Tsp Rmd Calculator
Your traditional TSP cannot stay untouched forever. Once you reach your RMD age, the IRS requires a minimum withdrawal every year, computed from your December 31 balance and a life-expectancy factor. This TSP RMD calculator takes your birth year and traditional balance, applies the SECURE 2.0 age rules and the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, and gives you the exact required distribution.
TSP-specific rules apply: Roth TSP balances are excluded from RMDs since 2024, and still-employed federal workers can delay. If you hold IRAs alongside the TSP, our IRA drawdown calculator models those withdrawals, and the retirement income calculator shows how the RMD fits your total income.
Estimate using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Publication 590-B). The TSP auto-distributes any shortfall for separated participants; confirm deadlines with the TSP.
Quick Answer
Born in 1953, your RMD age is 73, so 2026 is your first distribution year. With a $400,000 traditional TSP balance on December 31, 2025, and the IRS factor of 26.5 at age 73, your 2026 RMD is $15,094.34 (3.77% of the balance), due by December 31, 2026.
The short version
- RMD age is 73 if you were born 1951-1959 and 75 if born 1960 or later, under SECURE 2.0.
- Roth TSP is excluded: designated Roth accounts have had no lifetime RMDs since 2024.
- Still working for the government? The still-working exception delays TSP RMDs until after separation.
- Missing an RMD costs 25% of the shortfall (10% if corrected quickly). The TSP auto-distributes shortfalls for separated participants.
Worked example, run through the real tool
Pre-filled values: born 1953, distribution year 2026, traditional balance $400,000, Roth $50,000, separated.
Step 1: RMD age for 1953 = 73; 2026 – 1953 = 73, so this is the first RMD year. Step 2: Uniform Lifetime Table factor at 73 = 26.5. Step 3: $400,000 / 26.5 = $15,094.34. Step 4: share of balance = 1/26.5 = 3.77%. The $50,000 Roth balance is excluded entirely. Press Calculate to reproduce every figure.
The Uniform Lifetime Table (what the tool uses)
Your RMD is last year’s December 31 balance divided by the factor for the age you reach in the distribution year. The factor shrinks as you age, so the required percentage climbs:
| Age | Factor | % of balance | Age | Factor | % of balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% | 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% |
| 74 | 25.5 | 3.92% | 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% | 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% |
| 76 | 23.7 | 4.22% | 95 | 8.9 | 11.24% |
The full table runs from age 72 (27.4) to 115+ (3.7) and is built into the calculator. These are the 2022-table factors from IRS Publication 590-B, still current.
The first-RMD timing trap
Your first RMD may wait until April 1 of the following year. Every RMD after that is due December 31. Taking the first one late means two taxable distributions land in the same year: the prior year’s RMD plus the current year’s. On a $400,000 balance that can easily push you into a higher bracket or raise Medicare IRMAA premiums.
Most retirees are better off taking the first RMD by December 31 of the first year, spreading the tax across two calendar years. The tool flags the April 1 option whenever it applies so the choice is deliberate, not accidental.
The Roth change that rewrote TSP planning
Before 2024, Roth TSP balances were included in RMDs, forcing tax-free money out for no reason. Since tax year 2024, designated Roth accounts are exempt from lifetime RMDs, and the TSP excludes Roth money from its calculation. That quietly killed the old advice to roll Roth TSP into a Roth IRA just to dodge RMDs: the Roth TSP can now sit untouched for life.
What still counts: every dollar of traditional (tax-deferred) balance, including the agency automatic and matching contributions, which all land in the traditional side. If you are weighing a Roth conversion to shrink future RMDs, our 401(k) withdrawal calculator models the tax side, and the full retirement age calculator pins down your Social Security timing alongside.
What competing calculators miss
Generic RMD tools (calculator.net, the various rmdcalculator sites) ask for your age and balance and divide. They never ask your birth year, so they cannot tell a 73-year-old born in 1952 (RMDs already due) from one born in 1953 (first year now). They include Roth balances by default, and none of them knows the TSP’s still-working exception or its auto-distribution rule.
This page starts from birth year, applies the SECURE 2.0 age bands (73 for 1951-1959, 75 for 1960+), excludes Roth TSP money explicitly, handles the still-employed federal worker, and warns about the April 1 double-up trap. It is an RMD calculator that knows what the TSP actually is.
Frequently asked questions
73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, 75 if born in 1960 or later, under SECURE 2.0. If you are still employed by the federal government, RMDs wait until after you separate from service.
Your traditional TSP balance on December 31 of the prior year, divided by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age. At 73 the factor is 26.5, so a $400,000 balance requires $15,094.34.
No. Designated Roth accounts have been exempt from lifetime RMDs since tax year 2024, and the TSP excludes Roth money from its RMD calculation.
April 1 of the year after your first distribution year. Every later RMD is due December 31. Delaying the first one bunches two taxable distributions into one year, so most people take it by December 31 instead.
The penalty is 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if corrected promptly. For separated participants, the TSP automatically distributes any shortfall by the deadline, but you should not rely on the default timing or withholding.
Yes. Monthly installments and other withdrawals during the year generally count toward the RMD; only distributions from the traditional balance count, and the total must reach the required amount by December 31.
The IRS joint table would lower the RMD when a spouse more than 10 years younger is the sole beneficiary, but the TSP’s automatic calculation still uses the Uniform Lifetime Table. You can compute the smaller figure yourself, but the TSP will distribute per its own math.
Yes. Traditional TSP distributions, including RMDs, are taxed as ordinary income in the year received. The TSP withholds federal tax by default; adjust withholding if your bracket demands it.
Yes. The RMD is a floor, not a ceiling. Extra withdrawals are taxed the same way; they just do not reduce any future year’s RMD below its own computed minimum.
References
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)." IRS: Publication 590-B (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Internal Revenue Service. "Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distribution FAQs." IRS: Required Minimum Distribution FAQs (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. "26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9 - Life expectancy and distribution period tables." Cornell LII: 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9 (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. "26 U.S. Code Section 401(a)(9) - Required distributions." Cornell LII: 26 U.S.C. Section 401(a)(9) (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Thrift Savings Plan. "Withdrawals." TSP.gov: Withdrawals (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).
- Internal Revenue Service. "Topic No. 558, Tax on Early Distributions from Retirement Plans Other Than IRAs." IRS: Topic No. 558 (Accessed Oct 19, 2026).