If you or your spouse have worked for at least 10 years (40 quarters) and paid Medicare taxes, you are eligible for premium-free Part A. If you have not met the 40 quarters, you can pay the Part A premium which in 2019 is $437. If you paid Medicare taxes for 30-39 quarters, the standard Part A premium is $240.
In the case of Part B in 2019, the premium amounts vary depending on your income. The higher your income, the more you pay for the premium. For those who earn low-income, there is a government program, called Medicaid or Low-Income Subsidy, that helps cover premium payments for Part B.
Since 2007, a beneficiary’s Part B monthly premium is based on his or her income. These income-related monthly adjustment amounts (IRMAA) affect roughly 5 percent of people with Medicare Part B. The total premiums for high income beneficiaries for 2019 are shown in the following table:
| Beneficiaries who file individual tax returns with income: | Beneficiaries who file joint tax returns with income: | Income-related monthly adjustment amount | Total monthly premium amount |
| Less than or equal to $85,000 | Less than or equal to $170,000 | $0.00 | $135.50 |
| Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $107,000 | Greater than $170,000 and less than or equal to $214,000 | $54.10 | $189.60 |
| Greater than $107,000 and less than or equal to $133,500 | Greater than $214,000 and less than or equal to $267,000 | $135.40 | $270.90 |
| Greater than $133,500 and less than or equal to $160,000 | Greater than $267,000 and less than or equal to $320,000 | $216.70 | $352.20 |
| Greater than $160,000 and less than $500,000 | Greater than $320,000 and less than $750,000 | $297.90 | $433.40 |
| Greater than or equal to $500,000 | Greater than or equal to $750,000 | $325.00 | $460.50 |
Premiums for high-income beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, but file a separate return, are as follows:
| Beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouses at any time during the year, but who file separate tax returns from their spouses: | Income-related monthly adjustment amount | Total monthly premium amount |
| Less than or equal to $85,000 | $0.00 | $135.50 |
| Greater than $85,000 and less than $415,000 | $297.90 | $433.40 |
| Greater than or equal to $415,000 |