IRS Pub 590 Table III: Uniform Lifetime for RMDs

The Uniform Lifetime Table in IRS Publication 590-B, labeled Table III, is what most retirement account owners use to calculate a Required Minimum Distribution. Take your account balance on December 31 of the prior year, find the distribution period factor next to the age you will reach during the current year, and divide. The quotient is the minimum you must withdraw by December 31.¹

Table III Distribution Period Factors

The factor is the divisor. A smaller factor produces a larger required withdrawal, which is why the required percentage climbs as you age.²

Age 72: 27.4
Age 73: 26.5
Age 74: 25.5
Age 75: 24.6
Age 76: 23.7
Age 77: 22.9
Age 78: 22.0
Age 79: 21.1
Age 80: 20.2
Age 81: 19.4
Age 82: 18.5
Age 83: 17.7
Age 84: 16.8
Age 85: 16.0
Age 86: 15.2
Age 87: 14.4
Age 88: 13.7
Age 89: 12.9
Age 90: 12.2
Age 91: 11.5
Age 92: 10.8
Age 93: 10.1
Age 94: 9.5
Age 95: 8.9
Age 96: 8.4
Age 97: 7.8
Age 98: 7.3
Age 99: 6.8
Age 100: 6.4
Age 101: 6.0
Age 102: 5.6
Age 103: 5.2
Age 104: 4.9
Age 105: 4.6
Age 106: 4.3
Age 107: 4.1
Age 108: 3.9
Age 109: 3.7
Age 110: 3.5
Age 111: 3.4
Age 112: 3.3
Age 113: 3.1
Age 114: 3.0
Age 115: 2.9
Age 116: 2.8
Age 117: 2.7
Age 118: 2.5
Age 119: 2.3
Age 120 and over: 2.0

At 73 you withdraw roughly 3.8% of the balance. By 85, about 6.3%. By 95, roughly 11.2%. The table builds in a hypothetical beneficiary exactly ten years younger than you, which is why the same factors work regardless of who your actual beneficiary is.

How to Do the Calculation

The math takes three steps once you have the right numbers.

Pull your prior-year-end balance. Your IRA custodian reports the fair market value of the account as of December 31 of the previous year. For a 2026 RMD, that means the December 31, 2025 balance.³
Look up the factor for the age you will reach during the distribution year, not the age you were on January 1.
Divide the balance by the factor.

A worked example. An owner turns 75 in 2026 with a Traditional IRA worth $500,000 on December 31, 2025. The Table III factor for age 75 is 24.6. $500,000 divided by 24.6 is $20,325.20. That amount has to leave the IRA by December 31, 2026.²

The RMD is a floor. You can always take more, but the excess doesn’t roll forward against next year’s obligation, and RMD dollars can’t be rolled back into another tax-advantaged account.³

When Table III Is Not the Right Table

Table III is the default, and it covers most owners.⁴ Use it if you are unmarried, if your spouse is your sole beneficiary but not more than 10 years younger, or if your spouse is not your sole beneficiary regardless of age.

There is one exception. If your sole primary beneficiary is a spouse who is more than 10 years younger, switch to Table II (the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table). Table II gives a longer factor, so the annual withdrawal comes out smaller.⁴

Table I (Single Life Expectancy) is for beneficiaries of inherited IRAs, not for original owners calculating their own RMD.⁴

Marital status is fixed as of January 1 each year. If your spouse is your beneficiary on January 1 and later dies or you divorce during the year, that year’s calculation still treats them as the beneficiary. Any change moves you to the new table the following January 1.⁵

When RMDs Start

Your first RMD is for the year you turn 73. SECURE 2.0 set that starting age effective January 1, 2023, and it rises to 75 for people who turn 73 after December 31, 2032. If you were born in 1960 or later, your starting age will be 75.³

A one-time grace period lets you delay the first RMD until April 1 of the year after the triggering year. Turn 73 in 2026, and the first RMD can wait until April 1, 2027. Watch the trap: the second RMD (for 2027) is still due December 31, 2027, so you would take two taxable distributions in a single calendar year. Most people take the first RMD in the year they turn 73 to avoid stacking income.³

If you are still working and participate in your current employer’s 401(k) or other workplace plan, RMDs from that plan can wait until the year you actually retire. The exception does not apply if you own 5% or more of the sponsoring business, and it never applies to Traditional IRAs. IRA RMDs start at 73 whether or not you are still employed.³

If You Have More Than One Account

Own several Traditional IRAs? Calculate the RMD for each account separately, then add them up. The total can come out of any one IRA or be split however you like. The IRS looks at whether the combined amount was withdrawn, not which account it left.⁶

This aggregation rule does not extend to 401(k) plans. Each 401(k) has its own RMD, and the exact amount has to come out of that specific plan. Multiple 403(b) accounts work like IRAs: sum the RMDs and pull the total from any one of them.⁶

What Happens If You Miss the RMD

Falling short triggers an excise tax of 25% on the amount you failed to withdraw. Owe an RMD of $20,000, take out $15,000, and the penalty is $1,250 on the $5,000 shortfall.⁷

The rate drops to 10% if you make up the missed distribution within a correction window that runs from the date the tax is imposed through the earliest of the IRS mailing a notice of deficiency, the IRS assessing the tax, or the last day of the second tax year after the year of the shortfall. In practice that gives most taxpayers about two years to fix it and file at the reduced rate.⁷ The excise tax is reported on Form 5329.⁴

The IRS can waive the penalty entirely if the shortfall was due to reasonable error and you are taking steps to correct it. File Form 5329 with a written explanation, enter “RC” and the amount you want waived on the dotted line next to line 54, and subtract that amount so the form shows a reduced tax due.⁸ Serious illness, a custodian error, or bad professional advice tend to be persuasive. Simple forgetfulness rarely is.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) – Appendix B
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
4
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
5
Internal Revenue Service. IRA Required Minimum Distribution Worksheet – Spouse 10 Years Younger
6
Internal Revenue Service. RMD Comparison Chart (IRAs vs. Defined Contribution Plans)
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans
8
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329