2026 IRMAA Brackets: The Full Medicare Part B & D Chart
Every 2026 Medicare IRMAA tier in one chart — the MAGI window, the Part B surcharge, the Part D surcharge, and the combined annual cost — built directly from the SSA sliding-scale tables. Below the chart: the two-year lookback, why IRMAA is a cliff and not a phase-in, and how to appeal it.
Want your exact number instead of a bracket range?
Estimate your own IRMAA surcharge →The IRMAA brackets 2026 chart — single & married filing jointly
Read this table by your MAGI from two years ago (2024 MAGI sets your 2026 premium). The Part B total column already includes the $202.90 standard premium; the Part D surcharge is separate from your plan's own premium.
| Tier | Single MAGI | Married filing jointly MAGI | Part B surcharge/mo | Part B total/mo | Part D surcharge/mo | Combined surcharge/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Up to $109,000 | Up to $218,000 | — | $202.90 | — | — |
| Tier 1 | $109,000 – $137,000 | $218,000 – $274,000 | $81.20 | $284.10 | $14.50 | $1,148 |
| Tier 2 | $137,000 – $171,000 | $274,000 – $342,000 | $202.90 | $405.80 | $37.50 | $2,885 |
| Tier 3 | $171,000 – $205,000 | $342,000 – $410,000 | $324.60 | $527.50 | $60.40 | $4,620 |
| Tier 4 | $205,000 – $500,000 | $410,000 – $750,000 | $446.30 | $649.20 | $83.30 | $6,355 |
| Tier 5 | $500,000+ | $750,000+ | $487.00 | $689.90 | $91.00 | $6,936 |
Source: SSA POMS HI 01101.020 sliding-scale tables; CMS 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles fact sheet (standard Part B premium).
Married filing separately: a different chart entirely
A spouse who files separately but lived with their spouse at any time during the lookback year does not get Tiers 1 through 3 at all — MAGI above $109,000 jumps directly to the Tier 4 surcharge. An MFS filer who lived apart from their spouse for the entire lookback year is treated like a single filer and uses the six-row chart above instead.
| Tier | MAGI (lived with spouse) | Part B surcharge/mo | Part D surcharge/mo | Combined surcharge/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Up to $109,000 | — | — | $0 |
| Tier 4 | $109,000 – $391,000 | $446.30 | $83.30 | $6,355 |
| Tier 5 | $391,000+ | $487.00 | $91.00 | $6,936 |
Source: SSA POMS HI 01101.020.
The two-year lookback behind the 2026 Medicare income limits
Social Security doesn't ask Medicare what you earn today — it asks the IRS what you earned two full tax years ago. Your 2026 premium is set by your 2024 MAGI; next year's 2027 premium will look at 2025 MAGI. The Medicare income limits 2026 uses are therefore already locked in by the time you read this — the number that matters for 2028 is the MAGI you're generating right now.
- What's in MAGI: AGI from your Form 1040, plus any tax-exempt interest added back. Capital gains, IRA/401(k) withdrawals, RMDs, pension income, and Roth conversions all count.
- What isn't: the non-taxable portion of Social Security benefits, and any income you never had to report at all.
- Why it bites late: a large Roth conversion or a one-time capital gain this year raises premiums two full years from now, by which point the planning window has closed. Check where a conversion lands you first on the MAGI calculator.
Medicare IRMAA 2026 is a cliff, not a phase-in
Nothing about this schedule is gradual. Land one dollar past a boundary and your ENTIRE MAGI is re-priced at the next tier's flat surcharge — there is no partial or pro-rated amount for the sliver of income over the line. Here is the exact cost of crossing each of the five 2026 boundaries, computed from the same tier table shown above:
| Crossing this MAGI (single) | Moves you from | Into | Extra cost/mo | Extra cost/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $109,000 | Standard | Tier 1 | $95.70 | $1,148 |
| $137,000 | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | $144.70 | $1,736 |
| $171,000 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | $144.60 | $1,735 |
| $205,000 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | $144.60 | $1,735 |
| $500,000 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | $48.40 | $581 |
Married-jointly boundaries sit at different MAGI levels but produce the identical per-person dollar jumps shown here.
IRMAA is charged per Medicare-enrolled spouse
The tier is set by the household's combined MAGI, but the bill is not shared — it is doubled. Every spouse who is separately enrolled in Medicare Part B and/or Part D pays their own full surcharge at that tier.
Worked example — married couple, both on Medicare, $300,000 MAGI
- Combined MAGI of $300,000 lands the household in Tier 2.
- EACH spouse's Part B bill: $405.80/month (standard premium + surcharge).
- EACH spouse's Part D surcharge: $37.50/month, on top of their own plan's premium.
- Per-spouse annual IRMAA: $2,885. Household annual IRMAA (both spouses): $5,770.
Appealing IRMAA with Form SSA-44
IRMAA is based on old income, so SSA offers one narrow escape hatch: Form SSA-44 lets you ask for a recalculation using a more recent year's income when a specific "life-changing event" — not just a lower number — caused the drop.
- Marriage, divorce, or annulment
- Death of a spouse
- Work stoppage (retirement) or a reduction in work hours
- Loss of income-producing property beyond your control (disaster, fraud, etc.)
- Loss or reduction of a pension
- An employer settlement payment tied to a bankruptcy or closure
Selling investments, taking a large IRA distribution, or converting to a Roth does not qualify — those are choices, not life-changing events, so SSA will not adjust the tier for them no matter how much the year-over-year income swings.
