Form SSA-44 · 2026
Did your income drop? Your IRMAA may not have.
Social Security sets IRMAA from your tax return two years back. If your income fell after you retired, lost a spouse or divorced, or after one of five other events, Form SSA-44 asks it to use a newer year. See if yours fits, your new bracket, and what it saves.
IRMAA appeal checker
Form SSA-44, Social Security's rules, and the 2026 amounts. About 2 minutes.
Do you pay IRMAA?
IRMAA is the extra amount added to your Medicare Part B and drug coverage premiums when your income is higher. Social Security sets it from your tax return two years back.
General information from Social Security's rules and CMS's 2026 amounts, not legal or tax advice. Social Security makes the decision. Benefits USA is a private company, not Social Security or Medicare.
How IRMAA appeals work
Three rules decide whether Form SSA-44 can help you.
IRMAA looks back two years
Your 2026 premium was set from your 2024 tax return. A drop in income since then doesn't change this year's premium until you tell Social Security.
Eight events open the door
Retiring or cutting hours, a spouse's death, divorce, marriage, losing a pension, losing income property, or an employer settlement. A one-time sale or a Roth conversion doesn't count.
The drop has to change your bracket
Social Security makes a new decision only when the newer income moves you to a lower bracket, or under the line.
The 2026 IRMAA brackets
From CMS. The income is your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest, from the tax return Social Security uses.
| Individual return | Joint return | Part B a month | Drug plan extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| $109,000 or less | $218,000 or less | $202.90 | $0 |
| over $109,000 up to $137,000 | over $218,000 up to $274,000 | $284.10 | +$14.50 |
| over $137,000 up to $171,000 | over $274,000 up to $342,000 | $405.80 | +$37.50 |
| over $171,000 up to $205,000 | over $342,000 up to $410,000 | $527.50 | +$60.40 |
| over $205,000 and under $500,000 | over $410,000 and under $750,000 | $649.20 | +$83.30 |
| $500,000 or more | $750,000 or more | $689.90 | +$91.00 |
Individual return: single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and living apart all year. Married, filing separately, and lived with your spouse at any time that year: $202.90 up to $109,000, then $649.20 (over $109,000 and under $391,000) and $689.90 ($391,000 or more).
Frequently asked questions
Is Form SSA-44 an appeal?
No. It asks Social Security for a new decision based on a newer tax year. An appeal, called reconsideration (Form SSA-561), is for when you think the decision itself was wrong, and it has a 60-day deadline.
Does retiring count as a life-changing event?
Yes. Social Security calls it a work stoppage, and it counts whether you or your spouse stopped working. Cutting back to part time counts too, as a work reduction. With no letter from the employer, your own signed statement on the form is accepted.
Does selling a house or a Roth conversion count?
No. One-time income like gains from selling property, a Roth conversion, cashing in bonds, or lottery or casino winnings is not a life-changing event. The extra charge drops two years later, when Social Security uses that next year's return, if that year's income is in a lower bracket.
How long do I have to fix my 2026 IRMAA?
Ask during 2026. A request made in 2027 normally counts for 2027 instead. The one exception: if the event happened in October, November or December 2026, you have until March 31, 2027.
What if my income estimate turns out wrong?
Social Security checks it against your tax return when the IRS sends it, and corrects your premium. If your income came in higher, you could owe the difference. Tell Social Security if your estimate changes.
Does it cost anything?
No. Asking Social Security is free, and so is this checker.
The full walkthrough of the form is in our Form SSA-44 guide.
Where these rules come from
Every rule and figure in this checker comes from these pages, read November 1, 2026.
- CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (November 14, 2025)
- Social Security, Form SSA-44 (12-2025), Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, Life-Changing Event
- Social Security, Request to lower an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA)
- Social Security, Premiums: Rules for Higher-Income Beneficiaries
- SSA POMS HI 01120.001, New initial determinations on IRMAA
- SSA POMS HI 01120.005, Life-changing events
- SSA POMS HI 01120.045, Use of amended income tax returns
- SSA POMS HI 01120.050, Use of corrected IRS tax data
- SSA POMS HI 01120.055, Two-year-old tax data when SSA used three-year-old data
- SSA POMS HI 01120.060, Married filing separately, lived apart all year
- SSA POMS HI 01120.040, Life-changing event: loss of pension income
- SSA POMS HI 01101.035, IRMAA notices (the pre-determination notice to new enrollees)
- 20 CFR 418.1101 to 418.1355, Medicare Part B income-related monthly adjustment amount
- 20 CFR 404.901 and 404.909, the 60-day reconsideration window
- Social Security, Form SSA-561, Request for Reconsideration
This checker is general information, not legal or tax advice. Social Security makes every IRMAA decision. Benefits USA is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program.