Updated August 16, 2026. Quick answer: Section 72(t) permits three substantially equal periodic payment methods: required minimum distribution (RMD), fixed amortization, and fixed annuitization. For series beginning in 2023 or later, this calculator compares all three under Notice 2022-6, checks the greater-of-5%-or-120%-AFR rate cap, works the later-of-two-dates lock test, and limits its tax illustration to distributions already received. Earlier starts get a date-only lock check—never retrofitted modern method dollars.

Official example check: for a $400,000 account, attained age 50, 4%, and the Single Life Table, the IRS publishes $11,050 under RMD, $21,102 under fixed amortization, and $22,030 under fixed annuitization. The engine is release-blocked unless its whole-dollar outputs reproduce all three. It displays the IRS example’s factors to four decimals while retaining the unrounded mortality/rate-derived factor internally; Notice 2022-6 does not state a general computation-rounding mandate.

72(t) SEPP calculator

Account balance on December 31 before the first distribution year One account only. Do not combine balances from multiple IRAs or plans. Your date of birth The engine uses date-only calendar math; it does not store this value. Date of the first payment The series starts when the first payment is made. Output installments are full-year equivalents, not a remaining-month schedule; the first calendar year’s payments must still total the annual amount. Life expectancy table for RMD and fixed amortization Generally retain the chosen table under RMD, subject to actual designated-beneficiary rules in later determination years. Fixed annuitization life basis Annuitization uses the mortality rates in Table 4, not the life-table selector above.

Permitted fixed-method interest rate

Selected annual rate (%) Annual 120% mid-term AFR for the immediately preceding month Annual 120% mid-term AFR for the second preceding month

Use the annual 120% federal mid-term rates for the two months immediately before the first-payment month—not the distribution month and not the rounded Section 7520 rate. The tool auto-fills only source-verified 2026 months in its frozen data; otherwise enter both published predecessor rates.

Optional target annual payment Shows the account size each method would require. Optional modification date Checks whether the date falls before the exact release date.

Modification-year and prior-year tax inputs—amounts actually received, not projected

Cumulative prior-year includible SEPP distributions for which the exception was claimed Enter all applicable prior distribution years through the year before modification. Current modification-year includible distributions subject to the additional tax Enter all includible distributions actually received so far in the modification calendar year. Final §72(t)(1) exposure depends on the full calendar-year total, including distributions after modification; this tool projects none and does not analyze other exceptions. Optional interest amount already computed elsewhere

The three Notice 2022-6 methods

Method	First-year calculation	What happens later	Main planning tradeoff
Required minimum distribution	Divide that year's account balance by the chosen Uniform, Single, or Joint and Last Survivor life expectancy.	Revalue the balance, age factor, and payment annually; generally retain the table, subject to actual designated-beneficiary changes required by Notice 2022-6.	Usually the smallest starting payment, but it automatically moves with the account.
Fixed amortization	Level-amortize the starting balance over the selected life expectancy at a permitted rate.	The annual amount stays fixed after it is established.	Often supports more income, but the fixed amount can pressure a falling account.
Fixed annuitization	Divide the starting balance by an annuity factor derived from the Section 1.401(a)(9)-9(e) Table 4 mortality rates and a permitted rate.	The annual amount stays fixed after it is established.	Uses a mortality-based factor, not the RMD/amortization table selector.

The Uniform Lifetime, Single Life, and Joint and Last Survivor tables are all permitted for the RMD and fixed-amortization methods under Notice 2022-6. A nonspouse beneficiary may be used for the Joint and Last Survivor Table, but that person must be the account's actual designated beneficiary. The determination is made as of January 1 of the distribution year under the Section 401(a)(9) rules, including the multiple-beneficiary rule. If the designated beneficiary later dies or is eliminated, the RMD table treatment can change in a later year; without a designated beneficiary, the Single Life Table applies. Age means attained age on the person's birthday in the distribution calendar year—not age on the payment day. Where that selector picks the Uniform Lifetime Table, its divisors are the same ones already in force for ordinary required minimum distributions: the divisor for every age, and why 2027 brings no change to them.

