IRMAA brackets are the income tiers Medicare uses to decide whether you pay the standard premium or a surcharge on top of it. The income-related monthly adjustment amount starts once modified adjusted gross income passes $109,000 on a single return or $218,000 on a joint one, then climbs through five tiers. The full 2026 tables for Part B and Part D premiums follow, one per filing situation, because premiums are based on income: an IRMAA surcharge applies once income exceeds certain thresholds.
The calculator below does the lookup for you. Enter the AGI and tax-exempt interest from your 2024 federal tax return, choose a filing status, and it shows your income bracket, the monthly add-on for each enrolled spouse, and the dollars left before the next line.
IRMAA Calculator
Estimate your 2026 Medicare Part B and Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts from the MAGI on your 2024 return and your filing status.
Estimates use the 2026 Part B premium and adjustment tables published by CMS, applied to 2024 income under SSA rules. Your actual amount comes from the Social Security Administration's notice. Figures change each year; the 2027 tables are expected around November 2026. This is an educational tool, not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
2026 Medicare IRMAA Income Brackets for Part B
All three tables share one base: the standard 2026 Medicare Part B premium of $202.90 a month, up $17.90 from $185.00. Each higher tier adds a fixed amount per person. K means thousands.
Single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse
| MAGI on the return | IRMAA added | Total you pay monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $109K | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| Over $109K through $137K | $81.20 | $284.10 |
| Over $137K through $171K | $202.90 | $405.80 |
| Over $171K through $205K | $324.60 | $527.50 |
| Over $205K, below $500K | $446.30 | $649.20 |
| $500K and up | $487.00 | $689.90 |
Married couples filing jointly
| Joint income (MAGI) | IRMAA added | Total you pay monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $218K | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| Over $218K through $274K | $81.20 | $284.10 |
| Over $274K through $342K | $202.90 | $405.80 |
| Over $342K through $410K | $324.60 | $527.50 |
| Over $410K, below $750K | $446.30 | $649.20 |
| $750K and up | $487.00 | $689.90 |
Joint income decides the row, and the charge lands on each spouse separately. A married couple both on Medicare pays the row amount twice.
Married, separate returns, lived together at any time in the year
| MAGI on the return | IRMAA added | Total you pay monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $109K | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| Over $109K, below $391K | $446.30 | $649.20 |
| $391K and up | $487.00 | $689.90 |
Married filing separately skips straight to the fourth surcharge bracket, so it rarely saves money here. A separate filer who lived apart from the spouse for the entire year is moved to the single table under SSA rules (POMS HI 01120.060).
Part D IRMAA: The Drug Coverage Add-On
Part D IRMAA uses the same income lines with smaller amounts, paid to Medicare on top of your plan’s own price. It applies to a stand-alone drug plan, a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, or Medicare prescription drug coverage arranged through an employer.
| Single MAGI | Joint MAGI | Separate, lived together | Monthly add-on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $109K | Up to $218K | Up to $109K | $0.00 |
| Over $109K through $137K | Over $218K through $274K | No row | $14.50 |
| Over $137K through $171K | Over $274K through $342K | No row | $37.50 |
| Over $171K through $205K | Over $342K through $410K | No row | $60.40 |
| Over $205K, below $500K | Over $410K, below $750K | Over $109K, below $391K | $83.30 |
| $500K and up | $750K and up | $391K and up | $91.00 |
Don’t send this amount to the insurer. Medicare deducts it from a Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or OPM payment, or bills you monthly; Medicare Easy Pay, a free automatic bank deduction, covers those bills.
Part B IRMAA Costs per Tier as a Share of Program Cost
Each tier is set as a share of what Part B really costs. SSA’s manual (POMS HI 01101.031) says most enrollees pay about 25%, while IRMAA tiers pay 35%, 50%, 65%, 80%, and 85%. Divide each total by $202.90 and the same ladder appears as a multiple of the standard monthly premium.
| Tier | Share of true cost | Multiple of standard | Combined monthly IRMAA | Per person per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 25% | 1.0x | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Tier 1 | 35% | 1.4x | $95.70 | $1,148.40 |
| Tier 2 | 50% | 2.0x | $240.40 | $2,884.80 |
| Tier 3 | 65% | 2.6x | $385.00 | $4,620.00 |
| Tier 4 | 80% | 3.2x | $529.60 | $6,355.20 |
| Tier 5 | 85% | 3.4x | $578.00 | $6,936.00 |
The combined column assumes drug coverage. Yearly, monthly IRMAA fees run from about $1,100 to nearly $7,000 per person, and CMS says roughly 8% of Part B enrollees pay these Medicare surcharges.
