Medicare Part D

2027 IRMAA Brackets: Part B & Part D, Oklahoma

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — If you're on Medicare or joining soon, a letter from Social Security could land in your mailbox this fall with a number that surprises you. It's called IRMAA — the income-related monthly adjustment amount — and for 2026, it kicks in once a single filer's income tops $109,000, or $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Here's what the surcharge is, how the brackets work, and what to do if your income has dropped since the IRS return Medicare is looking at.

What IRMAA actually is

IRMAA isn't a separate bill or a new program. It's an extra amount added to your standard Part B premium and to your Part D drug plan premium when your income is above a set threshold. Most people on Medicare don't pay it — Social Security estimates only a small share of beneficiaries cross the line each year.

The surcharge is set by the federal government, not by insurance companies. It applies whether you have Original Medicare with a stand-alone drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage.

The income Medicare uses is two years old

This is the part that trips people up. Your 2027 IRMAA is based on the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from your 2025 tax return, which the IRS shares with Social Security.

So a one-time bump in 2025 — selling a house, cashing out an old 401(k), a big capital gain — can push you into an IRMAA bracket for 2027 even if your income is much lower now. The good news: there's a formal way to appeal that, which we'll get to below.

The 2026 income thresholds

For 2026, IRMAA surcharges begin above these income levels:

• Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er): more than $109,000
• Married filing jointly: more than $218,000
• Married filing separately (and lived with your spouse): a much lower threshold applies, and the surcharge scale is compressed

Above those first thresholds, the surcharge rises in tiers. There are five brackets total for Part B and Part D. The highest tier applies to single filers with income at or above $500,000 and married-joint filers at or above $750,000. The exact dollar amounts for each tier are published by CMS each fall on Medicare.gov; we're pointing to the brackets rather than reprinting figures that shift year to year.

The key idea: IRMAA is a cliff, not a slope. Going one dollar over a bracket line moves you to the next surcharge tier. That's why some people time Roth conversions, IRA withdrawals, or capital gains with an eye on these lines.

Part B and Part D are billed differently

• Part B IRMAA is added to your Part B premium and usually withheld from your Social Security check.
• Part D IRMAA is billed on top of whatever your drug plan charges — even if you're in a Medicare Advantage plan with built-in drug coverage. Social Security bills this piece directly; it does not go to your plan.

If you drop Part D or don't have creditable drug coverage, the Part D surcharge stops — but you could face a late enrollment penalty later, so don't drop coverage just to dodge IRMAA without talking to a counselor first.

Life changed? You can appeal.

If a "life-changing event" cut your income after 2025, you can ask Social Security to use a more recent year instead. Qualifying events include:

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

The form is SSA-44, "Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount – Life-Changing Event." You submit it to Social Security with documentation. Many appeals succeed when the paperwork is clean.

Why it matters this fall in Broken Arrow

Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, and it's the window to compare Part D and Medicare Advantage options for 2026. Broken Arrow is in Tulsa County, where beneficiaries have a range of stand-alone drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans available — the count changes each year as carriers file with CMS.

IRMAA doesn't change which plan you can pick, but it does change the total you'll pay for coverage. When you're weighing drug plan premiums this fall, remember to add any Part D surcharge on top if you're above the income line. It's also worth knowing that 2026 brings a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on Part D drug costs and a $615 maximum Part D deductible — real structural changes that affect the math for people with high prescription bills.