Medicare IRMAA Calculator

Enter your filing status and the MAGI from your 2024 tax return. You'll get your 2026 Part B premium and Part D surcharge, your annual IRMAA cost, and the two numbers no table shows: what the cliff behind you is costing and how much headroom you have before the next one.

Data reviewed: July 2026. Figures here come from published sources and change over time. How we verify

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What IRMAA is, and why it surprises people twice

IRMAA, the income-related monthly adjustment amount, is Medicare's income test: above certain income levels, you pay more for Part B and Part D. It surprises people in two specific ways. First, the two year lookback: your 2026 premiums are set by the income on your 2024 tax return, so the year you sold the house, converted an IRA, or took a final bonus before retiring echoes into your premiums two years later, often after the income itself is long gone. Second, every threshold is a cliff, not a phase-in: crossing a line by one dollar triggers the entire tier's surcharge for the whole year, for both spouses if you both have Medicare.

This calculator places your MAGI in the 2026 table and then does the two things a table cannot: it prices the cliff behind you (what the dollars over the last line are actually costing) and the cliff ahead (how much headroom you have before the next one, and what crossing it would add). Those two numbers are what make IRMAA plannable instead of just annoying.

The 2026 IRMAA table

Final figures from CMS (published November 14, 2025), based on 2024 MAGI. Part B amounts are the total monthly premium; Part D amounts are added to whatever your drug plan itself charges.

Single MAGIJoint MAGIPart B / monthPart D surcharge
$109,000 or less$218,000 or less$202.90none
to $137,000to $274,000$284.10$14.50
to $171,000to $342,000$405.80$37.50
to $205,000to $410,000$527.50$60.40
under $500,000under $750,000$649.20$83.30
$500,000 and up$750,000 and up$689.90$91.00

Married filing separately has its own harsher schedule: the standard premium up to $109,000, then straight to the $649.20 tier, and the top tier from $391,000. MAGI here means adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest, which is why municipal bond income, invisible to the income tax, still counts against these lines.

Worked example

A couple filing jointly, both on Medicare with drug plans, had a $280,000 MAGI in 2024 (a Roth conversion year). That lands in the second surcharge tier: Part B becomes $405.80 each and Part D adds $37.50 each: $443.30 a month per person, $886.60 as a couple, $10,639.20 a year, of which $5,769.60 is IRMAA.

The sharper number: they are just $6,000 over the $274,000 line, and those six thousand dollars are costing $3,472.80 a year in extra premiums: an effective 57.9% rate on the income past the line, on top of the income tax it already paid. Had the conversion been $6,000 smaller, the surcharge tier would have been one lower. The next cliff sits at $342,000, with $3,470.40 a year at stake.

Planning around the cliffs, honestly

The two year lookback makes IRMAA a planning problem, and the cliffs make precision pay. The classic collisions: a Roth conversion sized without checking the lines (our Roth conversion calculator now has a reason to know your IRMAA thresholds), a large capital gain taken in one year instead of straddling two, and RMDs stacking on top of everything else after 73. The classic reliefs: qualified charitable distributions come straight out of MAGI, gains can sometimes be split across tax years, and conversions can be sized to fill a tier without breaching the next line. None of this is advice to earn less; it is advice to notice that $1 of income at the wrong line can cost hundreds of premium dollars, which is a rate worth planning around.

And if the high-income year is already behind you and your income has since dropped for one of Social Security's listed life-changing events (stopping or reducing work, marriage, divorce, a spouse's death, losing a pension, a disaster loss), do not just absorb the surcharge: file form SSA-44 with evidence of the newer income, and SSA can re-run the numbers on the current reality instead of the two year old return. Premiums are re-determined every year, so even without an appeal, one expensive year buys exactly one expensive premium year.

Frequently asked questions

What is IRMAA?

The income-related monthly adjustment amount: a surcharge added to Medicare Part B and Part D premiums when your income is above certain thresholds. In 2026 it starts at a MAGI of $109,000 for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers, and at the top tier it raises Part B from $202.90 to $689.90 a month.

What are the 2026 IRMAA brackets?

For single filers, the thresholds are $109,000, $137,000, $171,000, and $205,000, with the top tier starting at $500,000. Joint filers double the first four: $218,000, $274,000, $342,000, $410,000, with the top tier at $750,000. Each tier sets Part B between $284.10 and $689.90 a month and adds $14.50 to $91.00 to Part D.

What income does IRMAA count?

Modified adjusted gross income: your AGI plus tax-exempt interest. That last part surprises people, because municipal bond interest that escapes income tax still counts toward the IRMAA lines. Roth conversions, capital gains, and RMDs all land in MAGI in the year they happen.

Why is my 2026 premium based on my 2024 taxes?

Because Social Security uses the most recent complete tax return the IRS can hand over, which runs two years behind. The practical consequence is that a one-time income spike, like selling a house or converting an IRA, raises your premiums two years later, often after you have already retired to a much lower income.

Is IRMAA a cliff or a gradual phase-in?

A cliff. One dollar of MAGI over a threshold triggers the entire tier's surcharge for the full year, for each person on Medicare. Being $6,000 over a line as a couple can cost roughly $3,500 a year in extra premiums, which is why the calculator prices the distance to the lines in both directions.

Can I appeal an IRMAA surcharge?

Yes, if your income has dropped since the lookback year because of a life-changing event: stopping or reducing work, marriage, divorce, a spouse's death, loss of a pension, or a disaster loss. File form SSA-44 with evidence of your newer income and Social Security can use the current figure instead. A one-time gain, like a home sale, is not an appealable event.

Do both spouses pay the surcharge?

Each person on Medicare pays their own premium, and the tier is set by the joint return's MAGI, so a couple both on Medicare pays the surcharge twice over. That is why this calculator asks how many of you are enrolled and shows the household total.

Does Medicare Advantage avoid IRMAA?

No. The Part B premium and its IRMAA apply regardless of whether you take Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage, and if your Advantage plan includes drug coverage, the Part D surcharge applies too, even when the plan itself advertises a zero dollar premium.

How can I reduce a future IRMAA?

Manage the timing and size of what lands in MAGI: size Roth conversions to fill a tier without crossing the next line, straddle large capital gains across tax years, and use qualified charitable distributions from an IRA after 70.5, which satisfy RMDs without ever entering MAGI. The cliffs make a few thousand dollars of timing worth real premium money.

Is IRMAA permanent once it starts?

No. It is re-determined every year from a new lookback return, so one expensive year buys exactly one expensive premium year. If 2025's income was back to normal, your 2027 premiums will reflect that without you doing anything.

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