2026 Brackets vs 2025 IRMAA Brackets and the 2024 IRMAA Tables
Lower lines rise most years; the $500K and $750K top lines have not moved. Source: SSA’s sliding scale tables (POMS HI 01101.020):
| Premium year | Return used | First single line | First joint line | Separate top row starts | First tier Part B total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2021 | $97K | $194K | $403K | $230.80 |
| 2024 | 2022 | $103K | $206K | $397K | $244.60 |
| 2025 | 2023 | $106K | $212K | $394K | $259.00 |
| 2026 | 2024 | $109K | $218K | $391K | $284.10 |
One quirk we noticed while checking these tables: the separate-return top line always equals $500K minus the first single line, so it drifts down as the other IRMAA thresholds drift up. Under the 2025 brackets, a single filer at $107,000 owed a surcharge; now that income sits under the threshold.
Part B premiums have been tied to income since 2007 and Part D since 2011, according to CMS. The statute froze the income thresholds through 2017; the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 changed them from 2018 (POMS HI 01101.001). Since then each line has been reset yearly for inflation and rounded to a whole $1,000.
Why 2024 Income Sets Your 2026 IRMAA
IRMAA explained in one sentence: higher income, a higher Medicare premium, judged two years late. Premiums for this year use your 2024 return, the one filed in 2025. SSA generally uses income from two years before the premium year, never more than three years prior, so each Medicare IRMAA charge this year is based on 2024 MAGI.
MAGI here is adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest. It is not taxable income; the standard deduction never touches it. Every reported income line in AGI counts, including the usual retirement income sources: IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, Roth conversions, pensions, capital gains, dividends, and the taxable part of Social Security. Only income adjustments taken before AGI, the Schedule 1 kind, pull it down.
Unlike tax brackets, which tax only the dollars inside each band, an IRMAA bracket is a cliff: cross a line by a dollar and the full charge applies all year.
Income Exceeds a Line: Worked Examples From the Tables
These cases use the calculator above with no tax-exempt interest and drug coverage in place:
- A single filer at $180,000 lands in tier 3: a $527.50 medical premium plus $60.40 for drugs, so $385.00 a month in higher IRMAA charges, or $4,620 a year.
- A couple filing jointly at $400,000 lands in the same tier. Each pays $385.00 extra monthly, $9,240 a year for the household.
- A single filer at $137,000 pays $95.70 extra. At $137,001 the add-on jumps to $240.40, so one dollar costs $1,736.40 over the year.
High income alone doesn’t make you subject to IRMAA; timing does. People who avoid IRMAA, or at least a tier, usually do it by sizing Roth conversions to end just under a line, spreading a large sale over two years, or giving from an IRA straight to charity. Treat each line as a tax planning budget: income changes today become your future IRMAA liability two years later.
When the 2027 IRMAA Brackets Come Out
CMS released this year’s premiums, deductibles, and IRMAA amounts on November 14, 2025, so the IRMAA in 2027 should be known around November 2026. Those tables will look at income two years back, meaning your 2025 return. Until then, any 2027 figure online is a projection, and we’ll swap in the official lines once they post.
IRMAA Appeal Routes When the Bracket Looks Wrong
SSA gives two paths. First, a new decision based on a more recent year when income fell after a life-changing event: a spouse’s death, marriage, divorce or annulment, stopping work, cutting back work, losing income-producing property, losing an employer pension, or an employer settlement payment. Form SSA-44 handles that, and ordinary retirement counts as stopping work.
Second, reconsideration, a request to appeal the IRMAA itself, which fits when the IRS data is wrong, when an amended return changed your MAGI, or when you disagree with the math (POMS HI 01101.050). A big one-time gain qualifies for neither.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it charged per person or per household? Per person. The row is based on your MAGI (joint income on a joint return), and each enrolled spouse pays it.
How does IRMAA affect Medicare costs for a surviving spouse? The survivor usually files single with half the joint threshold. A widow with $200,000 of income owed nothing on a joint return, but on a single return pays $385.00 a month more.
Does Medicare Advantage avoid the surcharge? No. Advantage members still pay the standard Medicare Part B and Part D add-ons for their tier, because the Medicare system collects both, not the plan.
When does this matter for new enrollees? Medicare eligibility starts at 65, but the first premium looks back to age 63. If you’re navigating Medicare after a high-earning year, check the tables early.
Tables reflect the 2026 CMS and SSA figures, last reviewed September 2026 against the CMS premium fact sheet. CMS publishes 2027 figures around November 2026. The calculator provides estimates only, and this page is educational, not tax, legal, or insurance advice.