No one, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has announced the official 2027 Medicare Part B premium yet. The only number available right now is a projection: the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, released in June 2026, estimates the standard Part B premium at approximately $209.50 per month for 2027, up from the confirmed $202.90 monthly premium in 2026. That figure is not final. CMS typically announces the actual premium in November of the preceding year, so the confirmed 2027 amount will arrive around November 2026. Until then, every number below is a projection, not a fact, and this article labels each one accordingly.
What We Know Right Now
| Detail | Status | Source |
|---|
| 2026 Part B premium | $202.90/month, confirmed | CMS, announced November 2025 |
| 2027 Part B premium | Approximately $209.50/month, projected | 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, June 2026 |
| 2027 official premium announcement | Not yet released | Expected from CMS around November 2026 |
| 2027 IRMAA brackets | Approximately $112,000 to $113,000 single filer threshold, projected | Independent analysts applying CPI indexing rules to Trustees Report data |
If you are budgeting for 2027, treat $209.50 as a planning estimate, not a locked-in number. The actual premium could land higher or lower depending on healthcare spending trends through the rest of 2026.
Why the Part B Premium Isn't Final Yet
Medicare Part B premiums are set once a year through a legally defined process. The Medicare Trustees, a board that includes the Secretaries of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services along with public members, publish an annual report each spring or early summer projecting the financial status of Medicare for the next several years. That report includes a premium projection based on expected program spending, but it is explicitly labeled a projection in the report itself.
CMS then calculates the actual premium later in the year using more current data on healthcare utilization, prescription drug spending trends affecting Part B-covered drugs, and enrollment figures. The official number typically comes out in the CMS fall announcement, usually in November, ahead of the new plan year starting January 1.
This means there are effectively two data points every year: a Trustees Report estimate published in the summer, and a CMS confirmation published in the fall. They frequently differ. Understanding this gap matters if you're using the projection to plan a retirement budget, decide when to enroll, or estimate Social Security withholding for the year ahead.
The 2027 Part B Premium Projection
According to the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, the standard Part B premium is projected to rise to approximately $209.50 per month in 2027. That would be a 3.25% increase over the confirmed 2026 premium of $202.90. For context, the premium jumped from $185.00 in 2025 to $202.90 in 2026, an increase of nearly 10%. If the Trustees' projection holds, 2027 would see one of the smallest percentage increases since 2023, when the premium actually dropped by 3.06%.
It's worth noting how much projections can shift year to year. Last year's Trustees Report, published in 2025, projected the 2027 premium at $218.60. This year's report revised that estimate down to $209.50, a difference of more than $9 per month. That swing illustrates why treating any single projection as final can lead to budgeting surprises in either direction.
Some private financial forecasters, pointing to a pattern of the Trustees underestimating premiums in prior years, have suggested the actual 2027 premium could land somewhat above the Trustees' $209.50 baseline. Others expect it to track close to the projection. Neither view is confirmed. The only entity with authority to set the actual number is CMS, and it has not done so yet.
Longer-Term Trustees Projections (2027 to 2035)
The 2026 Trustees Report also modeled Part B premiums well beyond 2027, giving a sense of the expected trajectory if current trends continue. These are multi-year projections from the same report and are even less certain the further out they go, since they depend on years of future healthcare spending, drug pricing policy, and enrollment data that haven't happened yet.
| Year | Projected Monthly Part B Premium | Status |
|---|
| 2026 | $202.90 | Confirmed (CMS) |
| 2027 | Approximately $209.50 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2028 | Approximately $224.50 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2029 | Approximately $238.50 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2030 | Approximately $255.50 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2031 | Approximately $272.10 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2032 | Approximately $290.20 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2033 | Approximately $313.65 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2034 | Approximately $338.50 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
| 2035 | Approximately $360.60 | Projected (2026 Trustees Report) |
The Trustees note that premium growth is expected to accelerate after 2027, with the average annual increase in the following eight years running more than double the size of the projected 2027 bump. The report attributes this to rising provider payments, higher utilization of outpatient and physician services, and a growing share of the population aging into Medicare as the baby boom generation continues to enroll.
What Drives the Part B Premium Higher Each Year
Part B premiums are designed to cover roughly 25% of projected Part B program costs, with general federal revenue covering the rest. When the Trustees or CMS project a premium increase, it usually reflects one or more of the following:
- Higher projected spending on physician and outpatient services. As more services shift from inpatient hospital settings to outpatient clinics, Part B absorbs more of the cost.
- Rising prices for Part B-covered drugs, which include many infused and injectable medications administered in a doctor's office.
- Enrollment growth, as more people age into Medicare and the per-person cost base grows.
