IRMAA Calculator: 2026 Medicare Brackets and the SSA-44 Checker
CMS and SSA figures last checked October 2, 2026.
A couple filing jointly with a MAGI of $276,000 pays $240.40 a month of IRMAA each in 2026 with drug coverage ($202.90 on Part B and $37.50 on Part D), on top of the standard Part B premium.
Where IRMAA starts in 2026 for this filing status$109,000 MAGIAt or below this line you pay only the standard Part B premium, $202.90 a monthThe line for the filing status selected below, from the CMS 2026 fact sheet. Enter your income to see your own tier and extra premium.
SSA uses the single-filer table for all of these. If you filed separately but lived apart from your spouse all year, SSA asks you to call and tell them.
Municipal bond interest, for example. SSA adds it back.
Enter your adjusted gross income to see your 2026 bracket.
How we got this (example: married filing jointly, $270,000 AGI, $6,000 tax-exempt interest, full Part B, with Part D)
- For 2026 premiums SSA normally uses the 2024 tax return, two years before. If the IRS has nothing for 2024, SSA uses 2023 and may correct it later. (20 CFR 418.1135, Form SSA-44)
- MAGI is adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 11) plus tax-exempt interest (line 2a): $270,000 AGI + $6,000 tax-exempt interest = $276,000 MAGI (Form SSA-44)
- On the CMS 2026 table for a joint return, a MAGI of $276,000 is in tier 2 of 5, more than $274,000 up to $342,000. The whole tier applies from its first dollar, and the next tier starts at a MAGI of $342,000.01. How far the MAGI is above the line where this tier starts: $276,000 − $274,000 = $2,000 (CMS 2026 fact sheet)
- Part B each month: the 2026 standard Part B premium plus this tier's Part B adjustment: $202.90 + $202.90 = $405.80 a month (CMS 2026 fact sheet)
- Your monthly IRMAA is the Part B adjustment plus the Part D adjustment (the Part D amount is added to whatever your drug plan charges): $202.90 + $37.50 = $240.40 a month (CMS 2026 fact sheet)
The idea behind it: IRMAA is a set of fixed dollar add-ons, not a percentage of income: CMS publishes one Part B and one Part D amount per MAGI bracket, so a MAGI one dollar over a line pays that whole tier. SSA reads the MAGI from the return two years before the premium year, which is why 2024 income sets 2026 premiums.
2026 brackets for this filing status
| MAGI on your 2024 return | Part B total | Part D IRMAA |
|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $202.90 | $0.00 |
| more than $109,000 up to $137,000 | $284.10 | $14.50 |
| more than $137,000 up to $171,000 | $405.80 | $37.50 |
| more than $171,000 up to $205,000 | $527.50 | $60.40 |
| more than $205,000 up to (not including) $500,000 | $649.20 | $83.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $689.90 | $91.00 |
Source: CMS fact sheet released November 14, 2025. SSA decides your IRMAA; this shows where your numbers fall in the official table.
Enter the income from your 2024 tax return to see your 2026 Medicare Part B and Part D income surcharge, how far you are from the next line, and, below, whether form SSA-44 can lower it.
SSA decides your IRMAA; this page shows where your numbers fall in the official table. It is not advice. For help with a decision that depends on it, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or talk to a licensed tax professional.
2026 IRMAA brackets (CMS)
Total monthly premium per person. The Part D amount is added to whatever your drug plan charges.
| Individual return MAGI | Joint return MAGI | Part B total | Part D IRMAA |
|---|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $218,000 or less | $202.90 | $0.00 |
| more than $109,000 up to $137,000 | more than $218,000 up to $274,000 | $284.10 | $14.50 |
| more than $137,000 up to $171,000 | more than $274,000 up to $342,000 | $405.80 | $37.50 |
| more than $171,000 up to $205,000 | more than $342,000 up to $410,000 | $527.50 | $60.40 |
| more than $205,000 up to (not including) $500,000 | more than $410,000 up to (not including) $750,000 | $649.20 | $83.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $750,000 or more | $689.90 | $91.00 |
Married, filing separately, and lived with your spouse at any time that year:
| MAGI | Part B total | Part D IRMAA |
|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $202.90 | $0.00 |
| more than $109,000 up to (not including) $391,000 | $649.20 | $83.30 |
| $391,000 or more | $689.90 | $91.00 |
From the CMS fact sheet released November 14, 2025. "Individual" covers single, head of household and qualifying widow(er), and married filing separately if you lived apart all year. Part B immunosuppressive-drug-only coverage has its own amounts (the calculator handles it). The 2026 Part B deductible is $283.
How this is calculated
- Find your MAGI. Modified adjusted gross income = adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 11) + tax-exempt interest (line 2a), the two lines form SSA-44 asks for.
- Use the right tax year. SSA normally uses the return from two years before the premium year, so the 2026 premiums use your 2024 return (20 CFR 418.1135). If IRS has nothing for that year, SSA uses 2023 and corrects it later.
- Look up the tier. Pick the table for your filing status and find the first bracket your MAGI falls in. The lower edge of each bracket is "greater than", and the top tier starts at "greater than or equal to", exactly as CMS words it.
- Add the surcharge. Part B total = the standard $202.90 + that tier's Part B amount. The Part D amount is added to whatever your drug plan charges, and only if you have Part D. The tiers are per beneficiary, so each spouse with Part B on a joint return pays the tier set by the joint MAGI.
Sources and dates: the 2026 brackets and standard premium are from the CMS 2026 premiums fact sheet (released November 14, 2025; checked Oct 2, 2026). The MAGI lines and tax year rule come from form SSA-44 and20 CFR 418.1135 (both checked Oct 2, 2026). The calculator assumes your filing status and the tax year are the ones SSA will use.
