An independent IRMAA-appeal screen, built to be honest.

Who runs this

irmaarefund.com is published by Red Goggles LLC, an independent operator of free web calculators and reference tools. We are not the Social Security Administration, Medicare, CMS, an insurer, a broker, or a financial advisor, and we're not affiliated with any of them. We don't file appeals for you, we don't sell insurance or leads, and we don't take your information — the tool runs on your device and nothing you type is sent to us.

Why this site exists

IRMAA — the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — is a surcharge added to Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher earners, based on the income from two years prior. That two-year lookback is where the pain comes from: a single high-income year (retirement, a property sale, a one-time distribution) can raise your premium in a year when your income is already back to normal.

Social Security lets you appeal that with Form SSA-44 — but only for a fixed list of life-changing events. The cruel catch, which most tools gloss over, is that a one-time Roth conversion, capital gain, IRA withdrawal, RMD, or profitable sale — the single most common cause of an IRMAA surprise — is not one of those events, so it generally can't be appealed. The generic "IRMAA calculator" is a crowded space; a free, honest screen of appeal eligibility that refuses to sell false hope is not. That's the reason this tool exists. A paid competitor charges $199.95–$399.95 for essentially the same screen; this one is free.

How it's calculated

The estimate uses published figures, applied in the open:

• The SSA-44 life-changing events — the fixed list Social Security recognizes (work stoppage, work reduction, marriage, divorce or annulment, death of a spouse, loss of income-producing property beyond your control, loss or reduction of pension income, and an employer settlement payment). If your income drop traces to one of these, the tool treats it as appealable; if it's a one-time gain, it says so plainly.
• 2026 IRMAA brackets and the base Part B premium — set from your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) two years prior (2026 uses your 2024 MAGI). The tool compares the surcharge tier at the income Social Security is using against the tier at your lower current income, and estimates both the going-forward reduction and the refund for months already billed this year.

The full method is spelled out on the calculator page under How the appeal works, The 8 life-changing events, and 2026 IRMAA brackets. Our figures come from the Social Security Administration (Form SSA-44 and the IRMAA rules), CMS / Medicare (the annual Part B premium and IRMAA amounts), and Medicare.gov. Because the 2026 brackets, base premium, and the exact event list are time-sensitive, we verify them against the current SSA and CMS releases and carry a dated note; we replace any projected figure with the official one as it's published.

How we stay honest and current

The whole value of this tool is telling you the truth — including when you don't qualify. We don't inflate a "maybe" into a "yes," because a wrong yes can send a senior into a doomed appeal against a hard clock. Every result carries a not-advice note and points you to confirm with SSA. IRMAA brackets and the base premium update annually; we replace estimates with official figures as CMS and SSA publish them.

How the site is funded

irmaarefund.com is free and supported by display advertising. Advertising is kept calm and never mixes with your inputs — see our privacy page for exactly what is and isn't collected.

Questions or corrections? Accuracy matters to us on a topic this consequential — reach us on the contact page.