Medicare Part D

Everett Medicare: Part B and Part D Income Surcharges for 2026

Everett, Mass. — If you filed a solo tax return with more than $109,000 in income — or a joint return above $218,000 — Medicare will ask you to pay a little more for Part B and Part D in 2026. It's called IRMAA, short for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, and it's already been quietly setting premiums for higher-income retirees for years. With Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period running from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, this is the moment to understand where you fall on the income ladder — and what you can do if life has changed since the tax return Medicare is looking at.

What IRMAA Actually Is

IRMAA is not a penalty. It's a surcharge added to your standard Part B premium and to your Part D drug plan premium when your income crosses certain thresholds. Most people on Medicare don't pay it. According to CMS, only a minority of beneficiaries — those in the higher income tiers — end up with the extra charge.

Two important things to know up front:

• The surcharge is billed by Medicare, not by your drug or Advantage plan. Even if you're enrolled through a private insurer, the IRMAA portion is handled by the federal government.
• Social Security typically deducts it from your monthly benefit. If you're not yet collecting Social Security, you'll get a bill.

The 2026 Income Brackets

Medicare uses your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from two years ago to set this year's surcharge. So your 2026 IRMAA is based on your 2024 tax return.

For 2026, the surcharge kicks in at these income levels:

• Single filers: above $109,000
• Married filing jointly: above $218,000
• Married filing separately: a much lower threshold applies, and the jump is steep

From there, the surcharge climbs through several tiers. The highest tier applies to single filers with income at or above $500,000 (and joint filers at or above $750,000). The higher your bracket, the larger the add-on to both your Part B and your Part D premium.

Medicare mails an "Initial IRMAA Determination" letter when a surcharge applies. That letter tells you exactly which tier you're in and what the monthly amount will be.

Why Everett Residents Should Pay Attention Now

Everett is in Middlesex County, where — like much of Greater Boston — household incomes, home sales, and one-time capital gains can nudge retirees into an IRMAA tier for a single year without them realizing it. A big year in 2024 (selling a home, cashing out an investment, taking a large IRA distribution) can show up on your 2026 Medicare bill.

The Annual Enrollment Period doesn't change your IRMAA — that's set by the IRS data Social Security receives — but AEP is when you review your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug coverage. If you're paying an IRMAA surcharge on top of a plan premium, it's worth making sure the underlying plan still fits your prescriptions.

Life Changed? You Can Appeal

This is the part many people miss. If your income has dropped since 2024 because of a "life-changing event," you can ask Social Security to recalculate. Qualifying events include:

• Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse
• You or your spouse stopped working or reduced hours
• Loss of income-producing property (not due to a sale)
• Loss or reduction of a pension
• Settlement from a former employer

You file Form SSA-44 with documentation. If approved, Social Security uses your more recent income instead of the 2024 return. This is the single most useful tool for retirees who had one unusual high-income year.

How IRMAA Fits With the Rest of 2026

A few other 2026 figures are worth keeping in mind as you look at your total drug costs:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for 2026. Once your covered drug spending hits that ceiling, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments, with no interest. It doesn't lower what you owe, but it can smooth out a big January refill.

IRMAA is separate from all of that — it's about premiums, not drug costs — but the two show up on the same monthly statement, so it helps to see the full picture.