Worked example: IRMAA is a cliff, so the last dollar matters
Each tier starts on the first dollar over its line, and the whole surcharge applies. Example: a couple filing jointly with AGI of $270,000 and $6,000 of municipal bond interest has a MAGI of $276,000. That is $2,000 over the $274,000 line, so each spouse pays $240.40 a month more ($5,770 a year for the two of them). The tax-exempt interest is what pushed them over: SSA adds line 2a back.
Because the income year is two years back, the planning window is the tax year itself. Whatever raises your AGI in 2026 shows up in your 2028 premiums. The tables move each year, so check the brackets CMS publishes before you plan around a line, and talk to a tax professional before acting on it.
What this calculator does not cover
- Late-enrollment penalties, which are added on top of IRMAA (20 CFR 418.1125), and your drug plan's own premium.
- What SSA actually decides for you. A different filing status, an amended return or a life-changing event can change the income SSA uses; see the SSA-44 section below.
- Premiums for years CMS has not published. For those, wait for the official table or call SSA at 1-800-772-1213.
SSA-44 life-changing event checker
If your income dropped because of one of the events on form SSA-44, you can ask SSA to use a more recent year's income. Answer a few questions to see whether your situation matches the form, which evidence SSA lists for it and roughly what your IRMAA would be on the lower income. SSA decides.
The eight events on form SSA-44
| Event (as named on the form) | The form says to use it if |
|---|---|
| Marriage | You entered into a legal marriage. |
| Divorce/Annulment | Your legal marriage ended, and you will not file a joint return with your spouse for the year. |
| Death of Your Spouse | Your spouse died. |
| Work Stoppage | You or your spouse stopped working or reduced the hours that you work. |
| Work Reduction | You or your spouse stopped working or reduced the hours that you work. |
| Loss of Income-Producing Property | You or your spouse experienced a loss of income-producing property that was not at your direction (e.g., not due to the sale or transfer of the property). This includes loss of real property in a Presidentially or Gubernatorially-declared disaster area, destruction of livestock or crops due to natural disaster or disease, or loss of property due to arson, or loss of investment property due to fraud or theft. |
| Loss of Pension Income | You or your spouse experienced a scheduled cessation, termination, or reorganization of an employer's pension plan. |
| Employer Settlement Payment | You or your spouse receive a settlement from an employer or former employer because of the employer's bankruptcy or reorganization. |
Form SSA-44 (12-2025), Step 1 and its instructions. The regulation's list is 20 CFR 418.1205.
How to file it
- Online: SSA's page says you can sign in and submit the SSA-44 there.
- Fax or mail the form with your evidence to a Social Security office.
- Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and say you want to lower your IRMAA because of a life-changing event.
- Amended tax return instead of an event? SSA's page says to call, not use the form.
The form's instructions say the event must be in the same year as, or earlier than, the tax year you ask SSA to use, and that you may give an estimate for the current year. If you estimate, SSA later checks with IRS and asks for your filed return. If the estimate changes, the form says to contact SSA; otherwise SSA "may have to make corrections later including retroactive assessments or refunds."
Why we built it this way
A bracket table is the starting point. We added what a table can't do: the exact boundary rules (the top tier starts at "greater than or equal to"), MAGI built from the two Form 1040 lines SSA uses, the distance to each cliff, the per-person math for couples, and an SSA-44 checker that uses the form's own event names and evidence list. Every figure is from CMS or SSA. No secondary site's numbers are used.
Questions people ask
What are the 2026 IRMAA brackets?
For a single filer, the surcharge starts when MAGI is above $109,000; for a joint return, above $218,000. There are five tiers. Part B goes from the standard $202.90 up to $689.90 a month, and the Part D add-on from $14.50 to $91.00. Full table on this page, from the CMS fact sheet released November 14, 2025.
Which year's income sets my 2026 IRMAA?
Usually your 2024 federal tax return, two years before (20 CFR 418.1135). If IRS has nothing for that year, SSA uses 2023, three years before, and corrects it later.
What is MAGI for IRMAA?
Adjusted gross income from line 11 of Form 1040 plus tax-exempt interest from line 2a. Those are the two lines form SSA-44 asks for, so anything that raises line 11, or tax-exempt interest on line 2a, can move you up a tier.
Is IRMAA charged per person or per couple?
CMS lists the amounts per beneficiary, in a column for "beneficiaries who file joint tax returns." So for a married couple filing jointly, the joint MAGI sets the tier, and each spouse with Part B is a beneficiary paying the premium for that tier.
Can I appeal IRMAA?
Two routes. If a life-changing event on form SSA-44 lowered your income, ask SSA to use a more recent year with that form. If you filed an amended tax return, SSA's page says to call 1-800-772-1213. For any other question about the income SSA used, start with the same number. SSA makes the decision either way.
When will the 2027 IRMAA brackets be out?
When CMS publishes them. The 2026 amounts came out on November 14, 2025. We add a new year only from the official CMS fact sheet and keep showing 2026 until then, so this page never shows guessed numbers.
Does retiring count as a life-changing event?
Stopping work is on the form as "Work Stoppage," and cutting hours as "Work Reduction," for you or your spouse. A one-time capital gain or a large IRA withdrawal that did not repeat is not on the list; SSA-44 asks about events, not about income that simply went down.
Official sources
- CMS fact sheet: 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles, with the Part D income-related amounts (released November 14, 2025; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- SSA: Form SSA-44, Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount - Life-Changing Event (edition 12-2025; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- SSA: Request to lower an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) (checked Oct 2, 2026)
- 20 CFR 418.1135: which tax year SSA uses (eCFR; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- 20 CFR 418.1205: what counts as a major life-changing event (eCFR; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- 20 CFR 418.1125: how IRMAA adds to your total Part B premium (eCFR; checked Oct 2, 2026)
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