IRMAA Calculator 2026

IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) is an income surcharge added to Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. It is based on your MAGI from 2 years ago. It is not a late-enrollment penalty. In 2026 it starts above $109,000 for a single filer or $218,000 for a couple filing jointly.

Social Security uses your income from 2 years prior to determine your current IRMAA. Examples: • 2025 IRMAA is based on 2023 income • 2026 IRMAA will be based on 2024 income • 2027 IRMAA will be based on 2025 income Why the delay? Social Security needs time to receive your tax information from the IRS and process IRMAA determinations. Important planning tip: What you do financially TODAY affects your Medicare costs 2 years from now. This makes advance planning crucial, especially if you're approaching age 63 (which affects age 65 Medicare enrollment).

Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) for IRMAA purposes is your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from your tax return plus any tax-exempt interest income (like municipal bonds). MAGI includes wages, self-employment income, investment income, retirement account distributions (including Roth conversions), Social Security benefits, pensions, rental income, and capital gains. It does NOT include qualified charitable distributions from IRAs or Roth IRA distributions after age 59½.

IRMAA uses income brackets to set your surcharge. For 2026, there is no IRMAA at $109,000 or less (single) or $218,000 or less (married filing jointly). Each higher bracket adds a Part B IRMAA and a Part D IRMAA. Add those two to get the total IRMAA extra. Add that extra to the $202.90 standard Part B premium to get the total you pay each month.

While you can't avoid IRMAA if your income is above the thresholds, there are strategies to reduce it: 1) Appeal if you've had a life-changing event that reduced your income, 2) Use tax strategies like Roth conversions in lower-income years, 3) Time income-producing events strategically, 4) Consider qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs if you're over 70½, 5) Manage capital gains and investment income timing, 6) Defer or accelerate income to stay below IRMAA thresholds in specific years, and 7) Consider delaying Social Security benefits if still working.

If you've experienced a qualifying life-changing event (retirement, marriage, divorce, death of spouse, involuntary loss of income-producing property, loss of pension, or employer settlement) that reduced your income, you can request a lower IRMAA using Form SSA-44 within 60 days of receiving your IRMAA determination notice. A voluntary home sale does not qualify. You can submit the request online through Social Security or by mail/in person. If approved, Social Security will use your more recent, lower income to recalculate your IRMAA. Even if you don't appeal, IRMAA can still adjust later when SSA receives newer tax data from the IRS.

Only taxable gain counts toward MAGI. IRS Topic 701 may exclude up to $250,000 of gain on your main home, or $500,000 if you file jointly, if you owned and lived in it as a primary residence for at least two of the five years before the sale. Excluded gain never enters MAGI, so it does not trigger IRMAA. Taxable gain above the exclusion, or gain on a second home, vacation property, or rental that does not qualify, can push you into IRMAA two years later (a 2024 sale affects 2026 premiums). You cannot appeal IRMAA just because you sold a home. Form SSA-44 does not list a house sale, and Social Security says a sale or transfer is not a qualifying loss of income-producing property. That category is for involuntary loss such as disaster, arson, theft, or fraud. A one-time taxable gain typically lasts one premium year.

No, IRMAA is not permanent. It's recalculated every year based on your income from 2 years prior. If your income fluctuates, your IRMAA may increase, decrease, or be eliminated entirely each year. For example, if you had high income one year due to a one-time event (like selling a business or property), your IRMAA will only be elevated for that specific Medicare premium year. Once your income drops below the thresholds on future tax returns, IRMAA goes away automatically.

To file an IRMAA appeal: 1) Complete Form SSA-44, 2) Gather documentation proving both the life-changing event and your reduced income, 3) Submit online through Social Security or send the packet to your local SSA office by mail/in person within 60 days of receiving your IRMAA notice, 4) Keep copies of everything you submit and track your submission date, and 5) watch for either an approval, denial, or request for more documentation. You must have a qualifying life-changing event or a clear SSA error; you cannot appeal simply because you dislike the surcharge.

Yes. IRMAA applies to Part B and Part D. In 2026, the highest bracket adds $487.00 to Part B and $91.00 to Part D, for $578.00 in total IRMAA extra per person per month. That is $6,936 extra for the year. Both pieces use the same MAGI brackets.

IRMAA income brackets are adjusted periodically (but not every year) to account for inflation and changes in the cost of living. The adjustment amounts also change annually based on Medicare program costs. Social Security announces the new IRMAA brackets and premium amounts each fall for the following year. Even if the brackets don't change, your personal IRMAA can change every year based on your income from 2 years prior. It's important to review your IRMAA determination notice annually.

If your income dropped because of a qualifying life-changing event, file SSA-44 instead of waiting for your next tax return to catch up. Include proof of the event plus records showing your current or expected lower income, and submit within 60 days of your IRMAA notice. This lets SSA evaluate more current income information instead of relying only on your 2-year-old return.

Filing separately while living together usually makes IRMAA worse. Those brackets are much tighter than joint brackets, so you reach higher tiers faster. If you lived apart all year, you generally use the single brackets instead ($109,000 in 2026).

Yes. RMDs from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and other qualified retirement accounts are included in your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which determines your IRMAA. This is why some retirees use strategies like Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs, which satisfy RMD requirements but don't count as income for IRMAA purposes.

In 2026, a successful appeal that removes IRMAA can save $95.70 to $578.00 per person per month, or $1,148.40 to $6,936 for the year. If both spouses were paying it, double those yearly amounts.