Miss a required minimum distribution and the penalty is 25% of the amount you should have taken. Not a fee — a quarter of the money. Here's how to walk into tax season knowing exactly where you stand.
Ready at 65 · Free Tool
Two questions, answered on this page. Nothing to download, nothing stored.
This decides when your withdrawals start.
Your first required distribution
Enter what your IRA was worth on the last day of last year. Your year-end statement shows it.
You must withdraw at least
This is where it stops being one division problem.
This tool is educational and is not tax advice. Ready at 65 is not a licensed tax professional, attorney or investment adviser. Confirm your own situation with a CPA, an enrolled agent, or whoever holds your account. Figures reflect SECURE 2.0 and IRS guidance current for the 2026 tax year.
40 worksheet pages with room to write your numbers in by hand. Printed and bound, so next year you pull it off the shelf and start again on a fresh page. Prefer to type your numbers in and save them? The fillable edition is part of the RMD Planning System — $37, with the calculator and the CPA handoff packet.
Get the Workbook on Amazon Get RMDs Explained
The workbook organizes your numbers. RMDs Explained covers the rules behind them — SECURE 2.0 changes, inherited IRA timelines, the tax torpedo, and Roth conversion windows.
Six worksheets covering enrollment, Social Security timing, long-term care, and estate planning. Print them and fill them in by hand — the checklists and the parent organizer can also be typed into on screen and saved. Companion tools to the Ready at 65 series, bundled together.
No insurance license. No commission from any plan or carrier. The workbook organizes your information so your tax professional can do their job in one pass instead of five. What you decide is between you and the professional you choose.
Your CPA can't do the math if you don't bring the numbers. Showing up without your December 31 balances, your RMD calculations, or your QCD records means round after round of phone tag — billable time you're paying for, on top of not actually knowing where you stand.
Educational and organizational purposes only. This workbook is not tax, legal, financial, or investment advice. Ready at 65 is not a CPA, tax professional, financial advisor, or attorney, and holds no insurance license. RMD rules are complex and depend on your individual circumstances — consult a qualified tax professional before making decisions about retirement account distributions. Tax figures reflect rules as of 2025; verify current figures at irs.gov and cms.gov. Ready at 65 is not affiliated with the IRS, SSA, CMS, or any government agency.