IRMAA Calculator 2026

Your 2026 Medicare surcharge is determined by your 2024 modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) — including RMDs, Social Security, capital gains, and Roth conversions. Enter your 2024 MAGI to see your IRMAA tier, annual Part B and Part D surcharges, and how close you are to the next threshold.

2026 IRMAA Brackets — Part B and Part D Surcharges

IRMAA surcharges are determined by your 2024 MAGI (the two-year lookback). Surcharges work as cliffs — one dollar over a threshold triggers the full additional cost for that tier.¹

Source: CMS 2026 Medicare Parts B Premiums fact sheet (Nov 2025)¹ and Kiplinger 2026 IRMAA guide.² MFS filers skip to Tier 4 at $109,001 — no intermediate tiers. Part D surcharge is per person and applies in addition to your plan premium.

What counts as MAGI for IRMAA?

IRMAA MAGI includes everything that appears in your adjusted gross income, plus tax-exempt interest. The most common components for retirees:

• Required minimum distributions — fully included in MAGI
• Social Security income — the taxable portion (up to 85%) included in AGI, plus the untaxed portion added back for IRMAA MAGI
• Capital gains — both short-term and long-term, included
• Roth conversions — conversion amounts appear as ordinary income in MAGI
• Pension and annuity income — included
• Tax-exempt bond interest — added back in (IRMAA MAGI differs from AGI here)
• QCDs — excluded from MAGI (biggest planning lever available to retirees)

Married Filing Separately: the IRMAA penalty

For spouses who file separately (common in divorce situations or when managing Medicare strategically), IRMAA works very differently: there are no Tiers 1–3. MFS filers with MAGI above $109,000 jump directly to Tier 4 — the same premium as single filers earning $205,001–$500,000.

A couple where one spouse earns $120,000 filing separately pays $649.20/month vs. $202.90 if they filed jointly (which puts total income at $120,000, below the $218,000 joint threshold). Filing status choice can create a $5,356/year per-person difference.

How RMDs drive IRMAA surcharges

The connection between RMDs and IRMAA is mechanical. A retiree with $2M in a traditional IRA at age 75 takes an RMD of approximately $81,300 (balance ÷ 24.6 divisor). Add $36,000 in Social Security, $15,000 in pension income, and $8,000 in dividends — total MAGI reaches about $140,000 for a single filer, landing in Tier 2 and adding $2,885/year in Part B and Part D surcharges.

As balances compound and RMDs grow, the stack worsens. By age 85 with the same IRA compounding to $2.8M, the RMD approaches $175,000. Combined income exceeds $230,000 — pushing into Tier 4 ($6,356/year) without any active choices.

Strategies to reduce IRMAA

1. QCDs: the fastest tier-escape tool

A Qualified Charitable Distribution directly from your IRA to a 501(c)(3) counts toward your RMD but is excluded from MAGI entirely. If you're charitable, this is the most efficient IRMAA lever available. In 2026, you can exclude up to $111,000 via QCD.³

Example: A single filer at $115,000 MAGI (in Tier 1) who gives $7,000 to charity drops to $108,000 — below the $109,000 cliff — and eliminates $1,148/year in IRMAA. The QCD costs nothing if they were going to donate anyway. Use the QCD Calculator to model your situation.

2. Roth conversions before RMD age

Every dollar converted from traditional IRA to Roth before age 73 (or 75) permanently reduces future RMDs — and therefore future MAGI. A retiree who converts $60,000/year from age 65 to 73 can reduce the initial RMD from $75,000+ to $45,000 or less, often keeping income below the first IRMAA threshold entirely. The Roth Conversion Calculator shows the lifetime tax comparison.

Important: Roth conversions increase the MAGI for the year of conversion — which affects Medicare premiums two years later. Convert carefully to the cliff edge, not across it. Use our Roth Conversion Sizing Calculator to find the maximum IRMAA-safe conversion amount.

3. Income smoothing across years

Because IRMAA uses a two-year lookback, the income year that matters for 2028 premiums is 2026. Tactics:

• Avoid stacking. Don't take a large Roth conversion in the same year as an unusually large RMD from a newly inherited IRA.
• Front-load RMDs in low-income years. You can always take more than the RMD minimum — useful in years when your income happens to be lower.
• Harvest capital losses in the same year as a large distribution to offset MAGI.

4. Life Changing Event appeal (SSA-44)

If your 2024 income was higher due to a one-time event (retirement, job loss, sale of property, divorce), and your current income is materially lower, you can appeal your 2026 IRMAA using SSA Form SSA-44. The appeal substitutes a current-year income estimate for the two-year-prior MAGI. A successful appeal can eliminate $1,000–$6,000/year per person in surcharges.

Sources

1. CMS — 2026 Medicare Parts B Premiums and Deductibles. Base Part B premium $202.90/month; IRMAA Part B surcharges $81.20–$487.00/month by tier. Published November 2025.
2. Kiplinger — Medicare Premiums 2026: IRMAA Brackets and Surcharges for Parts B and D. Part B and Part D surcharge schedules; income thresholds $109,000–$500,000 single / $218,000–$750,000 MFJ; Part D surcharges $14.50–$91.00/month. Verified May 2026.
3. IRS — Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). 2026 annual QCD limit: $111,000 (inflation-indexed under SECURE 2.0). Available from age 70½. QCDs excluded from MAGI for IRMAA purposes.
4. SSA — Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). Two-year MAGI lookback rule, SSA-44 Life Changing Event appeal process, MFS filing status special tier structure.

IRMAA thresholds and Medicare premiums verified against CMS 2026 fact sheet and Kiplinger 2026 IRMAA analysis, May 2026. Part D surcharges ($14.50–$91.00/month by tier) verified against Kiplinger 2026 IRMAA guide. Medicare premiums adjust annually — confirm current-year values at medicare.gov before planning.