IRMAA Calculator: Your 2026 and 2027 Medicare Premiums by Income

What IRMAA is, in one minute

IRMAA, the income-related monthly adjustment amount, is an extra charge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for people with higher incomes. Most people pay the standard Part B premium, $202.90 a month in 2026 (CMS). Above $109,000 of income ($218,000 on a joint return) you pay more, in five steps, up to $689.90 a month for Part B plus $91.00 a month on top of your drug plan. Social Security works it out from your tax return two years earlier and redoes it every year, so it isn't permanent (SSA).

About the numbers: 2026 is official. 2027 is projected until CMS announces it this fall (in November the last two years), and we'll update this page that day.

2026 IRMAA brackets (official)

Source: CMS; SSA POMS HI 01101.020. Each tier starts just over the line before it and includes its upper line; the second-highest tier ends below $500,000 ($750,000 joint). The Part D amount is added to your plan's premium. Part B deductible: $283.

Married filing separately

If you file separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the year, there are only two surcharge tiers, and the higher one starts at a much lower income:

If you lived apart for the whole year, you use the single lines instead; call Social Security to tell them (20 CFR 418.1115).

2027 IRMAA brackets: what's known and what isn't

CMS hasn't announced 2027 premiums yet. Here's what can already be pinned down, and how:

• The income lines follow a formula in the law: the base amounts set in 2019 ($85,000, $107,000, $133,500, $160,000) grow with average consumer prices for September 2025 to August 2026, compared with September 2017 to August 2018, rounded to the nearest $1,000 (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)(5); BLS). The formula reproduces every published line since 2020. The first line, $112,000 ($224,000 joint), comes out the same however the missing month is handled; CMS confirms it this fall.
• Why some lines say "or": October 2025 inflation data was never published because of the government shutdown. Depending on how CMS fills the gap, three lines land $1,000 apart. The calculator uses the lower line, so it warns you early.
• The top tier stays at $500,000 / $750,000: the law freezes it through 2027 and starts adjusting it for inflation in 2028.
• Part D surcharges follow the 2027 base premium of $41.33, which is final (CMS), so they're close to certain.
• Part B waits on CMS. The Medicare Trustees estimate a standard premium of $209.50 (2026 Trustees Report); the surcharge tiers come to about 1.4, 2, 2.6, 3.2 and 3.4 times the standard premium (CMS works from the underlying cost, so its figures can differ by about 10 cents), which gives the totals above.

Which year's income sets your premium

If the IRS doesn't have your return two years back when Social Security sets your premium, it uses your return from three years back; once the two-year return reaches Social Security, it may revise your premium back to January, or you can send it a copy yourself (SSA POMS HI 01101.010; 20 CFR 418.1110). Because of the lookback, income from about age 63 generally sets your premiums at 65: plan Roth conversions, home sales and big withdrawals with that in mind.

What counts as income (MAGI) for IRMAA

IRMAA uses modified adjusted gross income: your adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11) plus tax-exempt interest (line 2a) (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)(4)). It's not your taxable income, so deductions below the AGI line, including the standard deduction and the 2025–2028 senior deduction, don't lower it.

To see how a sale or a conversion changes your tax, use the capital gains tax calculator or work out how much to convert without crossing an IRMAA tier. How much of your Social Security is taxable is in the Social Security calculator.

IRMAA cliffs: what $1 over costs

IRMAA isn't a sliding scale. It's a staircase: one dollar over a line moves you to the next tier for the whole year, for each person on Medicare. What each step adds, with Part D:

That's why the calculator shows your room before the next line. Leave a cushion: a year-end fund distribution or a little extra interest can tip you over.

Couples and married filing separately

• Both on Medicare: your joint income is compared with the joint lines, and each of you pays the surcharge.
• Only one on Medicare: the joint income still counts, but only the spouse on Medicare pays. Choose "One of us" in the calculator.
• Different drug coverage: the Part D surcharge applies only to a spouse with Medicare drug coverage.
• Married filing separately: lived together at any time means two steep tiers. With $115,000 of income in 2026, that's $6,355 a year, against $1,148 if you lived apart all year. Filing separately to dodge IRMAA rarely works.
• Widowed: you can file jointly for the year your spouse dies. Because of the two-year lookback, Social Security keeps using joint returns, with your late spouse's income, for a while, and later compares your single income with the lower single lines. A spouse's death is a life-changing event, so you can ask right away for your new, lower income to be used.

Part D IRMAA and Medicare Advantage

• Who pays it: anyone with Medicare drug coverage over the line: a stand-alone Part D plan, a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, including $0-premium plans, and employer group plans that are Part D plans (Medicare.gov).
• Who doesn't: without Medicare drug coverage there's no Part D surcharge. Dropping coverage to avoid it is risky: if you join later without other creditable coverage, a late-enrollment penalty is added for as long as you have Part D.
• Medicare Advantage doesn't avoid IRMAA: you're still in Part B, so you pay the Part B surcharge too.
• Pay Medicare, not the plan: the Part D surcharge goes to Medicare, usually taken from your Social Security. If you're billed and don't pay, you can lose drug coverage.

How IRMAA is billed

If you get Social Security, the surcharges come out of your monthly payment with the standard premium. If you get Railroad Retirement or a federal (OPM) annuity instead, they come out of that. If you get none of these, Medicare bills you: Part B every month or every three months, and the Part D surcharge monthly. One catch: the "hold harmless" rule that stops a Part B increase from shrinking most people's Social Security check doesn't apply to anyone paying IRMAA (42 U.S.C. 1395r(f)). With the 3.6% raise for 2027 (SSA), see what's left after Part B on our 2027 Social Security COLA and Part B premium page.