Part D IRMAA is billed apart from your plan premium
Your Part D drug plan bills you (or debits your bank account) for its own base premium, which varies plan to plan and region to region. The Part D IRMAA surcharge shown in the charts above is a completely separate charge — it is collected the same way your Part B premium is (usually withheld from a Social Security or Railroad Retirement check, or billed directly by Medicare if you don't draw one), never by the drug plan itself. Two bills, two payees, one MAGI-driven tier.
How the thresholds moved from 2025 to 2026
| Threshold | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Single / head of household — entry threshold | $106,000 | $109,000 |
| Married filing jointly — entry threshold | $212,000 | $218,000 |
| Single / head of household — Tier 5 starts | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| Married filing jointly — Tier 5 starts | $750,000 | $750,000 |
Entry and mid-range thresholds are inflation-indexed annually; the standard Part B premium rose from $185.00 to $202.90/month over the same period. Source: SSA POMS HI 01101.020 (2025 and 2026 tables).
IRMAA stacks on top of the standard premiums
Everything above is a SURCHARGE — it adds to, and never replaces, the baseline Medicare Part A and Part B costs every enrollee pays regardless of income. See the 2026 Medicare costs reference for those baseline premiums and deductibles before layering IRMAA on top.
Frequently asked questions
What are the IRMAA brackets for 2026?
There are six 2026 IRMAA tiers, running from Standard (no surcharge, MAGI up to $109,000 single / $218,000 joint) up through Tier 5 (MAGI over $500,000 single / $750,000 joint). Each tier adds a fixed Part B surcharge and a fixed Part D surcharge on top of your regular premiums. The full six-row table above lists every tier with its exact MAGI window and dollar surcharge.
How is the 2026 IRMAA chart different for married filing separately?
Married-filing-separately filers skip straight from Standard to Tier 4 once MAGI passes $109,000 — there's no gradual climb through Tiers 1 through 3 the way single and joint filers get. That's only for MFS spouses who lived with their spouse at any point during the lookback year; an MFS filer who lived apart from their spouse for the entire lookback year uses the regular single-filer table instead.
What income counts toward the Medicare income limits for 2026?
IRMAA runs on Modified Adjusted Gross Income, not taxable income and not gross Social Security benefits. Start with your AGI from the relevant year's Form 1040, then add back tax-exempt municipal bond interest. Capital gains, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, pension income, rental income, and a Roth conversion all flow into AGI and therefore into this MAGI figure — which is exactly why a large one-time event two years ago can quietly push this year's Medicare premium into a higher tier.
Is Medicare IRMAA 2026 a gradual increase or a cliff?
A hard cliff. Medicare IRMAA 2026 does not phase in — crossing a boundary by even one dollar moves your ENTIRE MAGI into the next tier's full surcharge, not just the dollar over the line. See the crossing-cost table above for the exact monthly and annual jump at each of the five boundaries.
Does each spouse pay IRMAA separately?
Yes. IRMAA attaches to the Medicare enrollment, not the tax return, so each spouse enrolled in Medicare Part B and/or Part D owes their own surcharge at whatever tier the household's joint MAGI lands in. A couple at $300,000 MAGI lands in Tier 2, so each spouse's Part B bill runs $405.80/month plus a $37.50/month Part D surcharge — roughly $5,770 a year in combined surcharges for the household.
Can I get my IRMAA reduced with Form SSA-44?
Only for one of a specific set of life-changing events — not just because your income happened to drop. SSA will recompute using a more recent year's income if you can document work stoppage or reduction, marriage, divorce or annulment, death of a spouse, loss of income-producing property through no fault of your own, loss or reduction of pension income, or an employer settlement payment tied to closure or bankruptcy. A Roth conversion, a stock sale, or simply retiring investments into cash does not qualify on its own — only an actual life event does.
What changed in the IRMAA brackets from 2025 to 2026?
Every entry and mid-range threshold rose with the annual cost-of-living adjustment — the single-filer entry point moved from $106,000 to $109,000, and the joint entry point from $212,000 to $218,000. The standard Part B premium itself rose from $185.00 to $202.90/month. The top-tier boundary, by contrast, is fixed by statute rather than indexed, so it did not move.
Sources
Related insights
Use these guides for rule explanations, planning context, and follow-up questions beyond the calculator result.
Roth Conversion + IRMAA 2026: Medicare Premium Cliff Strategy
A Roth conversion raises MAGI and can trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges two years later. How to size a conversion so it stays under the next tier.
2026 Social Security COLA and Tax Changes
The official 2026 Social Security COLA of 2.8%, the new $184,500 taxable wage base cap, and how benefit taxation thresholds affect retirees. What every Social Security recipient needs to know.
When to Take Social Security: The Tax Impact of Age 62 vs. 67 vs. 70
Understand how the age you claim Social Security affects your benefit amount, federal tax exposure, and breakeven timeline — and how to minimize the tax hit on your benefits.
Related Calculators
Medicare IRMAA Calculator
Enter your MAGI and filing status to estimate your own Part B and Part D surcharge
MAGI Calculator
Modified AGI + Roth IRA phase-out, IRMAA, NIIT, ACA, and OBBBA senior deduction status
Roth Conversion Calculator
Pro-rata tax on conversions, tax-free growth at conversion basis
RMD Calculator
Required minimum distributions, age 73 RBD, life-expectancy tables
Social Security Benefits
PIA, earliest at 62, full retirement age, delayed credits
Social Security Taxability
Provisional income formula, up to 85% inclusion in taxable income