Boomer
11-11-2024, 08:53 PM
There might still be time to save yourself if you are in danger of plunging off the IRMAA cliff in 2026 based on your 2024 Modified Adjusted Gross Income.
We can't know what the 2026 numbers will be, but the 2025 IRMAA thresholds are now published, so at least a guess can be made about 2026.
If you are at RMD age and feeling like you would rather give money to a charity than pay it in taxes, you might want to use a Qualified Charitable Distribution. The QCD amount you give will not be added to your MAGI. Just be sure to follow the QCD rules perfectly.
IRMAA is aggravating. The most aggravating thing about IRMAA (other than the fact it exists) is the cliff component. Even if you are a dollar over, IRMAA is gonna getcha. In total. No brackets. Even for a random buck or two over.
(Btw, if you have not reached Medicare age, you might want to look into Roth Conversions so that your RMDs can be less or none when that time comes. Pay now or pay later. Decide while you can if converting to Roth is for you.)
IRMAA is especially punitive to single taxpayers who can go over the cliff a lot sooner than married filing jointly.
If you have never been concerned about IRMAA before, but you have made some extra money this year from harvesting gains from record high stocks, long held, with a low cost basis, or from extra interest, you might be teetering on the brink of an IRMAA cliff for the first time. November is a good time to project MAGI to find out if you need to try to save yourself, maybe by feeling charitable.
Boomer
We can't know what the 2026 numbers will be, but the 2025 IRMAA thresholds are now published, so at least a guess can be made about 2026.
If you are at RMD age and feeling like you would rather give money to a charity than pay it in taxes, you might want to use a Qualified Charitable Distribution. The QCD amount you give will not be added to your MAGI. Just be sure to follow the QCD rules perfectly.
IRMAA is aggravating. The most aggravating thing about IRMAA (other than the fact it exists) is the cliff component. Even if you are a dollar over, IRMAA is gonna getcha. In total. No brackets. Even for a random buck or two over.
(Btw, if you have not reached Medicare age, you might want to look into Roth Conversions so that your RMDs can be less or none when that time comes. Pay now or pay later. Decide while you can if converting to Roth is for you.)
IRMAA is especially punitive to single taxpayers who can go over the cliff a lot sooner than married filing jointly.
If you have never been concerned about IRMAA before, but you have made some extra money this year from harvesting gains from record high stocks, long held, with a low cost basis, or from extra interest, you might be teetering on the brink of an IRMAA cliff for the first time. November is a good time to project MAGI to find out if you need to try to save yourself, maybe by feeling charitable.
Boomer