72(t) Calculator Test Cases
A 72(t) figure is filed with the IRS, and a wrong one recaptures the 10% penalty on every payment already taken. The IRS has published worked examples. Run them through any calculator before you trust it. That includes this one. The last column is what this site's engine produces for each example, recomputed on every build.
The ten examples
| # | Example and source | Inputs | IRS figure | This site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RMD method, first distribution year IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 7, example 1; Single Life Table, 26 CFR § 1.401(a)(9)-9(b). $400,000/36.2 = $11,050. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, rate: 0, method: rmd, table: single | $11,050 a year, factor 36.2 | ✓ $11,050 a year, factor 36.2 |
| 2 | RMD method, second distribution year, both balance and factor redetermined IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 7, example 1 continued. $408,304/35.3 = $11,567. | balance: $408,304, age: 51, rate: 0, method: rmd, table: single | $11,567 a year, factor 35.3 | ✓ $11,567 a year, factor 35.3 |
| 3 | Fixed amortization at 4%, which the 5% floor permits even though 120% of the mid-term rate is 2.98% IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 7, example 2. Factor 18.9559 = present value of $1 a year for 36.2 years at 4%. $400,000/18.9559 = $21,102. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, rate: 4, method: amortization, table: single, mid120: 2.98 | $21,102 a year, factor 36.2, annuity factor 18.9559 | ✓ $21,102 a year, factor 36.2, annuity factor 18.9559 |
| 4 | Fixed annuitization at 4%, from the mortality rates rather than any life expectancy table IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 7, example 3; mortality rates, 26 CFR § 1.401(a)(9)-9(e). $400,000/18.1568 = $22,030. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, rate: 4, method: annuitization, table: single, mid120: 2.98 | $22,030 a year, annuity factor 18.1568 | ✓ $22,030 a year, annuity factor 18.1568 |
| 5 | One-time switch to the RMD method in a later year IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 10. Sam switches from fixed amortization in 2026 using the 31 Dec 2025 balance and his age-55 factor. $810,250/31.6 = $25,641. | balance: $810,250, age: 55, rate: 0, method: rmd, table: single | $25,641 a year, factor 31.6 | ✓ $25,641 a year, factor 31.6 |
| 6 | Joint and Last Survivor lookup, where the OLDER beneficiary governs Notice 2022-6 § 3.02(b), the notice's own example: beneficiaries aged 25 and 55, and the number used is 40.2 for ages 50 and 55. The 25-year-old would give 61.1. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, beneficiaryAge: 55, rate: 0, method: rmd, table: joint | factor 40.2 | ✓ factor 40.2 |
| 7 | Rate ceiling is the greater of the two, so the 5% floor binds when the AFR is low Notice 2022-6 § 3.02(c). 120% of the mid-term rate is 2.98%, so the ceiling is the 5% floor. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, rate: 5, method: amortization, table: single, mid120: 2.98 | ceiling 5%, rate permitted | ✓ ceiling 5%, rate permitted |
| 8 | Rate ceiling rises above 5% when the AFR does Rev. Rul. 2026-17, September 2026: mid-term AFR 4.49%, printed 120% AFR 5.40%. Note 1.2 x 4.49 = 5.39, so a computed ceiling would wrongly refuse this rate. | balance: $400,000, age: 50, rate: 5.4, method: amortization, table: single, mid120: 5.4 | ceiling 5.4%, rate permitted | ✓ ceiling 5.4%, rate permitted |
| 9 | Lock-in ends on the fifth anniversary when that falls after 59 1/2 IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 13, example 1. Age 59 1/2 falls on 15 Feb 2028, but the series cannot be modified until 1 Dec 2029. | birthDate: 1968-08-15, firstPayment: 2024-12-01 | ends 2029-12-01 (five-year period) | ✓ ends 2029-12-01 (five-year period) |
| 10 | Lock-in ends at 59 1/2 when that falls after the fifth anniversary, and six calendar months is not 0.5 years IRS SEPP FAQ Q&A 13, example 2. The fifth annual payment lands 1 Dec 2024 and the five-year period ends 1 Dec 2025, but 59 1/2 on 15 Feb 2028 governs. Elapsed-time arithmetic gives 14 Feb 2028 and would be wrong. | birthDate: 1968-08-15, firstPayment: 2020-12-01 | ends 2028-02-15 (age 59 1/2) | ✓ ends 2028-02-15 (age 59 1/2) |
Rates and the 120% mid-term figure are percentages. Ages are the age on the birthday in the distribution year. Balances are as of the valuation date. Sources: the IRS page "Substantially equal periodic payments", Q&A 4, 7, 10 and 13; IRS Notice 2022-6, section 3.02; Rev. Rul. 2026-17 for the September 2026 rate.
How to test another calculator with them
- Enter example 3: $400,000, age 50, 4%, Single Life Table, fixed amortization. The answer is $21,102. A tool that returns about $20,300 is using the pre-2022 life expectancy tables, which were replaced for distribution years from 2022. A tool that returns about $21,900 is using an annuity-due formula, which the IRS's published factor rules out.
- Enter example 4 with the annuitization method. The answer is $22,030. A tool that applies a life expectancy table here instead of the mortality table gives a different figure, and that is the most common implementation error.
- Enter a 5% rate with a 120% mid-term rate of 2.98%. A tool that refuses 5% has not read Notice 2022-6, which made 5% the floor under the ceiling in 2022.
- Enter example 10: born 15 August 1968, first payment 1 December 2020. The lock-in ends 15 February 2028. A tool that says 14 February has computed 59½ as elapsed time rather than six calendar months after the 59th birthday. A modification on that day recaptures the whole series.
What the examples cannot check
Three things move a payment and no worked example covers them. The month your 120% mid-term rate comes from, which must be one of the two months before the first payment. The date of the balance you divide, which must fall between 31 December of the prior year and the first payment. And the table you chose, which is locked for the term. A calculator that passes all ten examples can still be given the wrong inputs, and the inputs are your responsibility, not the calculator's.
The engine behind these figures is described on the methodology page and runs on the 72(t) calculator. If you find an IRS example it fails, write to hello@savingslast.com. It goes in the corrections log.
Printed from https://savingslast.com/72t-calculator-test-cases/ on . The figures reflect the inputs shown and the rules as published on that date.