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IRMAA Calculator: the facts

2026 law · reviewed September 4, 2026

  1. The 2026 Medicare premium is set by income from the 2024 tax return, two years back. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month; the income-related surcharges begin above $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income on an individual return and $218,000 on a joint return.
  2. One dollar over a threshold moves the whole premium up a step. At $109,001 of 2024 income, a single filer pays $284.10 for Part B plus a $14.50 Part D surcharge: $1,148.40 more for the year than a neighbor one dollar under.
  3. There are six tiers. The first surcharge adds $81.20 a month to Part B and $14.50 to Part D; the top tier, at $500,000 and above on an individual return, adds $487.00 and $91.00, for a Part B premium of $689.90.
  4. A married couple filing jointly at $750,000 of income pays $1,379.80 a month for two Part B premiums, before Part D.
  5. The surcharge is not a marginal tax. It applies to the whole premium, so the cost of crossing a threshold is the same whether you cross it by one dollar or by ten thousand.
  6. If income has dropped since the 2024 return because of retirement, a death, a divorce, or another listed life-changing event, Social Security will use the more recent year on request (Form SSA-44).