IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III), Explained

The table nearly every retirement account owner uses to calculate required minimum distributions — what it is, how to read it, and when a different IRS table applies instead.

IndependentFreeNo sign-upSources: IRS Publication 590-B

Table III, officially the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, is used by most retirement account owners to calculate their required minimum distribution. Divide your account balance on December 31 of the prior year by the "distribution period" factor for your age. At age 75, the factor is 24.6, so a $250,000 balance gives an RMD of about $10,162.60. It applies to IRA owners, and to 401(k)/403(b) owners, in every case except when a much-younger spouse is the sole beneficiary.

The full Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III)

IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III): distribution period and RMD percentage by age
Age	Distribution period (factor)	RMD as % of balance	Example RMD on $100,000
72	27.4	3.65%	$3,649.64
73	26.5	3.77%	$3,773.58
74	25.5	3.92%	$3,921.57
75	24.6	4.07%	$4,065.04
76	23.7	4.22%	$4,219.41
77	22.9	4.37%	$4,366.81
78	22.0	4.55%	$4,545.45
79	21.1	4.74%	$4,739.34
80	20.2	4.95%	$4,950.50
81	19.4	5.15%	$5,154.64
82	18.5	5.41%	$5,405.41
83	17.7	5.65%	$5,649.72
84	16.8	5.95%	$5,952.38
85	16.0	6.25%	$6,250.00
86	15.2	6.58%	$6,578.95
87	14.4	6.94%	$6,944.44
88	13.7	7.30%	$7,299.27
89	12.9	7.75%	$7,751.94
90	12.2	8.20%	$8,196.72
91	11.5	8.70%	$8,695.65
92	10.8	9.26%	$9,259.26
93	10.1	9.90%	$9,900.99
94	9.5	10.53%	$10,526.32
95	8.9	11.24%	$11,235.96
96	8.4	11.90%	$11,904.76
97	7.8	12.82%	$12,820.51
98	7.3	13.70%	$13,698.63
99	6.8	14.71%	$14,705.88
100	6.4	15.63%	$15,625.00
101	6.0	16.67%	$16,666.67
102	5.6	17.86%	$17,857.14
103	5.2	19.23%	$19,230.77
104	4.9	20.41%	$20,408.16
105	4.6	21.74%	$21,739.13
106	4.3	23.26%	$23,255.81
107	4.1	24.39%	$24,390.24
108	3.9	25.64%	$25,641.03
109	3.7	27.03%	$27,027.03
110	3.5	28.57%	$28,571.43
111	3.4	29.41%	$29,411.76
112	3.3	30.30%	$30,303.03
113	3.1	32.26%	$32,258.06
114	3.0	33.33%	$33,333.33
115	2.9	34.48%	$34,482.76
116	2.8	35.71%	$35,714.29
117	2.7	37.04%	$37,037.04
118	2.5	40.00%	$40,000.00
119	2.3	43.48%	$43,478.26
120	2.0	50.00%	$50,000.00

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The three IRS life-expectancy tables and when each applies

IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B contains three separate tables. Which one applies depends on whether you're the account owner and, if so, who your beneficiary is:

Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table (most owners)

This is the table above. Use it if you're the original account owner and either you have no designated beneficiary, your beneficiary isn't your spouse, or your spouse is your sole beneficiary but not more than 10 years younger than you. This covers the large majority of RMD calculations.

Table II — Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy

Use this table only if your spouse is your sole beneficiary for the entire distribution yearand is more than 10 years younger than you. Because it factors in both spouses' life expectancies, Table II produces a larger divisor — and therefore a smaller RMD — than Table III would for the same owner age. The table is indexed by both spouses' ages, which makes it a large two-dimensional matrix; rather than risk transcribing it incorrectly, we point you to the authoritative source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Table II (irs.gov).

Table I — Single Life Expectancy (beneficiaries)

This table is for beneficiaries of an inherited account, not the original owner — for example, a surviving spouse who elects to treat the account as inherited, or an eligible designated beneficiary taking "stretch" distributions. Unlike Table III, Table I is looked up fresh each year using the beneficiary's current age (or, for the 10-year-rule "reduce by one" method, reduced by one for each year since the initial lookup).

