan. Inherited IRAs are their own bucket again: they aggregate only with other inherited IRAs from the same decedent, never with your own IRAs.

Use the Uniform Lifetime Table if you're the original account owner — the default for the large majority of retirees. Use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table only if your spouse is your sole beneficiary for the entire year AND is more than 10 years younger than you; it produces a smaller RMD than the Uniform Lifetime Table. Use the Single Life Table if you're a beneficiary of an inherited account eligible for stretch distributions (spouse, minor child, disabled or chronically ill, or not more than 10 years younger than the decedent).