Tool · Investor Sam Health

Medicare IRMAA Surcharge Calculator

June 30, 2026 • By the Investor Sam Editorial Team • Reviewed by Berly Sam Varghese, Editor
Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries pay more than the standard Part B and Part D premiums through a surcharge called the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. It kicks in above set income thresholds and climbs in five tiers, and it is a cliff, not a slope: cross a threshold by a single dollar and the full surcharge applies. This calculator uses your modified adjusted gross income and filing status against the 2024 brackets to show your monthly Part B and Part D surcharges, the combined monthly amount, and the annual cost. Note that Social Security uses your tax return from two years earlier to set IRMAA.

Example: Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI): 150000 $ · Filing status: 0

Total monthly IRMAA surcharge$208
Part B monthly surcharge$175
Part D monthly surcharge$33
Annual surcharge$2,497

Worked example

Take a single filer with a MAGI of $150,000 in 2024. That falls in the second IRMAA tier for single filers (above $129,000 but not above $161,000), which adds about $174.80 a month to Part B and $33.30 to Part D. The combined surcharge is roughly $208.10 a month, or about $2,497 a year, on top of the standard premiums. Crossing into the next tier at $161,000 would jump the Part B surcharge to about $279.70, showing how sharp the cliffs are.

Frequently asked questions

What income does IRMAA use, and from which year?

It uses your modified adjusted gross income, which is your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest. Social Security generally looks at your tax return from two years prior, so this year's surcharge is based on income from two years ago. A high one-time income event, like a large capital gain, can trigger IRMAA later.

Is IRMAA a slope or a cliff?

A cliff. Each tier applies to a full income range, and going one dollar over a threshold moves you into the next tier and its full surcharge. That makes managing income near a bracket edge, through timing of withdrawals or Roth conversions, especially valuable for people close to a threshold.

Can I appeal an IRMAA determination?

Yes. If you have had a qualifying life-changing event, such as retirement, marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse, that reduced your income, you can ask Social Security to use more recent income by filing Form SSA-44. Approved appeals can lower or remove the surcharge.

Does IRMAA apply to both Part B and Part D?

Yes. The surcharge is added to your Part B premium and, separately, to your Part D prescription-drug premium, even if your Part D plan itself is inexpensive. This calculator shows each piece and the combined monthly and annual totals.

Do these brackets change every year?

Yes. The income thresholds and surcharge amounts are set annually and generally adjust for inflation. This tool uses the 2024 brackets, so confirm the current year's figures with Social Security or Medicare before making decisions based on a specific threshold.

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Sources

Berly Sam Varghese · Editor, Investor Sam

Berly Sam Varghese is an engineer who treats money the way he treats any hard problem — something to be engineered, not gambled on. He funded years of education and built real financial stability the patient way, by living below his means and investing rather than borrowing. He writes for the person staring at a medical bill they don’t yet know how to cover. He reviews and approves every article on Investor Sam and checks the figures against primary sources before anything is published. More about our standards.