Does IRMAA go away automatically if my income drops, or do I need to report it to Social Security?

Question

Matthew Libby · Accepted Answer

Completing your income tax return should change your recorded income for calculating IRMAA. Even with that being said, it makes sense to go ahead and attach your income tax form with an appeal to insure your surcharge is removed.

Answered by Matthew Libby on March 31, 2025

Broker Licensed in TN, AR, KY, OH & OR

Answered by Matthew Libby Medicare Insurance Agent

Nikki Rowland · Answer

Yes, if there has been a significant change in your income, you need to let them know so that your Part B premium can be adjusted.

Robert Pennington · Answer

SSA uses two years of tax returns to determine decrease in income to make a change.

Richard Moreno · Answer

You will have to report the income change to social security. They will re-calculate for the surcharge to be dropped.

Jay Larshus · Answer

IRMAA is based on your earnings from two years ago. For 2025, your income from 2023 is considered. In 2026, you income from 2024 is considered and so on. Many individuals will see their income drop dramatically once they retire. Under this scenario you may appeal the IRMAA immediately based on the drop in income.

Answered by Jay Larshus on June 16, 2025

Agent Licensed in TN & VA

Answered by Jay Larshus Medicare Insurance Agent

James ONeal · Answer

No, IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) for Medicare Part B and Part D does not automatically go away if your income drops. 

You need to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) about the change in your income to have your IRMAA adjusted. 

The SSA uses income information from two years prior to determine your IRMAA, so a recent income reduction needs to be reported to them.

Steven Bleicher · Answer

IRMAA (or Income-Related-Monthly-Adjustment-Amount) which is based upon your 2-year old tax return under the category of "Adjusted Gross Income" or AGI. There is a chart on the Medicare.gov website which you can find by putting those 5 letters into the search box and print out the chart. The least amount for 2025 is $185.00/month (predicated on a joint return of $206K or less). Then, regarding the higher AGI's, it can reach a maximum of $594.00 per month (is an AGI of over a half million $$ or greater when filing as an individual or $750K when filing jointly with your partner).

I would recommend that you "remind" Medicare of your lower income since at times, they will not necessarily "catch up" as quickly as you'd like them to (call 1-800-MEDICARE). Remember that chart contains SIX categories of AGI's so if you have a new lower income, it may not make any difference. You don't need to specifically report that since both the Medicare and the IRS computers usually communicate this info directly within 3 months (hopefully) after filing.

Steven Lovell · Answer

IRMAA has a 2 year look back. So if you have a qualifying health event or life event , you can sometimes file an appeal and get that adjusted quicker.

Ami Fouts · Answer

You can always call Medicare and explain your income has dropped and they seem to negotiate with most people

Fred Manas · Answer

No, IRMAA does not automatically disappear if your income drops. You need to proactively notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) if your income has decreased due to a "life-changing event". To do this, you can file Form SSA-44 (Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount – Life-Changing Event). 
Here's why you need to report a change and how:
IRMAA is calculated annually based on your income from two years prior:
The SSA uses your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) from two years before to determine your IRMAA. 
Life-changing events trigger a potential reassessment:
If your income has decreased due to events like retirement, job loss, or a spouse's death, you need to report this to the SSA. 
Filing Form SSA-44 is the way to request a reassessment:
This form allows you to provide documentation of your life-changing event and request a recalculation of your IRMAA. 
If your income was higher two years ago due to a one-time event, your IRMAA may automatically reduce in the following year:
For instance, if you had a large capital gain or IRA withdrawal in 2023, your IRMAA for 2025 may be adjusted down once your income is lower in 2025, but it's always a good idea to file Form SSA-44. 
In summary, while some IRMAA adjustments might happen automatically based on income fluctuations, you need to take proactive steps (like filing Form SSA-44) if you have a life-changing event that could lower your IRMAA.

Steve Brauer · Answer

This answer is provided in a video format. Watch the agent's video response here: https://medicareagentshub.com/questions/does-irmaa-go-away-automatically-if-my-income-drops-or-do-i-need-to-report-it-to-social-security#steve-brauer

Andrew Kramer · Answer

Yes, CMS looks back 2 years each year at your income, and will adjust or remove your IRMAA accordingly. The only time that you could request an IRMAA adjustment would be if it was a 1-time income increase to do with a pension payout, sale of a home, or something not related to ordinary income. There's an online form for that purpose.

Answered by Andrew Kramer on June 20, 2025

Agent Licensed in FL

Answered by Andrew Kramer Medicare Insurance Agent

Sam Silva · Answer

IRMAA does not go away automatically.
If your income drops, you must report it to Social Security to request a reduction.

Jerry Cohen · Answer

Theoretically Medicare will look up your adjusted gross income as reported to the IRS and reduce or eliminate the IRMAA charge without the beneficiary doing anything. As we are delaing with a government agency I see no reason why a phone call to Medicare at the time of the Adjusted Income figure could not hurt the beneficiary just to make sure they pay the amount they should be paying.

Answered by Jerry Cohen on May 6, 2025

Broker Licensed in NY

Answered by Jerry Cohen Medicare Insurance Agent

Gary Haft · Answer

IRMAA Never does away. There will always be IRMAA. If your income is less than $106,000 (for 2025) as a single person or $212,000 for a married couple (filing jointly) then you would pay the base rate of $185.00/mo. It is suggested to notify Social Security if it drops below the above figures.

Answered by Gary Haft on June 2, 2025

Agent Licensed in FL, AL, DC & 9 other states

Answered by Gary Haft Medicare Insurance Agent

Robert Simm · Answer

If your income were to decrease then I would highly recommend reaching out to the Social Security Administration and Reporting the current income so this way you could be removed from the so this way you could be removed from the IRMAA penalty.

Answered by Robert Simm on April 7, 2025

Broker Licensed in NC, AL, AR & 15 other states

Answered by Robert Simm Medicare Insurance Agent

Albert Smith · Answer

No, IRMAA does not go away. You should notify Social Security so that they can reevaluate your income.

Nicolas Johnson · Answer

IRMAA is calculated on an annual basis. You do not have to report to Social Security as they review it themselves.

Debra Weber · Answer

The IRMA goes off of taxable income from the IRS,  so yes when your income goes down so does the IRMA.

Maci Mishler · Answer

You will need to file for it to be reduced, otherwise it will take 2 years to catch up. IRMAA looks back on your taxes from 2 years prior. So, 2025 will look at 2023 taxes.