WHAT IS THE 2026 RMD LIFE EXPECTANCY?
Executive summary
The "2026 RMD life expectancy" refers not to a single number but to the distribution-period factors in the IRS life-expectancy tables used to compute required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2026; most account owners use the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, while beneficiaries or certain spouses use the Single or Joint-and-Last-Survivor tables (Publication 590‑B, Appendix B) [1]. For a concrete anchor: the commonly cited 2026 divisor for someone age 73 is 26.5 years (RMD ≈ 1/26.5 ≈ 3.77% of the prior‑year balance), a figure used across IRA calculators and advisor guides [2] [3].
1. What the phrase means and where the numbers come from
"RMD life expectancy" is the IRS’s distribution-period factor—the denominator retirees use to divide their prior‑year December 31 account balance to arrive at the RMD—and those factors for 2026 are the entries in the life‑expectancy Tables found in IRS Publication 590‑B, Appendix B [1]. Financial firms and calculators (NerdWallet, SmartAsset, Bankrate, Schwab, FINRA/NGS RMD tool) all draw from those same IRS tables to produce 2026 RMD numbers, confirming the IRS table is the authoritative source [4] [5] [6] [7] [8].
2. Which table most people use (and when it doesn’t apply)
The Uniform Lifetime Table (sometimes called the Uniform Life Expectancy Table) is the default for IRA owners and most retirement‑plan participants and supplies the distribution periods for ages used in 2026 RMD calculations [5] [6]. That table does not apply when the sole beneficiary for the entire year is a spouse more than ten years younger—those account owners must instead use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table, which generally yields a longer combined life expectancy and thus lower annual RMDs [1] [7].
3. Special cases: inherited IRAs and beneficiaries
If the account is an inherited IRA, beneficiaries generally use the Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I) rather than the Uniform Table, a rule emphasized both by the IRS and by industry guides because the calculation and timing rules differ for inherited accounts [9] [10]. Post‑2019 law changes also affect how beneficiaries must empty some inherited accounts within a 10‑year window, but the life‑expectancy table selection remains the core divisor for annual RMD calculations where applicable [8].
4. Concrete example and math for 2026
To calculate a 2026 RMD, divide the account’s fair market value as of December 31, 2025, by the distribution period from the applicable 2026 IRS table; for example, a 73‑year‑old whose situation calls for the Uniform Table uses 26.5 as the divisor, so a $200,000 balance would produce a 2026 RMD of $7,547 ($200,000 ÷ 26.5), a method echoed by calculators and guides [3] [2] [4]. Firms stress that delaying a first RMD into the next year can force two distributions in one calendar year, a tax consequence to weigh before using the April 1 first‑RMD grace [11].
5. Where reporting can mislead and what’s left unsaid
Many consumer articles simplify "the 2026 RMD life expectancy" to a single age example (often age 73 = 26.5) and omit the fact there are three different IRS tables with different divisors depending on beneficiary status; readers who assume one universal number risk miscalculating their RMD [5] [1]. The sources provided do not include the full Appendix B table text here, so this report cannot reproduce the entire matrix of age‑by‑age divisors for 2026—users must consult IRS Publication 590‑B Appendix B or trusted calculators to get the exact divisor for their age and situation [1] [7].