There are two ways to reduce IRMAA, Medicare’s income-related premium surcharge: lower the income Medicare measures, or ask the Social Security Administration to measure a different year. The first is tax planning — managing your modified adjusted gross income two years ahead — and the second is form SSA-44, available when a life-changing event such as retirement has dropped your income below what your old tax return shows.
Revised: 7/24/26
Jason Baar
Fee-Only Medicare Advisor
NPN #2033715
It shows where Medicare’s five income lines sit in 2026, what counts toward them, and the timing moves that can keep you under.
The guide is on its way — allow up to 10 minutes. If it hasn’t arrived by then, peek in your spam folder, and if it’s there, click “Not spam,” so the next person’s guide arrives where it belongs. You’re all set.
The long answer
The appeal route first, because it works fastest. Qualifying events include stopping or reducing work, marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, and losing pension income. If one applies, Social Security will use your more recent, lower income — often erasing the surcharge entirely. An investment windfall or a Roth conversion, on the other hand, does not qualify; there is no appeal for simply having had a good year.
The planning route works on next year’s number. Draw spending from Roth accounts instead of traditional IRAs in tight years, spread capital gains across tax years, give to charity directly from an IRA, and watch where year-end totals sit against the tier lines.
The tiers make small moves valuable. Each threshold is a cliff, so finishing the year one dollar under a line rather than one dollar over saves the entire tier — the first one alone is $95.70 a month, about $1,148 a year, per the Social Security Administration.
Printed from JasonKnowsMedicare.com — “How to Reduce IRMAA”. The free IRMAA Planning Guide is available at tally.so/r/81gEEA · Questions: (850) 810-1000
This page is educational information, not personal financial, tax, or legal advice. For decisions about your own situation, talk with a qualified professional.