The 2026 IRMAA income limits begin at $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income for a single filer and $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly, per the Social Security Administration. Above those amounts, five surcharge tiers add between $95.70 and $578.00 a month to your combined Part B and Part D premiums, with the top tier starting at $500,000 for single filers and $750,000 for joint filers.
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.
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The long answer
IRMAA — short for Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — uses a ladder of limits. For a single filer, the 2026 tiers begin above $109,000, $137,000, $171,000, $205,000, and $500,000; joint-filer limits are exactly double at every step except the last. Every limit is a cliff: there is no phase-in, so one extra dollar of income buys the entire next tier.
The income compared against these limits is modified adjusted gross income — adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest — and it comes from your tax return of two years ago. Your 2024 income sets your 2026 premiums.
Practical use of the limits mostly means knowing where a planned withdrawal, conversion, or sale would leave your yearly total — and remembering that crossing a limit in one unusual year costs one surcharged year, not a permanent increase.
Printed from JasonKnowsMedicare.com — “IRMAA Income Limits”. 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.