RMD on $1 Million at Age 73: Exactly What You Must Withdraw (2026)
The IRS table gives a precise answer: $37,735.85 in year one. Here is where that number comes from and how it grows every year after.
The Answer: $37,735.85
The required minimum distribution on a $1,000,000 traditional IRA or 401(k) at age 73 is $37,735.85 — about $3,145 per month. The math: your December 31 prior-year balance divided by 26.5, the age-73 life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (IRS Publication 590-B). That is roughly 3.77% of the account.
Because the divisor falls every year, the RMD percentage climbs even if the balance stays flat. Here is the schedule on a constant $1,000,000 balance:
| Age | IRS factor | RMD on $1,000,000 | % of balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | $37,736 | 3.77% |
| 74 | 25.5 | $39,216 | 3.92% |
| 75 | 24.6 | $40,650 | 4.07% |
| 76 | 23.7 | $42,194 | 4.22% |
| 77 | 22.9 | $43,668 | 4.37% |
| 78 | 22.0 | $45,455 | 4.55% |
| 79 | 21.1 | $47,393 | 4.74% |
| 80 | 20.2 | $49,505 | 4.95% |
Enter your own balance and age — including inherited-IRA rules — to get your exact required distribution.
Calculate your RMDThe Rules That Catch People: Deadlines, Taxes, Penalties
- The age is 73 (for now). SECURE 2.0 set the RMD start age at 73 for anyone born 1951–1959, rising to 75 for those born in 1960 or later.
- Your first RMD has a special deadline. You may delay the age-73 RMD until April 1 of the following year — but then you owe two RMDs in one tax year, which can push you into a higher bracket. Every later RMD is due December 31.
- It is all ordinary income. A $37,736 RMD stacks on top of Social Security and other income. For many retirees it is the difference between the 12% and 22% federal brackets, and it can raise Medicare IRMAA surcharges two years later.
- The penalty for missing it is 25% of the shortfall (reduced to 10% if corrected within two years) — down from the old 50%, but still among the harshest penalties in the tax code.
- Roth accounts are exempt. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs, and since 2024 Roth 401(k)s don't either — one reason Roth conversions before 73 are a common RMD-reduction strategy.
You must take the money out and pay the tax — but you can immediately reinvest it in a taxable brokerage account, use it for a qualified charitable distribution (up to $108,000 in 2026, which removes it from income entirely), or fund gifting. The common mistake is treating the RMD as the government telling you what to spend.
For inherited IRA RMD rules (which use a different, faster table), see our inherited IRA guide. To understand how RMDs fit into a broader drawdown plan, our retirement drawdown guide models year-by-year portfolio depletion at different withdrawal rates. And if Roth conversions before 73 could lower your lifetime tax bill, the tax strategy playbook covers the conversion ladder approach.
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