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Form SSA-44: Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — Life-Changing Event

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Quick answer

Form SSA-44, Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount — Life-Changing Event (edition 12-2025), asks Social Security to lower or remove the income-related surcharge (IRMAA) on your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums when one of eight life-changing events — marriage, divorce or annulment, death of a spouse, work stoppage, work reduction, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income or an employer settlement payment — has cut your income below the tax return SSA used, which for 2026 premiums is your 2024 return. You name the event and its date, report the more recent year's adjusted gross income and tax-exempt interest, attach evidence and sign. Submit it online through SSA's "Request to lower an IRMAA" page after signing in, or fax or mail it to your local Social Security office. With JustFill you upload the blank SSA-44 PDF, the AI maps each field, and the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge.

Form
Form SSA-44
Issued by
SSA (Social Security Administration)
Country
United States
Free allowance
First clean download
Official edition
Form SSA-44 (12-2025), OMB No. 0960-0784, 8 pages — "Discontinue Prior Editions"
Source checked

What is Form SSA-44?

Medicare bases the IRMAA surcharge on the tax return the IRS sends SSA, normally from two years earlier: 2026 premiums use your 2024 return (or 2023 if that was all the IRS had). If your MAGI is at or below $109,000 — $218,000 filing jointly — you pay no IRMAA, and the form itself says not to file it. If a qualifying life-changing event has since reduced your income, Form SSA-44 lets you ask SSA to use a more recent year instead: usually the premium year (2026) if your income is lower this year than last, otherwise last year (2025). You tick the event, enter the year, your adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11) and tax-exempt interest (line 2a) and your filing status; if the following year will be lower still you add that estimate in Step 3; then you attach evidence of both the event and the income and sign. JustFill lets you complete the SSA-44 online so the event, year and figures are legible before you upload it to SSA, fax or mail it, or bring it to an appointment.

Download the Form SSA-44 form PDF — free

The official Form SSA-44 PDF (edition 12-2025, 8 pages: the four-page form plus instructions and the evidence table) is free at ssa.gov/forms/ssa-44.pdf — the old ssa.gov/forms/ssa-44.html page no longer exists. Open the blank PDF in JustFill to type your life-changing event, tax year and income figures, download the completed form (the first clean completed download is included at no charge), sign it, and then either upload it with your evidence through SSA's "Request to lower an IRMAA" page at ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa or fax or mail it to your local Social Security office.

Get the official Form SSA-44 PDF from SSA (Social Security Administration)

Who fills out Form SSA-44?

  • Medicare beneficiaries hit with an IRMAA surcharge after retiring or cutting work hours
  • People whose income dropped after marriage, divorce, or a spouse's death
  • Beneficiaries who lost income-producing property or a pension
  • Anyone whose current income is lower than the tax return Medicare used

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of Form SSA-44 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Step 1 — Life-changing event

Tick any of the eight events — marriage, divorce/annulment, death of your spouse, work stoppage, work reduction, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, employer settlement payment — and give the date(s) in mm/yyyy. The event must fall in or before the tax year you ask SSA to use.

Step 2 — Reduction in income that has already occurred

The more recent tax year (this year or last year — it must be later than the return SSA used), your actual or estimated adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11), tax-exempt interest (line 2a) and your filing status for that year. AGI plus tax-exempt interest is the MAGI SSA compares with the table on the form.

Step 3 — Anticipated reduction next year

Only if your MAGI for the year after Step 2 will be lower still: that year, your estimated AGI and tax-exempt interest, and your expected filing status. Otherwise tick "No" and skip to Step 4.

Steps 4 and 5 — Documentation and signature

Step 4: evidence of the life-changing event (original documents or certified copies — a marriage or death certificate, divorce decree, employer letter or pay stubs, pension-fund letter, settlement letter) and of your MAGI (a signed copy of the return or an IRS transcript, or the signed return later if you gave an estimate). Step 5: your signature under penalty of perjury, phone number and current mailing address.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Not attaching evidence of both the event and the new income — the form says signing it is not a request to use the newer year unless evidence comes with it. For a work stoppage or reduction, an employer statement or pay stubs; if you have none, your signed statement on the form is accepted.
  • 2Reporting total or taxable income instead of MAGI — SSA wants adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11) plus tax-exempt interest (line 2a), entered in two separate boxes.
  • 3Choosing the wrong year in Step 2 — it must be more recent than the return SSA used (your IRMAA letter says which): the premium year if income is lower this year than last, otherwise last year. And note that selling property, a normal drop in investment income or a one-off capital gain is not a life-changing event.
  • 4Filing when you owe no IRMAA — with MAGI at or below $109,000 ($218,000 married filing jointly) on the return SSA used there is nothing to reduce, and the form says not to fill it out even after a life-changing event.
  • 5Using SSA-44 for an amended return, or for "married filing separately but lived apart from your spouse all year" — SSA handles both by phone at 1-800-772-1213, not on this form.

Form SSA-44 example — what a filled-out form looks like

A single retiree receives a 2026 IRMAA notice based on her 2024 return, when she was still working full time with a MAGI of about $160,000. She retired at the end of June 2025, so her 2026 income will be around $87,000 — below the first IRMAA tier. She asks SSA to use 2026 instead of 2024 and submits the form online.