- Reserve fund adjustments. If the Part B trust fund's contingency reserve needs replenishing, that can push the premium up in a given year, or hold it down if the reserve was overfunded the prior year, which is part of why 2026's increase came in smaller than initially expected in some earlier forecasts.
Projected 2027 IRMAA Brackets
If your income is above certain thresholds, you pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) on top of the standard Part B premium. Your 2027 IRMAA tier is based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from your 2025 tax return, filed in 2026.
The table below shows the confirmed 2026 brackets, which are official, alongside projected 2027 brackets based on independent analysts applying the statutory inflation-indexing formula to the 2026 Trustees Report data. The 2027 figures are estimates only. CMS has not confirmed the actual 2027 income thresholds, and will not until around November 2026.
| Tier | 2026 Single Filer MAGI (confirmed) | 2027 Single Filer MAGI (projected) | Surcharge Multiple |
|---|
| Standard | $109,000 or less | Approximately $112,000 to $113,000 or less | 1.0x |
| Tier 1 | $109,001 to $137,000 | Approximately $113,001 to $142,000 | 1.4x |
| Tier 2 | $137,001 to $171,000 | Approximately $142,001 to $177,000 | 2.0x |
| Tier 3 | $171,001 to $205,000 | Approximately $177,001 to $212,000 | 2.6x |
| Tier 4 | $205,001 to $499,999 | Not yet projected | 3.2x |
| Tier 5 | $500,000 or more | Not yet projected | 3.4x |
Married couples filing jointly generally see thresholds set at roughly double the single filer amounts. The projected 2027 brackets above depend partly on Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the months leading up to the announcement, and analysts have flagged that gaps in official CPI reporting during 2025 add extra uncertainty to this year's projection compared to a typical year.
How to Use This Projection to Plan Ahead
Even though the 2027 Part B premium isn't official, there are practical steps you can take now with the projection in hand.
- Budget with a range, not a single number. Use $209.50 as a working estimate, but build in room for the actual figure to come in a few dollars higher or lower once CMS confirms it in November 2026.
- Check your projected IRMAA tier. If your 2025 income is near one of the projected bracket thresholds above, small changes to your MAGI, such as a Roth conversion or an extra capital gain, could push you into a higher surcharge tier once the official 2027 brackets are set.
- Watch for the CMS fall announcement. CMS typically confirms the Part B premium and deductible for the coming year in a press release each November. That is the moment the $209.50 figure becomes either confirmed or revised.
- Ask about Medicare Savings Programs if your income is limited. Depending on your state and income, you may qualify for help paying your Part B premium regardless of what the final 2027 number turns out to be. Eligibility rules and asset limits vary by state.
- Revisit your plan choices during Medicare Open Enrollment. Premium changes are one factor among several, including your Part D drug costs and any Medicare Advantage plan premium, when deciding whether to stick with your current coverage or switch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is $209.50 the official 2027 Medicare Part B premium?
No. It is a projection from the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, published in June 2026. CMS has not announced the official 2027 premium. That announcement is expected around November 2026, ahead of the 2027 plan year.
Why did last year's projection for 2027 say $218.60, and this year's says $209.50?
Trustees Report projections are recalculated every year using the most current data available at the time. The 2025 Trustees Report projected the 2027 premium at $218.60. The 2026 Trustees Report, using a more recent year of spending and enrollment data, revised that estimate down to approximately $209.50. Projections can move in either direction from one report to the next, which is why neither figure should be treated as final until CMS confirms the actual number.
When will I know the real 2027 Part B premium?
CMS typically announces the official Part B premium, deductible, and IRMAA brackets for the coming year in November of the prior year. For 2027, that announcement is expected around November 2026.
How much more will high earners pay for Part B in 2027?
Based on projected IRMAA tiers, higher-income beneficiaries could pay anywhere from 1.4 times to 3.4 times the standard premium, depending on their modified adjusted gross income from their 2025 tax return. The exact dollar surcharges for 2027 depend on the final standard premium and will not be confirmed until CMS releases the official 2027 figures.
What determines whether the Trustees' projection turns out to be accurate?
Actual Part B spending during the second half of 2026, including physician and outpatient utilization, Part B drug prices, and enrollment growth, determines the final premium. The Trustees Report is built on assumptions about these factors months before the year is complete, which is why the projected number can shift by the time CMS finalizes it.
Should I make financial decisions based on the projected premium?
You can use it as a planning estimate, especially for retirement budgeting or estimating your Social Security net deposit, but avoid treating it as guaranteed. Build some flexibility into your budget until CMS confirms the actual 2027 premium in its fall announcement.
