Medicare Part D

2027 Medicare IRMAA Brackets in Weirton, W.Va.

WEIRTON, W.Va. — If your income has climbed in recent years, a letter from Social Security this fall could catch you off guard. It's the notice that tells you your 2026 Medicare Part B and Part D premiums will include an income-related surcharge, known as IRMAA. For 2026, those surcharges start once a single filer's income tops $109,000, or $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

Here's what the brackets look like, how Medicare decides who pays, and the small moves that can help you avoid a costly surprise.

What IRMAA actually is

IRMAA stands for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It's an extra charge added on top of the standard Part B premium and, separately, on top of your Part D drug plan premium. It isn't a penalty for doing anything wrong — it's simply how Medicare asks higher-income beneficiaries to pay a larger share of the program's cost.

Two important things to know up front:

• IRMAA is based on your tax return from two years ago. Your 2027 surcharge will be based on your 2025 IRS return (specifically, your Modified Adjusted Gross Income, or MAGI).
• It's a cliff, not a slope. Cross a bracket by even one dollar, and you jump to the next surcharge tier for the whole year.

The 2027 IRMAA income brackets

Medicare uses five income tiers above the base threshold. The dollar amounts of the surcharges change each year; CMS publishes the 2027 brackets later this fall, usually in November. The 2026 brackets below are what's in effect now:

Single filers (2024 MAGI, for 2026 surcharges):

• $109,000 or less — no surcharge
• Above $109,000 up to $137,000 — Tier 1
• Above $137,000 up to $171,000 — Tier 2
• Above $171,000 up to $205,000 — Tier 3
• Above $205,000 up to $500,000 — Tier 4
• $500,000 and above — Tier 5

Married filing jointly (2024 MAGI, for 2026 surcharges):

• $218,000 or less — no surcharge
• Above $218,000 up to $274,000 — Tier 1
• Above $274,000 up to $342,000 — Tier 2
• Above $342,000 up to $410,000 — Tier 3
• Above $410,000 up to $750,000 — Tier 4
• $750,000 and above — Tier 5

Married filing separately has its own, tighter brackets that begin much sooner — a detail worth checking on medicare.gov if it applies to you.

Each tier adds a set dollar amount to both your Part B premium and your Part D premium. The Part D surcharge is billed the same way as Part B — through Social Security or directly by Medicare — even though your drug plan itself is run by a private company.

Mistakes that push people into a higher bracket

Most IRMAA surprises trace back to a handful of avoidable moves:

• A one-time income spike in 2025. Selling a house, cashing out stock, or converting a traditional IRA to a Roth can push your MAGI over a threshold — even if your everyday income is modest. That 2025 return is what Social Security will use for 2027 surcharges.
• Required Minimum Distributions. Once RMDs from retirement accounts kick in, they add to MAGI whether you need the money or not.
• Tax-exempt interest still counts. Municipal bond interest is added back in when Medicare calculates MAGI.
• Missing the appeal window. If your income has dropped because of a "life-changing event," you can ask Social Security to use more recent income instead.

How to appeal — the SSA-44 form

If you've had a qualifying life-changing event, you can file Form SSA-44 to request a reduction. Qualifying events include:

• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• Work stoppage or reduced work hours (retirement counts)
• Loss of a pension
• Loss of income-producing property from a disaster or fraud

Bring documentation — a retirement date, a marriage certificate, or a copy of your latest tax return showing the drop. You can file the form at your local Social Security office or mail it in.

Where Weirton fits in

Weirton is in Hancock County, where Medicare works the same way it does everywhere else — IRMAA is a federal calculation, not a local one. Your ZIP code doesn't change your surcharge. What your county does affect is which Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans are available to you, and those choices can be reviewed each fall during the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7). A choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

For 2026, it's also worth knowing that Part D has a new $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, and the maximum Part D deductible is $615. Those apply to everyone — IRMAA or not.