Depending on your income, premiums for Medicare Part B could cost more than the standard rate ($202.90 per month in 2026). This is referred to as IRMAA – the income related monthly adjustment amount. In 2026, Part B and part D premiums will cost more if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is higher than $218,000 for those who file a tax return as married filing jointly and $109,000 for those who file a tax return as single. The income that this is based on is income from two years ago. So, the 2026 IRMAA brackets apply to income from 2024.
The full IRMAA brackets are available on the social security website.
Beginning in 2020, income thresholds for IRMAA started to inflate every year (except the top bracket). IRMAA brackets for two years out aren’t available in the current tax year (ie. the 2026 brackets won’t be released until late 2027). So when you’re making financial decisions and factoring in IRMAA, you’re making decisions without knowledge of the exact targets. This can affect decisions around Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions, sale of a property, and other areas.
The good news about the inflation adjustments is that they build in a little buffer to your calculations. This is important because IRMAA is one of the few parts of the tax code where one additional dollar of income can cost you a lot in taxes. If you’re married and your MAGI was $217,999 in 2024, you don’t pay IRMAA. However, if it was $218,000, you and your spouse pay an extra $81.20 for part B and $14.50 for part B each month. This adds up $2,296.80 in taxes for that one extra dollar of income. Ouch! So it pays to monitor your IRMAA decisions closely.
Another important note is the definition of MAGI. There are multiple definitions of MAGI and the right definition depends on what you are using it for. For IRMAA, MAGI is adjusted gross income (AGI) plus tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds. This definition is different from almost every other definition of MAGI!
It’s important to be aware of the possibility of additional Medicare costs so they don’t sneak up on you. There are many tax planning strategies in retirement and often times, the IRMAA brackets are part of the planning equation. If this topic pertains to you and you have questions, feel free to reach out to us. We would be happy to help you sidestep the complexities involved with retirement tax planning and IRMAA.
This blog was originally published in 2020 and updated for 2026 threshholds.