Medicare uses a two-year lookback, so income recorded on your 2026 tax return will determine your 2028 Part B and Part D surcharges.
Joint filers crossing the first IRMAA threshold by just $1 face roughly $2,300 in annual surcharges, with the top tier costing nearly $13,900.
Sizing Roth conversions carefully, using QCDs after age 70½, and harvesting capital losses can all reduce 2026 MAGI before December 31 cuts off your options.
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.
A couple in their late sixties opened a January Medicare statement and watched their combined Part B premiums double. Nothing in their 2026 budget explained it. The trigger was a Roth conversion they completed in December 2024, back when a market dip made the move look cheap. Medicare calls this a two-year lookback because 2026 premiums generally use 2024 tax information. On the actual calendar, barely 13 months separated the conversion from the first higher premium.
#december #carefully
Joint filers crossing the first IRMAA threshold by just $1 face roughly $2,300 in annual surcharges, with the top tier costing nearly $13,900.
Sizing Roth conversions carefully, using QCDs after age 70½, and harvesting capital losses can all reduce 2026 MAGI before December 31 cuts off your options.
Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset's free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don't waste another minute; learn more here.
A couple in their late sixties opened a January Medicare statement and watched their combined Part B premiums double. Nothing in their 2026 budget explained it. The trigger was a Roth conversion they completed in December 2024, back when a market dip made the move look cheap. Medicare calls this a two-year lookback because 2026 premiums generally use 2024 tax information. On the actual calendar, barely 13 months separated the conversion from the first higher premium.
#december #carefully
2 days ago
