IRS RMD Tables 2026 — Life Expectancy Factors (Table I, II & III)

Overview — The Three IRS Life Expectancy Tables

The IRS publishes three life expectancy tables in Publication 590-B that are used to calculate required minimum distributions. Each table serves a specific situation, and using the wrong table is a common mistake that results in either under-distribution (triggering a penalty) or over-distribution (unnecessarily accelerating taxable income).

All three tables were updated effective January 1, 2022, reflecting longer life expectancies and resulting in slightly smaller RMDs than under the prior tables (which had not been updated since 2002).

Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table (Most Common)

Table III is used by virtually all original account owners — traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plan participants. The only exception is owners who qualify to use Table II (spouse more than 10 years younger as sole beneficiary).

Unlike Table I, the Table III factor is looked up fresh each year based on your current age — it does not carry forward or decrement. Below is the complete updated Table III:

Table I — Single Life Expectancy

Table I is used primarily by inherited IRA beneficiaries who take annual life expectancy distributions — pre-SECURE Act stretch IRA beneficiaries, Eligible Designated Beneficiaries using the life expectancy method, and non-EDB beneficiaries subject to annual RMDs under the post-RBD 10-year rule.

Unlike Table III, the Table I factor works differently: the factor is set in the first distribution year based on the beneficiary's age in that year, then reduced by 1.0 each subsequent year. This is called the IRS decrement method. The factor is never recalculated from the current age — it only decrements.

Selected Table I factors (2022 update):

Table II — Joint Life and Last Survivor

Table II is used in only one specific situation: an original account owner whose sole beneficiary is a spouse who is more than 10 years younger. If the age difference is 10 years or less, Table III applies instead.

Table II produces a lower factor than Table III — meaning a smaller RMD — because it accounts for two lifetimes. The larger the age difference between the spouses, the lower the factor and the smaller the required distribution.

The factor is looked up using the owner's current age and the spouse's current age, similar to Table III — it is recalculated fresh each year based on current ages rather than decremented.

The 2022 Table Update — What Changed

The IRS updated all three life expectancy tables effective January 1, 2022, under Treasury Decision 9930. This was the first update since 2002 — a 20-year gap. The update reflects longer life expectancies based on more recent mortality data.

The practical effect is that the 2022 tables produce slightly smaller RMDs than the prior tables, because longer life expectancy means a higher divisor. For example, the Table III factor at age 75 increased from 22.9 (old table) to 24.6 (new table), resulting in a roughly 7% smaller RMD for the same balance.

All accounts use the 2022 tables regardless of when the account was established or when distributions began.

Which Table Applies to You?