2026 IRMAA Brackets, Explained
Five brackets for most filers, but married filing separately only has three — and its middle bracket jumps straight to the second-highest surcharge.
Updated 18 Sept 2026
For 2026, Medicare IRMAA has five income brackets for single and joint filers, adding $81.20 to $487.00 a month to the standard $202.90 Part B premium depending on 2024 MAGI. Married filing separately has only three brackets, and its middle one starts at $109,000 — the same income that costs a single filer $81.20 a month costs a separate filer $446.30.
What does this mean for you? Work out your own number: Medicare IRMAA calculator
IRMAA is a step function: cross a bracket by one dollar of MAGI and the whole higher surcharge applies for the year, not just the portion above the threshold. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month; every bracket below adds a surcharge on top of that, plus a separate amount added to whatever your Part D plan already charges.
Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)
| 2024 MAGI | Part B surcharge/mo | Part D surcharge/mo |
|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $0 | $0 |
| above $109,000 to $137,000 | $81.20 | $14.50 |
| above $137,000 to $171,000 | $202.90 | $37.50 |
| above $171,000 to $205,000 | $324.60 | $60.40 |
| above $205,000 to $500,000 | $446.30 | $83.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $487.00 | $91.00 |
Married filing jointly
Exactly double the single thresholds, same surcharge amounts:
| 2024 MAGI | Part B surcharge/mo | Part D surcharge/mo |
|---|---|---|
| $218,000 or less | $0 | $0 |
| above $218,000 to $274,000 | $81.20 | $14.50 |
| above $274,000 to $342,000 | $202.90 | $37.50 |
| above $342,000 to $410,000 | $324.60 | $60.40 |
| above $410,000 to $750,000 | $446.30 | $83.30 |
| $750,000 or more | $487.00 | $91.00 |
Married filing separately (and lived with your spouse)
This table isn’t a scaled-down version of the others — it only has three steps, and the second one starts far lower than you’d expect by extrapolating from the single table:
| 2024 MAGI | Part B surcharge/mo | Part D surcharge/mo |
|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $0 | $0 |
| above $109,000 to $391,000 | $446.30 | $83.30 |
| $391,000 or more | $487.00 | $91.00 |
At exactly $109,000 of MAGI, a single filer pays an extra $81.20 a month — a married-filing-separately filer at the same income pays $446.30, more than five times as much, because there’s no intermediate bracket for them at all. This exists because Congress didn’t want the lower brackets available to a couple who could otherwise split income between two separate returns to avoid the higher brackets that apply to a joint return.
Where the boundary sits
Every bracket above the lowest one is written as “greater than” a threshold, except the top bracket in each table, which is “greater than or equal to.” Land exactly on a boundary number and which side you’re on depends on which bracket it is — worth checking precisely if your MAGI is close to a round number.
Put your own 2024 MAGI and filing status into the IRMAA calculator to see your bracket and exactly how far you sit from the next one.
Looking ahead: the 2027 brackets, based on 2025 income, are due from CMS in November — see 2027 IRMAA brackets: release date and what’s already known.