{"id":11599,"date":"2019-12-10T18:03:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T18:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/?p=11599"},"modified":"2025-06-18T17:27:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:27:00","slug":"what-is-irmaa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is IRMAA?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seniors Avoid the Cliff!<\/h2>\n

By Robert S. Morris<\/h2>\n

Our practice of Elder Law includes all legal issues common to older people. One issue of concern to everyone on Medicare or Social Security is the issue of hidden taxes.<\/p>\n

What is the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA)?<\/h2>\n

We are all aware of income taxes and payroll taxes but there are other taxes hiding out there. One of those is IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount.<\/p>\n

IRMAA is just a fancy name for a hidden tax in the form of an increase in your Medicare premiums<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you have Medicare part B, which covers physician\u2019s services and\/or Medicare part D which covers prescription drugs, you pay a premium for that insurance coverage. You may never notice it because it comes out of your social security before you ever receive it.<\/p>\n

With ordinary health insurance we are used to paying a higher premium based on age or health. With Medicare you pay a higher premium in the form of IRMAA based on your income.<\/p>\n

At what income do you pay more for IRMAA?<\/h2>\n

A single person who has a modified adjusted gross income that is even slightly above $85,000 will pay an additional IRMAA payment for both Medicare parts B and D.<\/p>\n

Further the modified adjusted gross income used to impose the additional premium is based on your tax return from two years ago. For example your IRMAA for 2019 is based on your income in 2017.<\/p>\n

To the extent you can control the amount of your modified adjusted gross income by making discretionary withdrawals from tax deferred accounts such as a traditional IRA, you should consider not only the income taxes you will owe, but also the increase in your Medicare premiums.<\/p>\n

Avoid the cliff.<\/strong> Going even a dollar over the applicable limit can increase your premiums by $100 a month.<\/p>\n

Robert <\/a>is an Elder Law<\/a>, Estate Planning<\/a>, Guardianship <\/a>and Medicaid Attorney<\/a> at Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/a>. \u00a0Hammerle Morris Law Firm\u2026Give us a call<\/a>. We can help.<\/p>\n

The information contained in this article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. \u00a92019<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seniors Avoid the Cliff! By Robert S. Morris Our practice of Elder Law includes all legal issues common to older people. One issue of concern to everyone on Medicare or Social Security is the issue of hidden taxes. What is the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA)? We are all aware of income taxes and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1224],"tags":[55,280,449,945],"class_list":{"0":"post-11599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-estate-planning","8":"tag-elder-rights","9":"tag-medicare","10":"tag-social-security","11":"tag-taxes"},"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert Morris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert Morris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Robert Morris\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\"},\"headline\":\"What Is IRMAA?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":357,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/what-is-irmaa.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Elder Rights\",\"Medicare\",\"Social Security\",\"Taxes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Estate Planning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/what-is-irmaa.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\"},\"description\":\"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/what-is-irmaa.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/what-is-irmaa.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/estate-planning\\\/what-is-irmaa\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is IRMAA?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"description\":\"Legal Talk Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\",\"name\":\"Robert Morris\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Robert Morris\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/author\\\/robert-morris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","og_description":"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.","og_url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/","og_site_name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","article_published_time":"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Robert Morris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert Morris","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/"},"author":{"name":"Robert Morris","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e"},"headline":"What Is IRMAA?","datePublished":"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/"},"wordCount":357,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg","keywords":["Elder Rights","Medicare","Social Security","Taxes"],"articleSection":["Estate Planning"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/","name":"What Is IRMAA? - Hammerle Morris Law Firm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg","datePublished":"2019-12-10T18:03:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T22:27:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e"},"description":"IRMAA, which stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, is another tax that you might need to pay. Find out what it is and why it matters.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/12\/what-is-irmaa.jpg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/what-is-irmaa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is IRMAA?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/","name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"Legal Talk Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e","name":"Robert Morris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Robert Morris"},"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/author\/robert-morris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}