Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: If Medicare premiums are taken out of your social security payment, the SSA-1099 shows them in the Description of Amount in Box 3 as an addition to what you were paid by check or direct deposit. Publication 915 tells you not to reduce box 5 by those items. Use box 5 as printed when figuring taxable social security.
Where the premium line sits
The line is part of the Description of Amount in Box 3, covered on the page for SSA-1099 box 3. Within that description, the publication introduces the additions with the sentence “The following adjustment items may have been deducted from your benefits in 2025.” “If amounts appear on your Form SSA-1099 next to these items, they will be added to the amount shown in “Paid by check or direct deposit.””
Medicare premiums are the first item in that list. The other boxes on the statement are laid out in the SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 boxes guide.
What the publication says about the premium
The publication’s text for the line reads in full: “Medicare premiums deducted from your benefits.” “If you have Medicare premiums deducted from your benefits, this is the amount withheld during 2025.”
Next it gives background on the amount: “The basic monthly premium in 2025 was $185.00 for most people, but it could be higher if you were a new enrollee in 2025, you enrolled after you were first eligible, you had a break in coverage, or the modified adjusted gross income shown on your 2023 federal income tax return is greater than $106,000 ($212,000 if married filing jointly).”
So a deduction larger than the basic premium in the sentence above may reflect one of the listed circumstances. The sentence is the IRS’s description of the 2025 premium; it is not a statement about any other year, and the amount on your own statement is the one that counts.
Part C and Part D premiums
The next line covers two other kinds of premium: “Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Premium; and Medicare Part D, Prescription Drug Premium, are other Medicare deductions you may have.” “These premiums may vary.” “See cms.gov for more information.”
The publication places these premiums alongside the basic premium as Medicare deductions you may have.
Why box 5 is not reduced by the premium
The central tip is attached to the additions list. It reads: “Don’t reduce the amount of net social security benefits (box 5) by any of the items listed below.” “Use the amount in box 5 to figure taxable social security.”
Read that way, the premium is added to the cash you received to reach the gross amount in box 3, and box 5 is box 3 minus repayments. The page for SSA-1099 box 5 explains the subtraction. You do not subtract the premium a second time. How taxable benefits are then figured is covered on the Social Security tax torpedo page.
Paid by check versus the gross figure
The line titled “Paid by check or direct deposit.” is what reached your account, and the total additions is that figure plus every listed deduction. That is why the box 3 figure is not the same as your deposits, which the page for SSA-1099 box 3 walks through line by line.
Other lines that sit in the same list
The premium is one entry among several. The list also includes “Workers’ compensation offset.” “Attorney fees.” and “Voluntary federal income tax withheld.” The last of these corresponds to the amount on SSA-1099 box 6, which has its own page. The publication also lists a subtraction for refunds, saying “The amount shown here may include Medicare premiums you paid in excess of the amount actually due.”
Edition and box numbers
The primary read for this page is Publication 915 for 2025 returns, the IRS publication that explains Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 and reproduces a sample SSA-1099. It describes the form with the words “Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement 2025”. Only that edition was read for this page, so no wording is compared against any other edition. The premium line is not a numbered box. It is a line inside the description of box 3, which the sample form labels “Box 3. Benefits Paid in 2025”. The railroad statement has its own premium reporting; see RRB-1099 box 3 for the box 3 side of that form. The sample in the publication carries its own caution: “You should, however, compare the form you received with the one shown in this publication to note any differences.” Check the tax year printed on the statement you received before relying on any box description here.
Common mistakes
- Subtracting the premium from box 5. The tip says “Don’t reduce the amount of net social security benefits (box 5) by any of the items listed below.”
- Expecting the cash deposit to equal box 3. Listed amounts “will be added to the amount shown in” the paid by check or direct deposit line.
- Overlooking other premiums. The publication says “Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Premium; and Medicare Part D, Prescription Drug Premium” may also appear.
Related: the Social Security tax torpedo, Form 1040, 2025 tax brackets, and Schedule A (Form 1040).
Sources
- Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits (for 2025 returns): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf
- IRS web edition of Publication 915 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p915
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.