Medicare Part B Premium Calculator (2026)

Your Medicare Part B premium for 2026 is determined by your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) from your 2024 tax return. The Social Security Administration uses this two-year lookback to set your premium. Below are the projected income brackets and corresponding monthly premiums for 2026.

The standard Part B premium for 2026 is projected to be $190.00 per month. Any amount above this is the IRMAA surcharge.

For Single, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er) Filers:

For Married Filing Jointly Filers:

For Married Filing Separately Filers:

Note: These brackets apply if you lived with your spouse at any point during the tax year. The thresholds are significantly lower.

The key to understanding IRMAA is understanding Modified Adjusted Gross Income, or MAGI. It's not just your salary; it's a broader measure of income that the government uses to determine eligibility for various benefits and taxes.

What is MAGI for Medicare purposes?

For most people, your MAGI is your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from your tax return plus any tax-exempt interest you earned. Common sources of income that contribute to your MAGI include:

• Wages, salaries, and bonuses
• Withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and traditional IRAs
• Pension and annuity income
• Capital gains from selling investments
• Rental income
• Dividends and interest (including tax-exempt municipal bond interest)
• A portion of your Social Security benefits, if your total income is high enough

Notably, qualified distributions from Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s are not included in MAGI. This makes Roth accounts a powerful tool for managing future IRMAA liabilities. You can use a Roth IRA MAGI Calculator to see if you are eligible to contribute directly.

The Two-Year Lookback and the IRMAA Cliff

The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a two-year lookback period. This means your 2024 tax return determines your 2026 premiums, your 2025 return determines your 2027 premiums, and so on. This delay provides an opportunity for strategic tax planning but can also be a surprise for new retirees whose income drops significantly after they stop working.

The IRMAA brackets function as "cliffs." If your MAGI is $223,000 as a joint filer, your 2026 premium is $190 per month. If your MAGI is $223,001, your premium jumps to $266 per month. That single dollar of income costs you an extra $912 per year in premiums ($76 x 12). This makes it critical to know where you stand relative to the thresholds.

While you can't always avoid IRMAA, proactive planning can help you manage your MAGI and potentially lower your Medicare premiums. The best time to implement these strategies is often years before you enroll in Medicare, due to the two-year lookback period.

1. Time Your Roth Conversions: Converting money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA creates taxable income in the year of the conversion. If done in the years leading up to Medicare eligibility (e.g., ages 60-62), it can inflate your MAGI and trigger a higher premium at age 65. Plan to complete major Roth conversions well before your two-year lookback window begins.

2. Use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you are age 70.5 or older, you can donate up to $105,000 (for 2026) directly from your traditional IRA to a qualified charity. A QCD counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) but is not included in your AGI, making it a powerful tool for reducing MAGI.

3. Implement Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Sequencing: Structure your retirement income to manage your tax bracket and MAGI. A common strategy is to withdraw from taxable brokerage accounts first, then tax-deferred accounts (like traditional IRAs), and finally tax-free Roth accounts. This can help keep your MAGI below an IRMAA threshold in certain years. A retirement withdrawal calculator can help model different scenarios.

4. Harvest Tax Losses: In years when you need to sell assets, offset capital gains by selling other investments at a loss. This process, known as tax-loss harvesting, can reduce your net capital gains and lower your overall MAGI.

5. Leverage a Health Savings Account (HSA): If you have an HSA, withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are 100% tax-free. This provides a source of funds for healthcare costs that does not increase your MAGI. Maximize contributions to your HSA during your working years to build this valuable resource.

6. Spread Out Large Incomes: If you anticipate a large, one-time income event, such as selling a business or a highly appreciated property, explore ways to spread the income over several years to avoid a massive single-year spike in your MAGI.

The calculator determines your premium through a combination of looking up your income in the correct tier table and performing a few simple calculations.

First, the calculator identifies the correct IRMAA bracket based on your inputs for Projected MAGI and Filing Status. It compares your income to the thresholds for the selected filing status to find your Total Monthly Premium.

Once your total premium is identified, the following calculations are applied:

Monthly IRMAA Surcharge = Your Total Monthly Premium - Standard Part B Premium

Where:

• Your Total Monthly Premium = The premium amount from the IRMAA table corresponding to your MAGI and filing status.
• Standard Part B Premium = The base premium for 2026, which is $190.00.

To find your total annual cost, the formula is:

Annual Part B Premium = Your Total Monthly Premium × 12

The calculator also determines how close you are to the next, more expensive, IRMAA tier:

Income Needed to Reach Next Tier = Next Tier MAGI Threshold - Your Projected MAGI + $1

Where:

• Next Tier MAGI Threshold = The lowest income level for the next IRMAA bracket above your current one.
• Your Projected MAGI = The income you entered into the calculator.

If your income has decreased since the tax year used for your IRMAA determination, you may not have to wait for the system to catch up. You can request a new decision from the Social Security Administration (SSA) if you've experienced a "life-changing event."

The SSA recognizes the following events as valid reasons for an appeal:

• Marriage
• Divorce or annulment
• Death of your spouse
• Work stoppage or reduction (e.g., you or your spouse retired)
• Loss of income-producing property due to a disaster or other event beyond your control
• Loss of pension income (e.g., your former employer's pension plan terminated)
• An employer settlement payment due to a company's closure or bankruptcy

To appeal, you must file Form SSA-44, "Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount - Life-Changing Event," and provide evidence of both the event and your reduced income. If your appeal is approved, the SSA can recalculate your premium based on your more recent, lower income, potentially saving you thousands of dollars. You can find the form on the Social Security Administration's website.

What is IRMAA?

IRMAA stands for Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It is a surcharge that higher-income beneficiaries pay for Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage) in addition to the standard premium.

Who has to pay the Medicare IRMAA surcharge?

You will have to pay an IRMAA surcharge if your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) from two years prior is above a certain threshold. For 2026, you'll pay IRMAA if your 2024 MAGI was more than $111,000 (for single filers) or $223,000 (for joint filers).

Does my Roth IRA withdrawal count towards my MAGI for IRMAA?

No. Qualified distributions from a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) are not included in your AGI and therefore do not count toward your MAGI for IRMAA purposes. This is a key reason why building Roth assets can be a valuable part of a tax-efficient retirement plan.

How is the Part B premium paid?

If you are receiving Social Security benefits, your Part B premium is typically deducted directly from your monthly payment. If you are not yet collecting Social Security, you will receive a quarterly bill from Medicare.

What happens if my income changes from year to year?

Your IRMAA determination is made annually. For example, a high-income year in 2024 will affect your 2026 premiums, but if your income drops in 2025, your 2027 premiums will be recalculated based on that lower income.

Does IRMAA affect Medicare Part D premiums too?

Yes. There is a separate IRMAA surcharge for Part D prescription drug plans. The income thresholds are the same as for Part B, but the surcharge amounts are different and are paid in addition to your specific plan's premium.

Can I avoid IRMAA by delaying Medicare enrollment?

Delaying Medicare Part B enrollment past age 65 (if you don't have other qualifying health coverage) will not help you avoid IRMAA. Instead, it will likely result in a permanent late enrollment penalty, which is added to your monthly premium for the rest of your life.

Now that you have an estimate of your Medicare Part B premium, you can build a more accurate retirement healthcare budget. Use this information to refine your overall financial plan and see how these costs impact your savings.

Explore how long your savings might last with the How Long Will My Money Last Calculator, or test different withdrawal strategies with the Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator. If you are a federal employee, compare your options with the FEHB vs. Medicare Calculator.

Last updated: July 2026