An educational estimate — not advice.
irmaarefund.com helps you understand whether a Medicare IRMAA spike might qualify for an SSA-44 appeal and roughly what the refund could be. It's a starting point for your own research, not a substitute for professional guidance or an official Social Security determination.
Not professional advice
The information and estimates on this site are provided for general educational purposes only. They are not tax, legal, insurance, financial, or medical advice, are not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional, and don't create any advisory relationship. Decisions about Medicare, income, and appeals have real financial consequences — before you act, confirm your situation with the Social Security Administration or a tax professional.
Estimates, not determinations
The calculator produces an estimate and an eligibility screen, not an appeal ruling, a guarantee of a refund, or a determination of any kind. Only the Social Security Administration decides an SSA-44 appeal. In particular:
- Eligibility. The tool applies the fixed SSA-44 life-changing-event list to your answer. Whether SSA accepts your event depends on your documentation and its review. A one-time Roth conversion, capital gain, IRA withdrawal, RMD, or profitable sale is generally not a qualifying event, so it can't be appealed — the tool says so rather than raise false hope.
- Refund and reduction figures. These use the 2026 IRMAA brackets and base Part B premium and compare the surcharge tier at the income SSA is using against the tier at your lower current income. Your actual reduction, refund, and timing depend on SSA's determination, when you file, and the months affected.
Time-sensitive and subject to change
IRMAA brackets, the base Part B premium, the per-tier surcharge amounts, the SSA-44 event list, and the filing timeframe update over time and can contain errors. This tool models the 2026 plan year based on published figures; where a figure is projected, we replace it with the official one as CMS and SSA publish it. Verify current figures with primary sources before you rely on them.
Verify before you rely on it
For the current rules, the live Form SSA-44, and to file, use the Social Security Administration (or call 1-800-772-1213) and Medicare.gov. We do our best to keep figures accurate and to cite primary sources, but we make no warranty of accuracy or completeness and accept no liability for decisions made based on this site. See our terms of use.
No affiliation
irmaarefund.com is an independent tool operated by Red Goggles LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Social Security Administration, Medicare, CMS, or any insurer or financial institution.
Last updated: June 2026