Where can I download Appendix B (life‑expectancy tables) from the current IRS Publication 590‑B PDF?
Executive summary
The life‑expectancy tables labeled Appendix B are included in the official IRS Publication 590‑B PDF, which the IRS posts on its website; the current publication PDF can be downloaded directly from the IRS URL for Publication 590‑B [1][2]. Third‑party sites sometimes repost the tables, but the authoritative source is the IRS publication page and its PDF [3][2].
1. Where the Appendix B tables live in the official PDF
Appendix B — containing the three life‑expectancy tables used to calculate required minimum distributions (RMDs) — is part of Publication 590‑B, and the IRS provides that whole publication as a PDF on its site; the direct PDF link for the current publication is published by the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf (the IRS posting of the PDF is the source of the Appendix B tables) [1][2].
2. How to get the PDF from the IRS site
The simplest route is to use the Publication 590‑B entry on IRS.gov (the Publication 590‑B page) and click the PDF link to download the full document; the IRS’s page for the publication explicitly notes the life‑expectancy tables are in Appendix B of that publication [2][3]. The IRS also maintains an index of forms and publications where Publication 590‑B appears, and that index can be used to find current and prior‑year PDFs if needed [4].
3. Why the IRS PDF is the authoritative source
Publication 590‑B is the IRS’s official guidance on IRA distributions and explicitly states that the three different life‑expectancy tables are “found in Appendix B” and are used for computing RMD denominators [2]. Because tax rules change and tables are updated for effective years, relying on the IRS PDF avoids transcription errors or outdated copies that third parties may circulate [2][5].
4. Alternatives and third‑party copies — useful but check dates
Several financial firms and annuity sites mirror or extract the Appendix B tables for convenience — for example, Morgan Stanley and independent sites have posted single‑life expectancy tables that cite Publication 590‑B as their source [6][7]. These copies can be useful for quick reference, but they may not reflect the most current IRS update or the specific table revisions that apply to a particular tax year, so confirm against the IRS PDF [2][6].
5. Practical tip: matching the table to the tax year
Publication 590‑B explains there are three tables and that you use the table and column corresponding to the applicable year and age to figure an RMD; the publication text points readers to Appendix B for the appropriate denominator for a given year [2]. Drafts for future years (for example, draft 2025) are sometimes posted as DRAFT PDFs by the IRS but those drafts are labeled accordingly and should not be used as final authority until the IRS finalizes the publication [5].
6. If the PDF link changes or the file won’t open
If the direct PDF link does not load, use the IRS Publication 590‑B landing page or the IRS forms and publications index to locate the current PDF; the IRS site includes instructions for downloading current and prior‑year publications and troubleshooting PDF opening [4][3]. For historical tables, the IRS also keeps prior‑year Publication 590‑B PDFs in its “prior” directory, which can be useful when computing RMDs for past years [8][9].