Medicare Part D

2027 Medicare IRMAA Brackets — South Portland, ME

South Portland, Maine — If you're on Medicare and your income has climbed in the last couple of years, this fall's mail may include a surprise: a letter from Social Security saying you'll pay more for Part B and Part D in 2027. That extra charge is called IRMAA, short for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It isn't a penalty, and it isn't permanent — but it does catch people off guard every year, especially those who recently retired, sold a home, or took a large IRA withdrawal.

Here's a plain-English look at how IRMAA works, what the income thresholds look like, and the mistakes worth avoiding during this fall's Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage.

What IRMAA actually is

Most people with Medicare pay the standard Part B premium and whatever their Part D drug plan charges. But if your income is above a certain level, Medicare adds a surcharge on top of both. That surcharge is IRMAA.

Two important things to know:

• It applies to both Part B and Part D. Even if you have a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage, the Part D piece of IRMAA still applies.
• Social Security bills it. For Part B, it comes out of your Social Security check (or is billed directly). For Part D, you pay it to Medicare — not to your drug plan — even though your plan premium is separate.

The 2027 income brackets

IRMAA is tiered. The more your income exceeds the first threshold, the larger the surcharge. For 2026, the first tier begins above $109,000 for a single filer and above $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Income below those amounts means no IRMAA at all.

From there, the surcharge steps up through several higher brackets, with the top tier hitting the highest earners. Both spouses on Medicare pay their own IRMAA based on the joint return. CMS publishes the 2027 bracket and surcharge amounts later this fall, usually in November, alongside the Part B figures — always check the current-year table on Medicare.gov before you plan around it.

The two-year lookback that trips people up

Here's the part most people miss: Medicare uses your tax return from two years ago to set a given year's IRMAA. So your 2027 surcharge is based on your 2025 modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) as reported to the IRS.

That's why IRMAA feels unfair to so many new retirees. You may be living on a modest fixed income in 2027, but if 2025 was your last big earning year — or the year you sold a rental property, converted a traditional IRA to a Roth, or cashed out stock — Medicare sees that income and prices you accordingly.

When you can (and should) appeal

The good news: if your income has dropped because of a specific life-changing event, you can ask Social Security to recalculate. Qualifying events include:

• Retirement or reduced work hours
• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• Loss of pension income
• Loss of income-producing property (through disaster or something outside your control)

You file Form SSA-44 with documentation. A one-time capital gain from selling a house generally is not a life-changing event — that's a common and costly misunderstanding.

Mistakes to avoid this fall

South Portland is in Cumberland County, where Medicare beneficiaries have a healthy range of stand-alone Part D and Medicare Advantage options to compare during the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). A few things to keep in mind if IRMAA affects you:

1. Don't assume switching drug plans lowers your IRMAA. It won't. IRMAA is based on income, not on which plan you pick. 2. Do factor IRMAA into your total 2026 drug costs. Along with the new $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027) Part D out-of-pocket cap and the $615 maximum deductible, your Part D IRMAA surcharge is part of what you'll actually pay. 3. Consider the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. It doesn't reduce what you owe, but it lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year — helpful if a big January refill would otherwise sting. 4. Plan future income with IRMAA in mind. Roth conversions, required minimum distributions, and large one-time withdrawals in 2026 will show up on your 2028 Medicare bill.