IRMAA brackets for 2026
These are the official figures CMS published for 2026. They are based on your 2024 tax return. Each amount is per person, per month. A married couple with both people on Medicare pays it twice.
| Single filer income | Joint filer income | Part B premium | Part D extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $218,000 or less | $202.90 | $0 |
| Over $109,000, up to $137,000 | Over $218,000, up to $274,000 | $284.10 | $14.50 |
| Over $137,000, up to $171,000 | Over $274,000, up to $342,000 | $405.80 | $37.50 |
| Over $171,000, up to $205,000 | Over $342,000, up to $410,000 | $527.50 | $60.40 |
| Over $205,000, up to $500,000 | Over $410,000, up to $750,000 | $649.20 | $83.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $750,000 or more | $689.90 | $91.00 |
Married and filing separately, but lived with your spouse at some point in the year? Then there are only two levels above the standard premium. Income over $109,000 and under $391,000 pays $649.20 for Part B. Income of $391,000 or more pays $689.90. If you lived apart all year, the single filer column applies.
The Part B deductible is $283 in 2026 for everyone, whatever their income.
IRMAA brackets for 2027: what the law already decides
CMS publishes the official 2027 figures in November. The income lines, though, come from a formula written into the law. Take the 2019 amounts and raise them by consumer prices: the average for the 12 months ending in August 2026, compared with the same average ending in August 2018. Then round to the nearest $1,000. That formula reproduces every published line from 2020 through 2026 exactly, and August 2026's prices are already out.
One wrinkle. The Bureau of Labor Statistics never published a price index for October 2025, because of that year's government shutdown, so nobody yet knows how CMS will fill the gap. The first line comes out the same under either reasonable method. The higher lines land $1,000 apart, so the table below shows both.
| Single filer income (2025) | Joint filer income (2025) | Part B premium | Part D extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| $112,000 or less | $224,000 or less | Standard premium | $0 |
| Over $112,000, up to $141,000 or $142,000 | Over $224,000, up to $282,000 or $284,000 | About 1.4 times standard | $15.40 |
| Over $141,000 or $142,000, up to $176,000 or $177,000 | Over $282,000 or $284,000, up to $352,000 or $354,000 | About 2 times standard | $39.70 |
| Over $176,000 or $177,000, up to $211,000 or $212,000 | Over $352,000 or $354,000, up to $422,000 or $424,000 | About 2.6 times standard | $64.00 |
| Over $211,000 or $212,000, up to $500,000 | Over $422,000 or $424,000, up to $750,000 | About 3.2 times standard | $88.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $750,000 or more | About 3.4 times standard | $96.40 |
The Part D amounts are calculated from the $41.33 base premium CMS announced for 2027 in July. The law sets each one as a fixed share of that base, and the same calculation reproduces CMS's tables for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The Part B dollar amounts wait for CMS's November announcement, but each level is a fixed multiple of the standard premium.
The top level does not move: it still starts at $500,000 single and $750,000 joint, because the law freezes that line until 2028. For married couples filing separately who lived together, the top level for 2027 starts at $388,000.
The same income can stop triggering IRMAA. A single filer with $111,000 of income in both 2024 and 2025 pays IRMAA in 2026 but not in 2027, because the line moves up with prices.
Which year's income counts
Medicare looks back two years. Your 2026 premiums use your 2024 tax return; 2027 premiums use 2025. If the IRS hasn't processed that return by early fall, SSA uses the year before and corrects it later. The income it uses is your adjusted gross income plus any tax-exempt interest, both straight off your Form 1040. Many people call this MAGI, short for modified adjusted gross income.
That lag catches people. The year you retire, a big final paycheck, a bonus or a severance shows up in your premiums two years later, often after the paychecks have stopped.
The $1 problem: why the lines are cliffs
IRMAA is not a gradual phase-in. Cross a line by a single dollar and you pay the whole next level, for a full year. In 2026, a single filer at $109,000 pays $202.90 a month for Part B. At $109,001 the bill is $284.10, plus $14.50 for Part D. That one dollar costs $1,148 for the year, and twice that for a couple when both are on Medicare.
