Calculate your 2026 Medicare IRMAA surcharge for Part B and Part D from your 2024 MAGI and filing status, with total premiums, annual cost, and cliff headroom.
IRMAA Surcharge Formula
IRMAA (the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) is not a percentage of your income. It is a fixed monthly dollar amount set by the income bracket your MAGI falls into, and it is added on top of your standard Medicare premiums:
Total Part B = 202.90 + IRMAA_B Total Part D = Plan premium + IRMAA_D MAGI = AGI + tax-exempt interest
Variables:
- IRMAA_B is the Part B surcharge for your bracket, from 0 to 487.00 per month in 2026
- IRMAA_D is the Part D surcharge for your bracket, from 0 to 91.00 per month in 2026
- 202.90 is the standard 2026 Part B monthly premium that everyone with Part B pays
- Plan premium is your own Part D drug plan premium, which averages about 34.50 in 2026 and is paid to your insurer
- MAGI is your modified adjusted gross income
- AGI is your adjusted gross income, Form 1040 line 11
- tax-exempt interest is mostly municipal bond interest, Form 1040 line 2a, which is added back to AGI
Your 2026 surcharge is based on your MAGI from two years earlier, so the 2024 tax return that Social Security receives from the IRS sets your 2026 premiums. This calculator has two modes. In “My 2026 surcharge” mode you enter your filing status and 2024 MAGI, and it returns your Part B and Part D surcharges, your total Part B premium, your annual cost, and how far you sit below the next bracket. You can either type your MAGI directly or build it from AGI plus tax-exempt interest. In “My income limits” mode you pick a filing status and see the MAGI ceiling for every tier along with the yearly cost of each step. Because IRMAA is assessed per enrolled person, the married-filing-jointly view also shows the household cost when both spouses are on Medicare.
2026 IRMAA Brackets and Surcharges
The table below shows the 2026 brackets, which are based on your 2024 MAGI. The first four brackets are adjusted for inflation each year; the top bracket is frozen through at least 2028. Married couples who file separately use a compressed set of brackets, shown in the note underneath.
| 2024 MAGI (Single) | 2024 MAGI (Married joint) | Part B surcharge | Part D surcharge | Total Part B /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $218,000 or less | $0.00 | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| $109,001 to $137,000 | $218,001 to $274,000 | $81.20 | $14.50 | $284.10 |
| $137,001 to $171,000 | $274,001 to $342,000 | $202.90 | $37.50 | $405.80 |
| $171,001 to $205,000 | $342,001 to $410,000 | $324.60 | $60.40 | $527.50 |
| $205,001 to $499,999 | $410,001 to $749,999 | $446.30 | $83.30 | $649.20 |
| $500,000 or more | $750,000 or more | $487.00 | $91.00 | $689.90 |
Married filing separately is compressed into three tiers: $109,000 or less pays no surcharge, MAGI above $109,000 up to $391,000 pays the $446.30 Part B and $83.30 Part D surcharge, and $391,000 or more pays the top $487.00 Part B and $91.00 Part D surcharge.
The next table is the part most bracket lists leave out: what the surcharge actually costs over a year, what it costs a couple when both spouses are enrolled, and how big the jump is at each cliff. The surcharge amounts are the same for single and joint filers; only the income ranges differ.
| Tier | Surcharge /mo (B+D) | Per person /yr | Couple /yr (both enrolled) | Added cost of this cliff /yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base (no IRMAA) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | – |
| Tier 1 | $95.70 | $1,148.40 | $2,296.80 | $1,148.40 |
| Tier 2 | $240.40 | $2,884.80 | $5,769.60 | $1,736.40 |
| Tier 3 | $385.00 | $4,620.00 | $9,240.00 | $1,735.20 |
| Tier 4 | $529.60 | $6,355.20 | $12,710.40 | $1,735.20 |
| Tier 5 | $578.00 | $6,936.00 | $13,872.00 | $580.80 |
The “added cost of this cliff” column is why a single dollar of extra MAGI matters so much. Going one dollar over the Tier 1 line, for example, does not cost you a few cents; it costs $1,148.40 for the year, and for a couple where both are enrolled it is double that.
Example Problems
Example 1: A single filer with 2024 MAGI of $150,000.
$150,000 falls in the $137,001 to $171,000 single bracket, which is Tier 2. The Part B surcharge is $202.90 and the Part D surcharge is $37.50, so the total Part B premium is 202.90 + 202.90 = $405.80 per month. The combined monthly surcharge is 202.90 + 37.50 = $240.40, which is 240.40 * 12 = $2,884.80 for the year.
Example 2: A married couple filing jointly with 2024 MAGI of $280,000, both on Medicare.
$280,000 falls in the $274,001 to $342,000 joint bracket, also Tier 2, so each spouse has the same $240.40 monthly surcharge. Per person that is $2,884.80 a year, but because IRMAA is charged to each enrolled person, the household pays 2,884.80 * 2 = $5,769.60 in surcharges for the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What income does the 2026 IRMAA use?
It uses your MAGI from two years earlier, so 2026 premiums are based on your 2024 tax return. For IRMAA, MAGI is your adjusted gross income plus any tax-exempt interest, such as municipal bond income. Taxable IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, capital gains, pensions, and the taxable part of Social Security all count. Qualified withdrawals from a Roth IRA or an HSA do not count, which is why they are useful for staying under a bracket.
Why is IRMAA called a cliff instead of a tax bracket?
A tax bracket only taxes the income above each threshold. IRMAA does not work that way. Once your MAGI crosses a threshold by even one dollar, the full surcharge for that tier applies to your whole premium. A single filer at $137,001 pays the same Tier 2 surcharge as one at $170,000. That is why the calculator shows how far you are from the next cliff, so a small income change near a line does not trigger a surcharge you could have avoided.
Do both spouses pay IRMAA, and can it be appealed?
Yes. IRMAA is applied to each person enrolled in Medicare, so a couple where both spouses have Part B and Part D can pay the surcharge twice, which the household view in the calculator accounts for. If your income has since dropped because of a life-changing event such as retirement, the death of a spouse, divorce, or reduced work, you do not have to wait two years. You can file Form SSA-44 with Social Security to have your surcharge recalculated from your current income.