Lower it with Form SSA-44 (life-changing events)

If your income has dropped since the year Social Security used, and the drop came from one of eight events, you can ask it to use a more recent year, or an estimate of this year's income, on Form SSA-44 (SSA-44; 20 CFR 418.1205). It's a request for a new decision, not an appeal, and if it's approved you get back what you overpaid.

Doesn't qualify: a one-off spike from a Roth conversion, a capital gain, a home sale, an RMD or a big IRA withdrawal, or losses in the market. The list is exhaustive (20 CFR 418.1210). If you retired in that same year, though, the work stoppage still counts.

1. Fill in Form SSA-44: the event, its date, and your income for the year you want used (a tax return, or your best estimate for this year).
2. Attach proof of the event and of your income (signed return or IRS transcript, or your estimate).
3. Send it to, or take it to, your Social Security office, or call 1-800-772-1213 to start by phone.
4. If you used an estimate, tell Social Security if it changes; it checks against your IRS return later and may correct it either way.

Timing: you can file Form SSA-44 at any time during the year your income drops because of the event; if the event happens in the last three months of the year, you have until March 31 of the next year (20 CFR 418.1310). Late requests can be accepted for good cause. Wrong income on file? If the IRS figure itself is wrong, get it corrected by the IRS and send Social Security the proof (a reconsideration based only on wrong IRS data is dismissed); to dispute how Social Security worked it out, file for reconsideration within 60 days of the notice (20 CFR 404.909). An amended return can be used too.

How to stay under the next tier

• Give from your IRA: from 70½, a qualified charitable distribution never enters your AGI, and once your RMDs start it counts toward them.
• Spread big income: split a Roth conversion, a large sale or a business payout across tax years so each stays under a line.
• Convert before 63: Roth conversions in your late 50s and early 60s generally don't touch Medicare premiums; from about 63 they do.
• Watch tax-exempt interest: municipal bond interest counts for IRMAA even though it isn't taxed.
• Use Roth and HSA money for big expenses in a year you're near a line: qualified withdrawals don't count.
• Harvest losses to offset gains, and check fund distributions before December.

Worked examples

• Single, $113,000 of 2025 income: $1,000 over the first 2027 line, so $1,190 of surcharges in 2027. Cutting income by $1,000 that year would have avoided it.
• Couple, $210,000 in 2026, thinking about a $60,000 Roth conversion: it moves them to tier 1 of 5 for 2028 (on the 2027 lines), about $2,381 more in premiums for the two of them, on top of the tax. $14,000 of conversion would stay under the line.
• A couple who retired at the end of 2026, with $310,000 of income in 2025: their 2027 premiums would carry $5,981 of surcharges. Retiring is a work stoppage, so an SSA-44 using their estimated 2027 income of $140,000 saves $5,981.
• Married filing separately with $115,000: $6,355 a year in 2026 if they lived together, $1,148 if they lived apart all year.

Common questions

What are the IRMAA brackets for 2027?

Projected: surcharges start above $112,000 single or $224,000 joint (2025 income), and the top tier stays at $500,000 / $750,000. CMS confirms them, with the Part B premium, in the fall (November in the last two years).

What income is used for IRMAA?

Your modified adjusted gross income from two years earlier: 2024 for 2026, 2025 for 2027, 2026 for 2028.

Does a Roth conversion count toward IRMAA?

Yes, the taxable amount adds to your AGI, and it isn't a life-changing event, so it can't be appealed.

Does Social Security count for IRMAA?

Only the taxable part, which is already in your AGI.

Do both spouses pay IRMAA?

Each spouse on Medicare pays it, based on your joint income. If only one is on Medicare, only that spouse pays.

Do you pay IRMAA with Medicare Advantage?

Yes. You still pay the Part B surcharge, and the Part D surcharge if the plan covers drugs.

Is IRMAA permanent?

No. Social Security looks at your income again every year, so the surcharge goes away when your income drops below the line.

How do I appeal IRMAA?

If your income fell because of a life-changing event such as retiring, file Form SSA-44. If the IRS figures are wrong, get them corrected and send Social Security the proof. To dispute Social Security's own decision, ask for reconsideration within 60 days.

Does a QCD lower IRMAA?

Yes. A qualified charitable distribution from an IRA isn't included in AGI, unlike a withdrawal you then donate.

Sources

1. 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums and deductibles — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accessed October 16, 2026. November 14, 2025.
2. POMS HI 01101.020: IRMAA sliding scale tables — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
3. POMS HI 01101.010: Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
4. Medicare premiums: rules for higher-income beneficiaries — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
5. 42 U.S.C. 1395r(i), Income-related reduction in premium subsidy — U.S. Government Publishing Office. Accessed October 16, 2026.
6. 20 CFR Part 418, Subpart B: Medicare Part B income-related premiums — eCFR. Accessed October 16, 2026.
7. Form SSA-44, Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount: Life-Changing Event — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
8. 20 CFR 404.909, How to request reconsideration — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
9. How income affects your Medicare drug coverage premiums (publication 11469) — Medicare.gov. Accessed October 16, 2026.
10. Medicare Part D 2027 national average monthly bid amount — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accessed October 16, 2026. July 28, 2026: base beneficiary premium $41.33.
11. 2026 Medicare Trustees Report — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accessed October 16, 2026. Projects a $209.50 Part B premium for 2027.
12. 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment — Social Security Administration. Accessed October 16, 2026.
13. Consumer Price Index, August 2026 — Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 16, 2026.