Things that commonly push income over a line in a single year:
- Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The converted amount counts as income that year.
- A large withdrawal from a traditional IRA or 401(k), including required minimum distributions.
- Selling a home for a gain larger than the tax-free exclusion, or selling stocks or a business at a large gain.
- A bonus, severance, or deferred pay in the last year of work.
The calculator shows how far your income sits from the nearest line in each direction. What to do about it is a question for a tax preparer who knows your whole return.
When your income drops: Form SSA-44
If your income has fallen since the year SSA used, you can ask SSA to use a more recent year instead. It agrees only when the drop came from one of these life-changing events, for you or your spouse:
- Marriage
- Divorce or annulment
- Death of your spouse
- Stopping work
- Cutting back your work hours
- Losing income-producing property through no choice of your own, such as a declared disaster, fraud or theft
- A scheduled end, termination or reorganization of an employer's pension plan
- A settlement payment from an employer because of its closure, bankruptcy or reorganization
A one-time gain you chose, such as a Roth conversion or selling a house, is not on the list. Use Form SSA-44 with proof of the event and of the lower income, such as a retirement letter from your employer. You can also call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 and ask for an appointment.
If the income SSA used is simply wrong, that is a different fix. An amended tax return, with the IRS acknowledgment, corrects it. You can also appeal online or with Form SSA-561. If the mistake is in the figures the IRS sent, the correction has to go through the IRS.
How IRMAA is paid
- From your Social Security check. Part B, including IRMAA, normally comes out of your monthly benefit. If you aren't collecting yet, Medicare bills you.
- Part D IRMAA goes to Medicare, not your plan. Even if you pay your drug plan directly, the extra amount is taken from your Social Security check or billed separately.
- Medicare Advantage doesn't avoid it. Advantage members still pay the Part B premium, IRMAA included, and the Part D extra if the plan covers drugs.
- No cost-of-living protection. Most people's Part B increase can't be larger than their Social Security raise. That rule, called "hold harmless," does not cover anyone paying IRMAA.
What this calculator leaves out
- Late enrollment penalties for Part B or Part D. Those add a percentage on top.
- Your drug plan's own premium. It varies by plan. The calculator shows only the extra IRMAA amount.
- Part A premiums, which most people don't pay, and coverage of immunosuppressive drugs only, which has its own lower table.
- Medicare Advantage plans that reduce the Part B premium. Any reduction comes off the amounts shown.
Two more free calculators cover the Social Security side. The Social Security break-even calculator compares claiming ages, and the earnings limit calculator shows what working does to your checks before full retirement age. All of them are on the calculators page.
Before you act on it
This page is arithmetic on published figures. It is not tax, insurance or financial advice, and I'm not licensed in any of those. Your notice from SSA is the official word on what you owe. For free, unbiased Medicare help, your state's SHIP program counsels people one to one. Medicare can connect you at 1-800-633-4227.
Sources
- CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles (November 14, 2025): the Part B premium, deductible, and the Part B and Part D IRMAA tables.
- SSA, POMS HI 01101.020, IRMAA sliding scale tables: the 2023 to 2026 thresholds used to test the formula.
- CMS, Medicare Part D 2027 national average monthly bid amount information (July 28, 2026): the $41.33 base beneficiary premium for 2027.
- Social Security Act section 1839(i), 42 U.S.C. 1395r(i): the thresholds, the inflation formula, rounding, joint and separate filers, and the $500,000 line frozen until 2028.
- Social Security Act section 1860D-13(a)(7), 42 U.S.C. 1395w-113: Part D IRMAA as a share of the base beneficiary premium.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (series CUUR0000SA0): monthly prices through August 2026, with no October 2025 figure.
- SSA, Premiums: rules for higher-income beneficiaries, and Form SSA-44 (December 2025): how income is measured, the life-changing events, appeals and payment.