The fixed-method rate cap: greater of 5% or either prior-month 120% AFR

The selected interest rate for fixed amortization or fixed annuitization cannot exceed the greater of 5% or the annual 120% federal mid-term rate for either of the two months immediately preceding the month the first distribution begins. An exact-cap rate is allowed; one basis point above it is not. For a July 2026 first payment, May was 4.91% and June was 4.97%, so the cap is 5.00%. For an August 2026 first payment, June was 4.97% and July was 5.23%, so the cap is 5.23%.

Do not substitute the rounded Section 7520 rate. For a future month without both predecessor months in the calculator's source-verified lookup, the tool reports the rates as unavailable rather than recycling the latest value.

The exact lock-in is the later date, not an age estimate

The protected series must remain unmodified until the later of the fifth anniversary of the first payment or the date the taxpayer reaches age 59½. The calculator uses date-only calendar math, so browser timezone shifts cannot move the answer by a day. For someone born August 15, 1968 whose first payment is December 1, 2024, the two dates are February 15, 2028 and December 1, 2029; the release date is December 1, 2029. With the same birth date and a December 1, 2020 first payment, age 59½ is later, so the release date is February 15, 2028.

Calendar-date guard: the cited guidance does not supply a convention that supports an “exact” claim for February 29 or a six-month half-birthday whose target month has no matching calendar day. The calculator suppresses that result and asks for professional confirmation instead of silently clamping the date.

For a fixed method, Notice 2022-6 treats a valuation date from December 31 of the prior year through the first-payment date as reasonable. The calculator uses the prior December 31 balance for a common three-method comparison; the RMD method generally uses that prior year-end balance. Each schedule belongs to one account. Later additions, partial transfers, or rollovers can be modifications rather than harmless bookkeeping.

Separate current-year additional tax from prior-year recapture and interest

If the series is modified too soon, two different planning components can arise. The current modification year's includible distributions may face the estimated Section 72(t)(1) 10% additional tax, while Section 72(t)(4) recaptures the additional tax that would have applied to cumulative prior-year protected distributions, plus statutory interest for the deferral period. The calculator shows those two 10% components separately, then labels their sum only as a planning subtotal before interest. It does not compute statutory interest, decide whether another exception applies, project future payments, or call the subtotal final tax.

Death, disability, a qualifying public-safety-officer distribution under Section 72(t)(10), complete depletion while following the method, and the permitted one-time switch from fixed amortization or fixed annuitization to RMD have separate treatment under the rule. The one-time switch must remain RMD afterward. These are rule gates, not a license to improvise a second change.

Before the first withdrawal

Confirm the exact account and its permitted valuation date; do not combine accounts.
Save the two predecessor-month annual 120% mid-term AFR sources and the rate you selected.
Record the chosen life table, beneficiary where relevant, mortality-table basis, first-payment date, and annual amount.
Check whether the Rule of 55 or a Roth conversion ladder preserves more flexibility.
Consider splitting an IRA before the schedule, then have the calculation and custody instructions independently reviewed before money moves.

Related 72(t) and early-withdrawal guides

72(t) five-year rule—work the later-of-two-dates test.
72(t) interest-rate cap—trace the 5% floor and predecessor-month AFR rule.
One-time switch to the RMD method—understand the permitted relief valve.
Busting a 72(t) SEPP—see the common modification traps.
Other early-withdrawal penalty exceptions—check a more flexible exception first.
Why the Rule of 55 is 401(k)-specific and Rule of 55 vs. 72(t).

Primary sources and calculation notes

IRS: Substantially equal periodic payments—current Q&A, three methods, official Bob example, rate, table, account, lock-in, and recapture rules.
IRS Notice 2022-6—controlling method framework, life tables, mortality rates, valuation, rate cap, and permitted changes.
26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9—Single, Uniform, Joint and Last Survivor tables and Table 4 mortality rates.
IRS Applicable Federal Rates—monthly revenue rulings; use the annual 120% mid-term column for the correct predecessor months.
IRS Publication 575—early-distribution and recapture context.

This client-side tool sends no calculator inputs anywhere and stores no birth date, beneficiary date, balance, or distribution amount. It is general education, not tax, legal, or investment advice. A custodian or adviser may help operationalize instructions, but a qualified tax professional should verify the method, source rates, dates, and tax treatment before the first withdrawal.

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72(t) SEPP Calculator 2026: Compare All 3 Methods

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