Name and Social Security Number

JANE M DOE · •••-••-••••

Your own SSN as on your Social Security card — it may differ from the number on your Medicare card.

Step 1 — Type of life-changing event and date

☑ Work Stoppage · Date(s): 06/2025

Work Stoppage and Work Reduction are separate boxes; dates are mm/yyyy. The event must fall in the same year as, or earlier than, the tax year you ask SSA to use.

Step 2 — Tax year

2026

SSA used her 2024 return for the 2026 premium. The instructions say to choose the premium year itself when income is lower this year than last — 2025 still had six months of salary, so 2026 is the year to report.

Step 2 — Adjusted gross income and tax-exempt interest

AGI $85,000.00 (estimate) · Tax-exempt interest $2,000.00 (estimate)

AGI is line 11 of Form 1040 and tax-exempt interest is line 2a; together they are the MAGI ($87,000) SSA compares with the table on the form. Estimates are allowed until the return is filed.

Step 2 — Tax filing status

☑ Single

The status you expect to use on the 2026 return.

Step 3 — Anticipated reduction next year

☑ No — skip to Step 4

Only complete Step 3 if 2027 MAGI will be lower still. Otherwise SSA reuses the Step 2 figures next year until the IRS sends the actual 2026 return.

Step 4 — Documentation

Original signed letter from the former employer confirming the last day of work, 06/26/2025 · signed copy of the 2026 return to follow once filed

SSA needs evidence of the event — for a work stoppage an employer statement or pay stubs; without them your signed statement on the form is accepted — and of your MAGI: a signed return or IRS transcript once one exists.

Step 5 — Signature, phone and mailing address

Signed · (512) 555-01•• · 100 Sample St, Apt 4, Austin, TX 78701

Signed under penalty of perjury. SSA calls this number if it has questions and mails original documents back to this address. There is no date line in Step 5.

How it is sent

Uploaded with the evidence through "Request to lower an IRMAA" at ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa after signing in

The alternatives are faxing or mailing the form and evidence to your local Social Security office, or an appointment where you show originals or certified copies.

These values are made up. They are here to show what belongs on each line, not to be copied — every name, number, and address on your own Form SSA-44 has to be your own.

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Frequently asked questions

To ask Social Security to lower or remove the IRMAA surcharge on your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums after one of the eight listed life-changing events reduced your income below the tax return SSA used — for 2026 premiums, normally your 2024 return. It is not for amended returns or for disputing the IRS figures themselves; call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 for those.
Yes, two ways. Social Security itself lets you sign in to a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa, fill out and submit SSA-44 online and upload your evidence. Or fill the official PDF in JustFill — the AI detects each field, you type your event and income details, and the first clean completed download is included at no charge — then upload, fax or mail the signed form to SSA. No Adobe needed either way.
The eight boxes on the form: marriage; divorce or annulment; death of your spouse; work stoppage; work reduction; loss of income-producing property not at your direction (a disaster, arson, fraud or theft — not a sale); scheduled cessation, termination or reorganization of an employer pension plan; and a settlement from an employer or former employer because of its bankruptcy or reorganization. An ordinary drop in investment income or a property sale does not qualify.
Three routes: upload it through SSA's "Request to lower an IRMAA" page (ssa.gov/medicare/lower-irmaa) after signing in; fax or mail the completed form with your evidence to your local Social Security office (use the office locator on ssa.gov); or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) for an appointment and show original documents or certified copies in person. Mailed originals are returned to you. Fill it in JustFill first so it is legible and complete.
For 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90, and IRMAA starts above a MAGI of $109,000 for single, head-of-household, qualifying widow(er) or married-filing-separately-and-living-apart filers, or $218,000 for married filing jointly. Single-type tiers: $109,000.01–$137,000 adds $81.20 a month for Part B and $14.50 for Part D; $137,000.01–$171,000 adds $202.90 and $37.50; $171,000.01–$205,000 adds $324.60 and $60.40; $205,000.01–$499,999.99 adds $446.30 and $83.30; above $499,999.99 adds $487.00 and $91.00. Joint tiers run $218,000.01–$274,000, $274,000.01–$342,000, $342,000.01–$410,000, $410,000.01–$749,999.99 and above $749,999.99 with the same adjustments. Married filing separately and living together: $109,000.01–$390,999.99 adds $446.30 and $83.30, above that $487.00 and $91.00. Source: the table printed on Form SSA-44 (12-2025) and the CMS fact sheet of November 14, 2025.
The year in Step 2 must be more recent than the return SSA used — your IRMAA letter names it, and for 2026 premiums it is normally 2024. Use the premium year itself (2026) if your MAGI is lower this year than last, for example because income only fell in 2026, or fell in 2025 and will be lower again in 2026. Use last year (2025) if your income fell in 2025 and will be no lower in 2026. If SSA used a return from three years back (2023), you can simply ask it to use 2024. Step 3 is the year after Step 2, only if it will be lower still.

Official source: Form SSA-44 on SSA (Social Security Administration)’s website

Edition checked: Form SSA-44 (12-2025), OMB No. 0960-0784, 8 pages — "Discontinue Prior Editions". Verified against the official source on .

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