Inherited IRA RMD Calculator (Non-Spouse)

This inherited IRA RMD calculator models the SECURE Act's 10-year rule for non-spouse beneficiaries — whether you owe annual withdrawals along the way, and what has to happen by year 10.

Worked example (the defaults): a $500,000 inherited IRA, beneficiary age 50, where the original owner died on or after their Required Beginning Date, growing at 5% annually. Year 1 requires a withdrawal of $13,812 — the balance divided by the Single Life Table divisor for age 50 (36.2). Because the account grows faster than the shrinking-divisor withdrawal shrinks it, the required withdrawal actually grows each year: by Year 9 it's up to $20,407. Whatever remains — $582,819 in this example — must come out entirely by the end of Year 10.

Whether annual withdrawals are required in years 1–9 hinges entirely on one fact: had the original owner already reached their RMD age when they died. If not, no annual withdrawal is required in years 1–9 — you can leave it invested and simply empty the account by year 10, on your own schedule. To see what the account balance itself would grow to under different assumptions, run it through the Retirement Planner.

Per IRS guidance and the 2024 final regulations (T.D. 10001), most non-spouse designated beneficiaries who inherit in 2020 or later fall into one of two tracks:

• Owner died on or after their Required Beginning Date: you must take annual RMDs in years 1-9, using the Single Life Table divisor for your age in the year after death, reduced by 1.0 each subsequent year — then empty whatever remains in year 10.
• Owner died before their Required Beginning Date: no annual RMD is required in years 1-9. You simply need the account fully depleted by the end of year 10.

Either way, the account must reach zero by December 31 of the tenth year following the year of death. There's no way to stretch it further for most non-spouse beneficiaries — the old "stretch IRA" strategy of withdrawing over your own full life expectancy was eliminated by the SECURE Act for most beneficiaries inheriting in 2020 or later.

The 10-year rule applies to "non-eligible designated beneficiaries" — typically adult children and other individuals more than 10 years younger than the original owner. A separate category, eligible designated beneficiaries (surviving spouses, minor children of the owner until they reach majority, disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and beneficiaries not more than 10 years younger than the owner), can generally still stretch distributions over their own life expectancy instead of the 10-year window. If you're a surviving spouse, this calculator doesn't apply to you — spouses have additional options, including treating the IRA as their own.

Missed required withdrawals inside the 10-year window carry the same 25% excise tax as owner RMDs (10% if corrected within two years), so if annual withdrawals are required in your situation, treat those deadlines the same way you would your own RMDs.

This inherited IRA RMD calculator models the SECURE Act 10-year depletion rule for non-spouse designated beneficiaries — the most common category of inherited IRA recipients. If you inherited a traditional IRA (or a 401k, 403b, or SEP-IRA that operates under the same rules), enter your age in the year after the owner's death, the account balance, and whether the owner died on or after their Required Beginning Date. The calculator shows your required withdrawal for each of the 10 years, with or without annual RMDs depending on the owner's status.

The rules split into two paths based on whether the original owner had passed their Required Beginning Date (RBD) — the April 1 deadline following the year they turned 73 (or 75 if born 1960+):

• Owner died AFTER their RBD: You owe annual RMDs in years 1–9, calculated using your Single Life Expectancy factor in the year after the owner's death, then reduced by 1.0 each year. You must also deplete the entire remaining balance by end of year 10.
• Owner died BEFORE their RBD: No annual RMDs are required in years 1–9. You simply must deplete the entire account by end of year 10.

Worked example: You inherit a $500,000 IRA at age 50. The original owner died after their Required Beginning Date. Your Single Life Table factor at age 50 is 36.2. Year 1 RMD: $500,000 ÷ 36.2 = $13,812. Year 2 (assuming 5% growth): remaining balance ≈ $510,090 ÷ 35.2 = $14,503. Annual RMDs rise modestly as the divisor shrinks, with the remainder — likely substantial — due by year 10.

The most costly mistake non-spouse beneficiaries make is waiting until year 10 to withdraw everything. Concentrating $400,000–$600,000 of distributions into a single tax year frequently pushes the beneficiary into the 32% or 35% federal bracket. The Inherited IRA RMD guide covers the spread-across-years strategy in detail.

Inherited IRA RMDs use a different table than account owners — the Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I) from IRS Publication 590-B, not the Uniform Lifetime Table used for your own accounts. The starting factor is based on the beneficiary's age in the year after the owner's death, and then reduced by exactly 1.0 each year.

All factors above are verified against the IRS Single Life Expectancy Table in Publication 590-B (effective 2022, updated under final Treasury Regulation §1.401(a)(9)-9). Younger beneficiaries get a higher starting factor — meaning a smaller first-year RMD — but must still empty the account by year 10 regardless. The $500,000 examples above assume the original owner died on or after their Required Beginning Date, so annual RMDs apply in years 1–9. See our standard RMD Calculator for account owners.

This calculator is built for non-spouse designated beneficiaries — adult children, siblings, and other individuals. If you are the surviving spouse, you have options not modeled here:

• Roll it into your own IRA — treat the inherited balance as your own, delay RMDs until your own age 73 or 75, and use the Uniform Lifetime Table. Usually the best option for younger surviving spouses.
• Remain a beneficiary — keep the IRA as an inherited IRA and take distributions over your own life expectancy (stretch IRA rules still apply to surviving spouses). Useful if you need access before 59½ without the 10% penalty.
• Keep it as-is temporarily — some spouses wait to decide until they see how taxes and Social Security interact.

Non-spouse beneficiaries generally must follow the 10-year depletion rule established by the SECURE Act, per IRS guidance on RMDs for IRA beneficiaries. The exception is "eligible designated beneficiaries" — minor children of the owner, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries not more than 10 years younger than the owner — who can still stretch distributions over their own life expectancy.

If the owner died on or after their required beginning date and you are older than the owner was, the IRS lets you use the owner's remaining life expectancy instead of your own when that gives a longer period (Publication 590-B). This calculator always uses your own single life expectancy, so in that case it overstates the annual RMD.