The Joint and Last Survivor Table is the IRS life expectancy table (Table II in Publication 590-B) that you use to figure your required minimum distribution when your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the retirement account and is more than 10 years younger than you. Because the factor reflects two lives instead of one, it produces a longer distribution period and a smaller required withdrawal than the Uniform Lifetime Table that most account owners use.
Who Qualifies to Use Table II
Two conditions have to be true at the same time. Your spouse must be the sole designated beneficiary of the account for the entire year, and your spouse must be more than 10 years younger than you.1Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) Exactly 10 years younger does not qualify. Naming your spouse as sole beneficiary is not enough if the gap is too small, and a wide age gap does not help if anyone else shares the beneficiary designation.
“Sole beneficiary” means only your spouse, for the whole distribution calendar year. A trust does not count, even a see-through trust with your spouse as the only trust beneficiary. The IRS treats the trust as the beneficiary, not your spouse, so Table II is unavailable in that setup.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B – Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
How Mid-Year Changes Are Treated
Marital status locks in on January 1 of each distribution year. If you were married on that date and your spouse was the sole beneficiary, you use Table II for the entire year, even if your spouse dies or you divorce before December 31.3eCFR. 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-5 – Required Minimum Distributions From Defined Contribution Plans The change flows through starting the next calendar year. If your spouse passes away in June 2026, you still use Table II for the 2026 RMD and move to the Uniform Lifetime Table beginning with 2027.
Why the Factor Is Larger
Your RMD equals the prior year-end account balance divided by a life expectancy factor. A larger factor means a smaller required withdrawal. Because Table II reflects the joint life expectancy of two people, and one of them is meaningfully younger, its factors run higher than those in the Uniform Lifetime Table.
Take an owner who is 75. The Uniform Lifetime Table assigns a distribution period of 24.6 years. If that owner’s spouse is 60, the Table II factor lands closer to 28 or higher depending on exact ages. On a $500,000 account, the difference between dividing by 24.6 and dividing by 28 is roughly $2,500 less forced out for the year. Over a decade, the gap compounds and leaves more of the balance growing tax-deferred.
Running the Calculation
You need three inputs, and each has a specific definition.
- Prior year-end account balance: the fair market value of the account on December 31 of the previous year, as reported by your custodian. Later contributions or withdrawals do not change this figure for the current year’s calculation.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B – Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
- Your age on your birthday this year: not your age on January 1, and not your age on the day you withdraw. It is the age you turn during the distribution year.
- Your spouse’s age on their birthday this year: the same rule, applied to your spouse.
Open the appendix of IRS Publication 590-B and find Table II. One axis is the owner’s age; the other is the spouse’s age. The number at the intersection is your distribution period.4eCFR. 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9 – Life Expectancy and Uniform Lifetime Tables Divide the prior year-end balance by that factor. A $500,000 balance and a factor of 30.0 give a required distribution of $16,666.67 for the year. That is the minimum. You can always take more.
The factor changes every year, because both ages advance. Rechecking the table each year matters as much as updating the balance.
If You Own More Than One IRA
Calculate a separate RMD for each traditional IRA using whichever table fits that specific account. One IRA might qualify for Table II because your spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger. Another might use the Uniform Lifetime Table because you named your children. Run each calculation with the right table, then add them.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B – Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
Once you have the combined figure across your traditional IRAs, you can pull the total from any one of them or split it any way you like. This aggregation rule is IRA-only. Each 401(k) or other employer plan requires its own withdrawal from that specific plan.
When Table II Does Not Apply
A few situations look like they should use Table II but do not.
Inherited IRAs
If you inherit an IRA, Table II is off limits regardless of your relationship to the original owner. A surviving spouse who inherits can either treat the IRA as their own and use Table III going forward, or remain a beneficiary and use the Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I). Non-spouse beneficiaries use Table I or, under the SECURE Act’s 10-year rule, must empty the account within 10 years without an annual RMD requirement.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B – Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
Trusts as Beneficiary
A trust cannot serve as a designated beneficiary for Table II, even when your spouse is the sole trust beneficiary. If your estate plan requires a trust, you will use the Uniform Lifetime Table and accept the higher annual withdrawals that come with it.
Roth Accounts During Your Lifetime
Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts in employer plans have no RMD during the account owner’s lifetime, so no table applies.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
Deadlines and the Penalty for Missing One
The RMD has to leave the account by December 31 each year. For your first RMD, the year you turn 73, you get a one-time extension to April 1 of the following year.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs The catch is that the second year’s RMD is still due by December 31 of that same year, so deferring the first one means two taxable distributions land in one calendar year and can push you into a higher bracket.
If you withdraw less than required, the IRS applies a 25% excise tax on the shortfall. That drops to 10% if you correct the mistake within the correction window, generally by the end of the second year after the tax was imposed.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans On a $16,667 shortfall, the full 25% is $4,167.
If the miss was a genuine error, you can request a waiver on Form 5329 with an explanation. You will need to show the mistake was due to reasonable error and that you have already taken corrective steps, such as withdrawing the missed amount. The IRS reviews these case by case and will let you know if the waiver is denied.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329
What Gets Reported
Your custodian issues a Form 1099-R after the distribution, showing the gross amount withdrawn.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 IRA distributions go on Form 1040, line 4a for the total and line 4b for the taxable portion. Employer plan distributions use lines 5a and 5b instead.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040 The RMD amount, once withdrawn, is ordinary income for the year.