IRMAA & late filing of tax returns

Have any HumbleDollar readers who are subject to IRMAA filed a tax return more than 2 years late? If so, I’d love to hear your experience on if or how Social Security ended up charging IRMAA to you.

My understanding is that Social Security typically goes back to previous tax year 2, but are prohibited from going back farther than previous year 3. For example, for 2026 premiums, they typically get tax year 2024 from the IRS in the late fall of 2025; but if that is not available, they can get also get the tax year 2023 return. But if neither of those are available (because of late filing or otherwise), SS cannot ask the IRS for any previous years’ returns. In that case, only name and SS number are reported back to SS,  but no income.

If this has happened to you, and you later received an IRMAA bill — or perhaps did not (yet) — I’d love to learn from your experience.

And in case anyone is wondering, I ALWAYS withhold at least what I owe in taxes — and usually a bit more —  resulting in a refund I apply to the next year’s estimated taxes. So I am not incurring a late payment or any other penalties by filing my returns late. (And, yes, I’m doing my best to get caught up!)