How to Figure IRA Minimum Withdrawal Amount at 70 1/2
- 1). Look up your life expectancy using the tables created by the IRS in the appendix of Publication 590 (see Resource). If you are married to a spouse more than 10 years younger than you, you use table two. Otherwise, use table three. For example, as of 2010, if you turn 71 before the end of the year, you would have a life expectancy of 26.5 years.
- 2). Contact your financial institution or check your records to determine the value of your IRA as of the end of the previous year. This is the amount that the IRS uses to determine how much you must withdraw, regardless of how much the value increases or decreases during the following year.
- 3). Divide the value of your IRA by your life expectancy to find the minimum amount you must withdraw from your IRA. This distribution must be taken or else you will owe a 50 percent penalty on the amount you failed to take out. Finishing the example, if your IRA equals $34,000, you would divide $34,000 by 26.5 to find you have to withdraw $1,283.02.
