Inherited Roth IRA RMD Calculator: Plan the 10-Year Withdrawal Period
Use this guide to understand the assumptions, inputs, results, and next steps behind the calculator.
Created by Luis Gonzalez · Last updated July 21, 2026
An inherited Roth IRA can remain invested after the owner’s death, but many beneficiaries must empty the account by a deadline. “Tax-free” describes the treatment of qualified Roth distributions; it does not mean beneficiaries can ignore distribution rules.
This calculator estimates a distribution period, compares even, deferred, and front-loaded schedules, and reports a suggested strategy and projected tax-free amount. The applicable rule depends on the beneficiary relationship, the original owner’s date of death, and whether an exception to the 10-year rule applies. Confirm the account’s qualification history and deadline with the custodian and the IRS inherited IRA guidance.
Enter the details that establish the deadline
Enter the inherited balance, beneficiary age, relationship category, owner’s year of death, expected return, and whether the Roth five-year rule has been met. The default case is a $200,000 balance inherited in 2025 by a 45-year-old non-spouse beneficiary, with a 5% expected return.
The calculator assigns this default case to the 10-Year Rule (SECURE Act). It reports 10 years remaining and a suggested strategy of Even Distribution. Relationship categories matter: a spouse and certain eligible designated beneficiaries may use a life-expectancy method, while a minor child has a transition rule. Verify the category rather than relying only on the calculator’s label.
The calculator’s “Tax-Free Amount” is a projection, not a guarantee that every withdrawal will qualify for tax-free treatment. The provided compute logic does not use the five-year-rule or other-income inputs in its schedule calculations. Check the original Roth account’s opening date and distribution history independently.
Default example: distribute over ten modeled years
With the defaults, the calculator estimates an Annual Distribution of $20,000, 10 Years Remaining, a projected Tax-Free Amount of $251,558, and a suggested strategy of Even Distribution. The first modeled year allocates $20,000 to the even schedule, $0 to the deferred schedule, and $40,000 to the front-loaded schedule.
The even first-year amount is the starting balance divided by the number of years:
Annual even distribution
Inherited balance ÷ distribution years
$200,000 ÷ 10 = $20,000
The model assumes 5% annual growth on the remaining balance. With a $20,000 withdrawal in the first year, the simplified year-end projection is:
Balance after withdrawal and growth
($200,000 - $20,000) × 1.05 = $189,000
This is a simplified illustration of the recurrence; the calculator rounds yearly values and projects through the full schedule. In the final modeled year, the even schedule distributes $31,026, the deferred schedule $103,422, and the front-loaded schedule $4,271. That difference reflects how much each schedule has withdrawn earlier and how much growth the remaining balance has earned.
| Owner’s death year | Modeled years remaining in 2026 | Beneficiary example | Planning effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | Adult child | Shorter modeled period; more pressure to distribute sooner |
| 2025 | 10 | Adult child | Default ten-year schedule |
| 2026 | 11 | Adult child | More modeled years before the deadline under the calculator’s count |
The rows illustrate the calculator’s year-count convention, not an independent legal ruling. Federal rules generally require full distribution by December 31 of the tenth year after death for many beneficiaries. Confirm the exact deadline, including how the owner’s death year is counted.
Roth qualification and beneficiary rules
A Roth IRA owner generally does not take lifetime RMDs, but beneficiaries can have post-death distribution requirements. For many designated beneficiaries of an owner who died in 2020 or later, the account must be emptied by the end of the tenth year after death. Some eligible designated beneficiaries may qualify for life-expectancy distributions instead. A minor child of the owner generally has a transition to a 10-year period after reaching majority.
Tax-free treatment depends on the Roth’s qualification requirements. The original owner generally must have held a Roth IRA for at least five tax years for earnings to be qualified. The beneficiary’s own age does not restart that period. Contributions and conversions can have different tax treatment, so confirm the account’s history and distribution details rather than treating the entire balance as automatically tax-free.
This calculator models the schedule and expected growth, but its supplied calculation does not apply the “five-year rule met” input or other-income input to the displayed schedule. Use that result as a planning projection only. For tax treatment, see the Roth IRA Tax Calculator and the Inherited IRA Tax Calculator.
Formula: projecting the inherited balance
The calculator compares three patterns. An even schedule divides the balance across the remaining years; a deferred schedule delays most withdrawals; and a front-loaded schedule takes larger distributions early. Investment growth compounds on the balance left in the account.
Even distribution in a year
Current balance ÷ years remaining
Balance after annual distribution and growth
(Current balance - distribution) × (1 + expected return)
Distribution period for the 10-year rule
Owner's year of death + 10 - current year + 1
These formulas simplify the model. Actual beneficiary rules may require different annual RMDs or a different deadline. Use the Inherited IRA RMD Calculator for inherited traditional IRA requirements and the Inherited IRA Distribution Calculator to compare withdrawal timing strategies.
Choosing even, deferred, or front-loaded withdrawals
An even schedule can make annual cash flow predictable and may reduce the risk of leaving a large balance for the final year. The tradeoff is that the account has fewer assets left invested earlier.
A deferred schedule keeps more funds invested initially but can result in a large final-year distribution. For a qualified Roth IRA, the distribution may still be tax-free, but the large withdrawal can be inconvenient and may create liquidity or investment-timing issues.
A front-loaded approach takes assets out sooner. That provides access to funds and reduces exposure to future market declines within the account, but money withdrawn earlier no longer participates in the account’s tax-advantaged growth. The best choice depends on how you plan to use or reinvest the proceeds, not only the projected account value.
Read RMD strategies to minimize the tax hit for the broader timing tradeoffs. For Roth versus traditional tax treatment, see Roth IRA vs. traditional IRA: which saves more taxes?.
Frequently asked questions
Are inherited Roth IRA distributions always tax-free?
No; qualified distributions are generally tax-free, but the Roth five-year qualification period and the type of funds distributed can matter. Verify the original account’s opening date and transaction history.
Do inherited Roth IRAs have a 10-year deadline?
Many beneficiaries of owners who died in 2020 or later must empty the account by the end of the tenth year after death. A spouse or another eligible designated beneficiary may qualify for different treatment.
Does the beneficiary have to take equal annual withdrawals?
Usually not under the 10-year rule when no annual RMD is required; the account may be distributed in varying amounts as long as it is emptied by the applicable deadline. The calculator’s even, deferred, and front-loaded schedules are planning comparisons, not mandatory schedules.
Should I leave the Roth invested until the deadline?
Leaving assets invested preserves potential tax-advantaged growth but leaves a larger amount to withdraw later and exposes the account to market risk. An even schedule trades some early growth potential for more predictable distributions.
Does the calculator determine the exact five-year status?
No; its supplied calculation does not use the five-year-rule input when projecting the schedule. Confirm the original owner’s Roth start date and the account’s qualification status with the custodian and tax records.
Does my other income affect the modeled Roth distributions?
The supplied schedule computation does not use the other-income input to determine its distribution amounts. Qualified Roth distributions generally are not included in federal taxable income, but other consequences depend on your circumstances.
Next steps
Ask the custodian to verify the original Roth start date, the owner’s date of death, beneficiary classification, and final distribution deadline. Compare schedules using realistic return assumptions, then review the account’s tax status separately. The Inherited Roth IRA RMD Calculator estimates the required timeline, while the Inherited IRA Calculator provides a broader view of inherited-account rules.