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At the risk of red down arrows, enough complaining about IRMAA and writing about strategies to lower or avoid those premiums.
The median income for retirees age 65+ is $47,000 – $55,000 annually.
The median HOUSEHOLD income at all ages is about $84,000
IRMAA premiums start at a single person income of $109,000.
If you are retired and required to pay IRMAA premiums, you are doing quite well. As the saying goes, pay your fair share and be grateful you are in that income category.
If you are retired and paying IRMAA premiums affects you financial security in retirement, you didn’t plan well. 🥵
Call this a rant if you like, but let’s be real.
Agree. Count your blessings if you have the IRMAA bite.
For singles, there’s a giant bracket from just above $200K up to $500K – once you’re in it, you can increase your income by hundreds of thousands of dollars and not pay anything additional.
Now about that NII…..
My 98-year-old aunt, who is a retired schoolteacher and for whom I am POA, had to pay an additional $4883 in 2025 because I sold her house in 2023. She did not complain a bit, since she is unaware of the house sale or IRMAA. I forgot about IRMAA when I sold the house, but it was still the right thing to do. When the house sale pushes you well into IRMAA even after the $250,000 exclusion (for a single person), you have made a bundle.
I don’t think the capital gain as you describe should be part of MAGI for IRMAA purposes. That does seem unfair.
For what it’s worth:
While you cannot “appeal” the gain, the tax code naturally protects a large portion of your home sale profit from ever reaching your IRMAA calculation. Medicare uses your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which only includes the taxable portion of your gain.
Under IRS Section 121, you can exclude a significant amount of profit from your income if the home was your primary residence:
Example: If you are a married couple and sell your home for a $600,000 profit, only the “excess” $1