Medicare Part D

How Your Income Shapes 2027 Medicare Costs — Edmonds, WA

Edmonds, Washington — As Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period runs through Dec. 7, higher-income households in Snohomish County are taking a closer look at a line item that often catches people off guard: the income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA. For 2026, single filers with income above $109,000 — and joint filers above $218,000 — will pay more than the standard premium for Part B and Part D, based on the tax return Social Security has on file.

What IRMAA actually is

IRMAA stands for Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It's an extra charge added to your Part B premium and, if you have drug coverage, your Part D premium. Most people pay only the standard Part B premium set by Medicare each year. But if your income is above certain thresholds, you pay that standard amount plus a surcharge.

The surcharge is not a penalty. It's a tiered adjustment based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which is your adjusted gross income plus any tax-exempt interest.

The income thresholds for 2027

For 2026, IRMAA begins when:

• A single filer's MAGI is above $109,000
• A married couple filing jointly has MAGI above $218,000

Income above those first thresholds moves you into higher IRMAA tiers, with the top bracket reserved for the highest earners. Married people who file separately have their own, much lower threshold. The full tier chart is posted at Medicare.gov under "Part B costs" and "Part D costs."

Which tax year Medicare looks at

Here's the part that surprises many Edmonds retirees: Medicare doesn't look at your current income. It uses your IRS return from two years earlier. So your 2027 premiums are generally based on your 2025 tax return.

That means a one-time income spike in 2025 — say, from selling a home, taking a large IRA withdrawal, or exercising stock options — can raise your Medicare premiums in 2027, even if your income has since returned to normal.

When you can ask for a do-over

Social Security allows you to request a new IRMAA determination if you've had a qualifying life-changing event. These include:

• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• You or your spouse stopped working or reduced hours
• Loss of income-producing property (not from a sale)
• Loss or reduction of certain pension income
• An employer settlement payment from a closed or bankrupt company

You make the request using Form SSA-44, along with documentation. If approved, Social Security will use a more recent tax year — or an estimate — to recalculate your premium.

How this fits into the rest of 2027

IRMAA is only one piece of the 2027 picture. Also worth knowing:

• Part D has a new out-of-pocket cap ($2,100 in 2026, $2,400 in 2027) on covered drug costs.
• The Part D deductible cannot exceed $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone; Part D now runs in three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments — helpful if a big bill would otherwise hit early in the year.

Edmonds is in Snohomish County, where a range of stand-alone Part D and Medicare Advantage options are available. Plan availability is set at the county level, so two neighbors on the same street have the same menu — but IRMAA is personal, tied to your household's tax return.