Key Takeaways
- Medicare’s 2026 Part B surcharge is $202.90 a month for a single filer whose modified adjusted gross income was above $137,000 on the tax return from two years before.
- A hypothetical 67-year-old who married this year, with $150,000 of income on that single return, pays $2,434.80 of that surcharge over 2026.
- Marriage is one of eight life-changing events on Social Security’s form SSA-44, which asks SSA to set the surcharge from the couple’s newer income.
- At $190,000 of joint income, under the $218,000 joint line, that surcharge goes away, but a spouse earning more than $68,000 changes the math.
Picture a hypothetical 67-year-old who got married this year. Their 2026 Medicare premium was set from their 2024 tax return, filed single, which showed $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
That income costs them a $202.90 surcharge on Part B every month, or $2,434.80 over the year.
But the wedding moved them onto a different set of income lines. And there’s a form that tells Social Security so.
Medicare reads an old return
Higher earners pay a monthly surcharge on Part B, and on Part D too, set by income bands. CMS’s 2026 figures put the Part B surcharge at:
- $81.20 a month above $109,000 single, or $218,000 joint
- $202.90 above $137,000 single, or $274,000 joint
- $324.60 above $171,000 single, or $342,000 joint
- $446.30 above $205,000 single, or $410,000 joint
- $487.00 at $500,000 single, or $750,000 joint
Every joint line is double the single one, up to the top band. That’s why marriage matters so much here.
The catch is timing. SSA’s sliding-scale tables set the surcharge from the tax return two years before, or three if that one isn’t available. For a 2026 premium, that’s the 2024 return. For someone who married in 2026, the 2024 return is a single return, so Medicare is still measuring them against the single lines.
Our retiree’s $150,000 is above $137,000 and below $171,000, so it lands in the $202.90 band.
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Marriage is on SSA’s list
Social Security lets someone ask for a new decision on the surcharge after a life-changing event. SSA’s operations manual lists eight:
- Death of a spouse, marriage, or divorce or annulment
- Work reduction or work stoppage
- Loss of income-producing property, or loss of employer pension income
- Receipt of an employer settlement payment
After one of them, SSA can set the surcharge from newer income instead of the return from two years before. The form is the SSA-44, and SSA says it’s available online.
Most people think of the list as a way to report a drop in pay at retirement. Marriage is on it too, and for a single filer just over a line, it’s the one that moves the line itself.
The math on $190,000
Say the new couple expects $190,000 of joint MAGI. If our retiree’s own income holds at $150,000, that’s $40,000 from the spouse.
On the single return, $150,000 is above the $137,000 line, so the surcharge is $202.90 a month. Multiply that by 12, and you get $2,434.80 for 2026.
Against the joint lines, $190,000 is under $218,000, the first joint band. So the Part B surcharge is zero.
The spouse’s income decides how much of that survives. $218,000 minus $150,000 leaves $68,000 of room for the spouse before the first joint band starts. Here’s what each joint band costs at 2026 rates:
| Joint MAGI | Monthly surcharge | Over a year |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $218,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Above $218,000, up to $274,000 | $81.20 | $974.40 |
| Above $274,000, up to $342,000 | $202.90 | $2,434.80 |
A spouse with up to $124,000 of income keeps the couple at or under $274,000. That’s the $81.20 band, which still saves $121.70 a month against the single return’s $202.90, or $1,460.40 a year.
Above that, the joint return lands in the same $202.90 band the single one did, and the form saves nothing.
What to do before the notice lands
SSA mails its surcharge notices alongside Social Security’s cost-of-living letters, starting in November and running through December. For a 2027 premium, the return two years before is the 2025 one. For anyone who married this year, that’s still a single return.
So the notice arriving in the next few weeks will likely set next year’s surcharge from single income again. The SSA-44, citing marriage, is how a newlywed asks SSA to use the couple’s newer income instead.
The joint lines are for a couple filing a joint return, so the couple’s filing plans for 2026 matter here too.
Next year’s lines
Every figure above is 2026’s. CMS publishes next year’s Part B premium and income bands in November, so the $202.90 and the $137,000 and $218,000 lines will move.
The shape won’t change, though. A single return read two years late, against joint lines that are double the single ones, is what makes this worth checking.
My take: if you married this year and your single income put you in a surcharge band, this form is worth the few minutes it takes. The only question is your spouse’s income, and you can work that out before the notice even arrives.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
