Costs
Medicare late enrollment penalties: how they work and how to avoid them
Sign up for Medicare late and you can pay more every month for as long as you have it. The penalties are easy to avoid if you know the rules, and some can be removed if you were given wrong information. Here's how each one works.
Last reviewed October 27, 2026. General information, not advice about any plan.
Part B penalty
You pay 10% more for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. Because it's a percentage of the standard premium, the dollar amount rises when the premium does.
- Example
- Two years late: 20% extra. In 2026 that's $243.50 a month instead of $202.90.
- How long
- Usually for as long as you have Part B. If you're under 65 on disability-based Medicare, the penalty ends when you turn 65.
- Signing up late
- If you missed your first window, you can sign up January 1 to March 31, with coverage starting the month after you sign up.
Part D penalty
If you go 63 days or more in a row without Part D or other creditable drug coverage after your first window, you pay 1% of the national base premium for each full month without it. The base is $38.99 in 2026 and $41.33 in 2027, so the penalty changes a little each year.
- Example
- 14 months without coverage: 14% × $38.99 = $5.46, rounded to $5.50 a month, added to your plan premium.
- How long
- For as long as you have Medicare drug coverage, even in a $0-premium plan.
- Ends
- While you have Extra Help, and at 65 if you were paying it on disability-based Medicare.
- Keep every letter that says your job, union, VA or other drug coverage is "creditable." It's your proof if a plan says you owe a penalty.
- When you join a plan, return its form about past drug coverage by the deadline on it.
Part A penalty
Most people get Part A free. If you have to buy it and sign up late, the premium goes up 10%, for twice the number of years you were late. In 2026 that's $621.50 a month instead of $565.
When there's no Part B penalty
- Working with job-based coverage
- Coverage from your or your spouse's current job lets you wait. Sign up within 8 months after the job or the coverage ends, whichever comes first. COBRA and retiree coverage don't count. For drug coverage, the job plan must have been creditable, and you have 63 days to join a Part D plan. More on this.
- A Medicare Savings Program
- If your state pays your Part B premium, it never pays a penalty, and earlier late months are wiped out.
- Wrong information from an employer, plan or agent
- If an employer, a group health plan, or a health plan's agent or broker gave you wrong information and you didn't sign up because of it, you have 6 months from telling Social Security to enroll without a penalty.
- A disaster or emergency
- If a declared emergency kept you from signing up, until 6 months after it ends.
- Losing Medicaid
- From the notice until 6 months after Medicaid ends.
- Release from jail or prison
- Until the end of the 12th month after the month you're released.
- Government error
- If Social Security or another federal agency gave you wrong information, you can ask for "equitable relief."
Challenging a penalty
Part D: ask for reconsideration
Use the form your plan sent with the penalty notice and return it within 60 days of the letter's date, with proof of creditable coverage. An independent reviewer usually decides within 90 days. Keep paying meanwhile.Part B: contact Social Security
Call 1-800-772-1213 or file form SSA-561 within 60 days of the notice. Send proof of job-based coverage or the reason you qualify for a special window.Get free help
Your state's SHIP can help with the paperwork. Find it on your state's license-check page.
Common questions
How much is the Medicare Part B late penalty?
10% of the standard premium for each full 12 months you could have had Part B but didn't. In 2026, two years late means $243.50 a month instead of $202.90.
How is the Part D penalty calculated?
1% of the national base premium ($38.99 in 2026) for each full month without drug coverage, rounded to the nearest 10 cents. 14 months without coverage adds $5.50 a month in 2026.
Do Medicare penalties last forever?
Usually for as long as you have Part B or drug coverage. Exceptions: penalties charged before 65 on disability-based Medicare end at 65, and the Part A penalty lasts twice the number of years you were late.
Does Extra Help remove the Part D penalty?
Yes. You don't pay the Part D penalty while you have Extra Help.
Keep reading
- Medicare enrollment periods: when you can sign up or switchEvery Medicare enrollment window in one place: turning 65, the fall Annual Enrollment Period, the January–March change, Medigap open enrollment, special periods and late penalties.
- Medicare with retiree, COBRA or a spouse's job coverageWho pays first, whether you need Part B, and the mistakes that cost people their retiree benefits or a lifelong penalty. For anyone with retiree coverage, COBRA, or a working spouse's plan.
- Turning 65: a Medicare checklist, month by monthWhat to do before and after your 65th birthday: when to sign up, what to do if you're still working, your one-time Medigap window, and the deadlines that carry lifelong penalties.
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