Delta tools
Medicare IRMAA Planner
Medicare IRMAA Planner
One dollar over the line can cost you
a thousand. Know where the lines are.
Medicare charges higher-income beneficiaries an extra premium called IRMAA — and it works on a cliff, not a slope. Cross an income threshold by even $1 and the surcharge applies to the entire year, for both Parts B and D. This planner shows your 2026 tier, how close you are to the next line, and what a move up or down is worth.
Current law: 2026 premiums are set from your 2024 MAGI (two-year lookback). Standard Part B premium $202.90/mo; surcharges up to $487.00/mo (Part B) + $91.00/mo (Part D). CMS, released Nov 14, 2025.
Your numbers
2026 is already locked in by the 2024 return. 2028 is the one you can still steer — it will be set by this year’s income.
For IRMAA, MAGI = AGI (Form 1040 line 11) plus tax-exempt interest (line 2a). Municipal bond interest counts here even though it isn’t taxed.
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Your IRMAA picture appears here.
Enter your 2024 MAGI and filing status. You’ll see your 2026 premium tier, the distance to the nearest threshold, and what crossing it costs — or saves.
Your 2026 tier
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Part B premium / mo / person
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IRMAA cost / year
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The 2026 ladder — where you sit
Every threshold is a cliff: $1 over moves you to the next row for the whole year, per person.
| 2024 MAGI | Part B / mo | B surcharge | D surcharge | Extra / yr / person |
|---|
The two-year lookback — why this is a planning tool
- 2024 income → 2026 premiums. The tier above is already locked in by the 2024 return. Nothing done now changes 2026.
- 2025 income → 2027 premiums. If 2025 is filed, that die is cast too — but we can check where it landed before the SSA letter arrives.
- 2026 income → 2028 premiums. This is the live one. Every Roth conversion, capital gain, and RMD decision made this year sets the Medicare premium two years out. Thresholds are inflation-indexed annually, so 2028’s lines will sit a bit higher than the 2026 lines shown here — treat them as a conservative proxy.
Levers that move MAGI — and two escape hatches
- Roth conversions — the #1 IRMAA tripwire. Fill a tax bracket and stay under an IRMAA line; the two ceilings are different numbers. Pair this tool with our Roth Conversion Planner.
- QCDs (qualified charitable distributions) — after age 70½, giving straight from an IRA satisfies RMDs without the income ever touching MAGI. The cleanest lever there is for charitable clients.
- Capital-gain timing — a one-time property or stock sale can spike one year’s MAGI. Installment sales and loss harvesting spread or shrink the hit.
- Tax-exempt interest doesn’t hide — municipal bond interest is added back for IRMAA. Munis help with tax, not with IRMAA.
- Escape hatch #1 — Form SSA-44: if income dropped because of a life-changing event (retirement or reduced work hours, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, loss of income-producing property, pension loss), you can ask SSA to use the newer, lower income instead. A one-time sale spike does not qualify.
- Escape hatch #2 — appeal errors: if SSA used the wrong year or amended-return data, request a redetermination.
Estimate only. This shows the published 2026 amounts against the MAGI you entered — it is not a premium bill, and it is not tax or benefits advice. Your actual IRMAA comes in SSA’s determination letter. Before acting on any strategy that moves income between years, talk to us — IRMAA interacts with tax brackets, capital-gain rates, and the net investment income tax, and the cheapest move on one line can be expensive on another.
Assumptions & fine print
- Figures: 2026 amounts from the CMS premium announcement released Nov 14, 2025 (standard Part B $202.90, Part B deductible $283). Verified 2026-07-17.
- MAGI for IRMAA = AGI + tax-exempt interest. This differs from other MAGI definitions (ACA, Roth limits, etc.).
- Part D: the surcharge shown is paid to Medicare on top of whatever your drug plan itself charges; plan premiums vary and aren’t modeled.
- Per person: IRMAA applies to each Medicare enrollee. The household total assumes the same tier for both spouses (joint MAGI drives both).
- Future years: thresholds and premiums are indexed annually; 2027–2028 amounts are not yet published. Using 2026 lines for 2026-income planning is a conservative proxy.
- Delta never makes, schedules, or submits payments — premiums are billed by Medicare/SSA directly.
Planning a conversion or a sale? Check the Medicare line first.
The IRMAA cliffs are exactly the kind of thing that turns a “good” tax move into an expensive one two years later. Send us your numbers and we’ll fit the conversion, the gain, and the Medicare premium into one multiyear picture before you commit.
Reach your Delta team at (260) 440-2747 or info@deltacpagroup.com and we’ll walk through it with you.
We are always happy to talk it through.
Thank you,
Amy Grego, CPA Delta CPA Group, LLC · (260) 440-2747
Thank you,
Amy Grego, CPA Delta CPA Group, LLC · (260) 440-2747