Medicare uses an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) to increase premiums for higher-income beneficiaries. The surcharge applies to Part B, which covers outpatient services, and Part D, which covers prescription drug plans. Determining whether you owe IRMAA begins with your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) reported on your tax return from two years prior. The Social Security Administration looks at this figure and your filing status to place you into one of several income brackets. Only individuals whose incomes exceed established thresholds pay the IRMAA surcharge. Those below the thresholds pay the standard premium, which for Part B is $164.90 per month in 2023. Part D premiums vary by plan, so the surcharge is added to whatever base premium your plan charges.
IRMAA brackets increase slightly each year to keep pace with inflation. For 2023, single filers with MAGI up to $97,000 and joint filers up to $194,000 pay no surcharge. If your income falls above those amounts, IRMAA brackets apply in roughly $50,000 increments. Within each bracket, Medicare specifies a dollar amount that is added to the Part B premium and a separate amount added to any Part D plan premium. These surcharges are fixed amounts rather than percentages, so the increase is the same regardless of the cost of your underlying plan. The calculator below compares your MAGI against the current thresholds and displays the total monthly cost you can expect for both Part B and Part D.
The table that follows summarizes the 2023 IRMAA brackets. Values are per person, so a married couple could owe twice the amount if both spouses enroll in Part B and Part D. The Part B column shows the monthly surcharge added to the standard $164.90 premium, while the Part D column lists the extra amount added to any plan’s base premium. By referencing this table, you can see at a glance how moving into a higher bracket affects your out-of-pocket costs.
| Filing Status | MAGI Range | Part B Surcharge | Part D Surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | ≤ $97,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Single | $97,001 - $123,000 | $65.90 | $12.20 |
| Single | $123,001 - $153,000 | $164.80 | $31.50 |
| Single | $153,001 - $183,000 | $263.70 | $50.70 |
| Single | $183,001 - $500,000 | $362.60 | $70.00 |
| Single | > $500,000 | $395.60 | $76.40 |
| Married Joint | ≤ $194,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Married Joint | $194,001 - $246,000 | $65.90 | $12.20 |
| Married Joint | $246,001 - $306,000 | $164.80 | $31.50 |
| Married Joint | $306,001 - $366,000 | $263.70 | $50.70 |
| Married Joint | $366,001 - $750,000 | $362.60 | $70.00 |
| Married Joint | > $750,000 | $395.60 | $76.40 |
Calculating your full Part B premium is straightforward: add the applicable surcharge to the base premium. In symbolic terms the relationship is expressed as
where represents your total Part B premium, denotes the base premium, and is the IRMAA surcharge from the table. For Part D, replace the base premium with whatever your plan charges. If your MAGI shifts you into a higher bracket, both surcharges increase simultaneously. Consider a single filer with a MAGI of $130,000. The calculator places this individual in the $123,001 to $153,000 bracket. Their Part B premium becomes $164.90 + $164.80 = $329.70 per month, and if their Part D plan has a base premium of $30, the total cost becomes $30 + $31.50 = $61.50 per month.
Because IRMAA uses tax data from two years prior, retirees who have recently stopped working may find themselves paying higher premiums for a year or two until the Social Security Administration receives updated income information. If your income has legitimately decreased due to life-changing events such as retirement, divorce, or the death of a spouse, you can appeal the IRMAA decision by filing form SSA-44 and providing documentation of the change. Successful appeals can reduce your premiums prospectively, but surcharges already paid are generally nonrefundable. Planning ahead to manage income in retirement can help avoid unexpected premium spikes.
Financial planners often recommend that clients approaching Medicare eligibility examine how one-time income events—like large capital gains, Roth conversions, or withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts—might trigger IRMAA in future years. Because the surcharges are tiered, a small amount of extra income could push you into the next bracket and add hundreds of dollars per year to your healthcare costs. Strategies such as staggering conversions, harvesting capital losses, or making qualified charitable distributions may help keep MAGI below a threshold. The calculator on this page provides a quick way to test scenarios and see how different income levels influence your premiums.
Understanding IRMAA is essential for comprehensive retirement budgeting. Health care is often one of the largest expenses retirees face, and underestimating premiums can throw off long-term projections. By entering your MAGI and filing status into this tool, you gain immediate insight into your potential costs and can make more informed decisions about income management, Social Security timing, and Medicare enrollment. Treat the results as an educational guide rather than a guaranteed quote, since legislative changes or future adjustments to premiums may alter the numbers. Nevertheless, the logic underlying IRMAA—higher earners contributing more toward Medicare funding—is unlikely to disappear, so prudent planning remains wise.
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