Show the full Single Life Expectancy table (Table I)

IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I): factor by age
Age	Life expectancy factor
0	84.6
1	83.7
2	82.8
3	81.8
4	80.8
5	79.8
6	78.8
7	77.9
8	76.9
9	75.9
10	74.9
11	73.9
12	72.9
13	71.9
14	70.9
15	69.9
16	69.0
17	68.0
18	67.0
19	66.0
20	65.0
21	64.1
22	63.1
23	62.1
24	61.1
25	60.2
26	59.2
27	58.2
28	57.3
29	56.3
30	55.3
31	54.4
32	53.4
33	52.5
34	51.5
35	50.5
36	49.6
37	48.6
38	47.7
39	46.7
40	45.7
41	44.8
42	43.8
43	42.9
44	41.9
45	41.0
46	40.0
47	39.0
48	38.1
49	37.1
50	36.2
51	35.3
52	34.3
53	33.4
54	32.5
55	31.6
56	30.6
57	29.8
58	28.9
59	28.0
60	27.1
61	26.2
62	25.4
63	24.5
64	23.7
65	22.9
66	22.0
67	21.2
68	20.4
69	19.6
70	18.8
71	18.0
72	17.2
73	16.4
74	15.6
75	14.8
76	14.1
77	13.3
78	12.6
79	11.9
80	11.2
81	10.5
82	9.9
83	9.3
84	8.7
85	8.1
86	7.6
87	7.1
88	6.6
89	6.1
90	5.7
91	5.3
92	4.9
93	4.6
94	4.3
95	4.0
96	3.7
97	3.4
98	3.2
99	3.0
100	2.8
101	2.6
102	2.5
103	2.3
104	2.2
105	2.1
106	2.1
107	2.1
108	2.0
109	2.0
110	2.0
111	2.0
112	2.0
113	1.9
114	1.9
115	1.8
116	1.8
117	1.6
118	1.4
119	1.1
120	1.0

Calculating an inherited account's RMD? Use theinherited IRA RMD calculator — it applies the correct spouse, 10-year-rule, or eligible-beneficiary method for you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Uniform Lifetime Table?

The Uniform Lifetime Table (IRS Table III, Publication 590-B) is the table nearly all retirement account owners use to calculate their required minimum distribution. For each age from 72 to 120, it gives a "distribution period" — divide your prior-year-end balance by that number to get your RMD.

Is the Uniform Lifetime Table different for 2026?

No. The table has been unchanged since it was revised for distribution years 2022 and later. The 2026 table on this page is identical to the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 tables.

What if my spouse is more than 10 years younger — which table do I use?

If your spouse is your sole beneficiary for the entire year AND more than 10 years younger than you, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy table (Table II) instead of the Uniform Lifetime Table. Table II factors are larger than the Uniform Lifetime Table's for the same age, which produces a smaller RMD. The full Table II matrix (indexed by both spouses' ages) is in IRS Publication 590-B — it's too large to reproduce here reliably, so we link to the IRS source rather than guess at values.

What is the Single Life Expectancy table used for?

The Single Life Expectancy table (Table I) is used by beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts — not by the original account owner. A surviving spouse who elects to treat an account as inherited, or an eligible designated beneficiary taking stretch distributions, looks up their own age in Table I each year.

Where is the official IRS Publication 590-B life expectancy table?

IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B contains all three official tables (Uniform Lifetime, Joint Life and Last Survivor, and Single Life Expectancy). It is available directly from irs.gov. The Uniform Lifetime Table on this page is transcribed from that publication.

Why is it called "Table III" but also the "Uniform Lifetime Table"?

Both names refer to the same table. "Table III" is its position in IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B (which lists Table I, Table II, then Table III in that order); "Uniform Lifetime Table" is its functional name, since it applies uniformly regardless of who your beneficiary is (with the one exception of a much-younger spouse).

This calculator is for educational purposes only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Pensora is independent and not affiliated with the SSA, the IRS, or any government agency. For decisions about your own situation, consider a licensed financial advisor.