How Much Money Can You Have for Medicaid? 2026 Asset Limits

“I have a little saved. Will Medicaid take one look and say no?”

For most people, the answer is no — and it is a question many people answer wrong for themselves. Children, pregnant women, parents and adults under 65 who qualify by income face no savings test at all. The limits people worry about apply mainly to people who are 65 or older, blind or disabled, or who need nursing home or other long-term care.

This guide gives you the 2026 federal numbers, two real state examples, a checklist of what counts, and the rules for married couples and gifts that most people only learn about when a parent needs care.

The Short Answer

Who is applying	Is there an asset limit?	2026 federal figure
Children, pregnant women, parents, adults 19–64 on income-based Medicaid	No	No asset test allowed
People 65+, blind or disabled (regular Medicaid)	Usually yes	$2,000 one person / $3,000 couple (states may allow more)
Nursing home or home care through Medicaid	Yes, plus extra rules	Same limit for you; your spouse keeps $32,532–$162,660
Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI)	Yes, higher	$9,950 one person / $14,910 couple

The no-asset-test rule is written into federal regulation. 42 CFR 435.603(g) says that for people judged on household income (called MAGI), the state must not “Apply any assets or resources test.” Paragraph (j) of the same rule lists who is left out of that protection: people on SSI, people who are 65 or older “when age is a condition of eligibility,” people who qualify because they are blind or disabled, and people asking for long-term care.

The $2,000, $3,000, $9,950 and $14,910 figures come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2026 standards bulletin, dated December 9, 2025.

Why the Limit Is Still $2,000

The $2,000 figure is the SSI resource limit, and many state Medicaid programs for older and disabled people start from it. It has not moved in a long time. The federal rule, 20 CFR 416.1205, shows the limit rising a little each year from 1985 until January 1, 1989, when it reached $2,000 for one person and $3,000 for a couple. The table stops there.

The same CMS chart that lists the 2026 $2,000 limit also prints another number: prices have risen 171.1% since September 1988. Many other Medicaid figures on that chart are raised every year for inflation. The basic asset limit is not.

Your State May Allow Much More

Federal rules let states be more generous. 42 CFR 435.601(d) allows a state to use “less restrictive” income and resource methods for older, blind and disabled people. Two examples show how far apart states can be:

State (2026)	One person	Couple	Source
New York — SSI-related Medicaid	$33,038	$44,796	NY Department of Health, GIS 26 MA/05 chart, effective Jan. 1, 2026
Texas — Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities	$2,000	$3,000	Texas HHS handbook, F-1300 (“1989 through present”)

We list only states whose own official pages we could open and read. For your state, ask your state Medicaid agency for its current resource limit for the “aged, blind and disabled” group.

Checklist: What Counts and What Does Not

States that follow SSI rules use the list in federal regulation (20 CFR 416 Subpart L). Your state may exclude more, but this is the common starting point.

Usually counts

• Cash, checking and savings accounts
• CDs, stocks, bonds and mutual funds
• A second car (only one car is fully excluded)
• Land or buildings other than your home
• Cash value of life insurance when the total face value per person is over $1,500

Usually does not count

• Your home — for regular coverage, SSI rules say, “We do not count a home regardless of its value” (long-term care adds a limit; see below)
• Household goods and personal belongings
• One car used for transportation, “regardless of value”
• Life insurance if the total face value on a person is $1,500 or less
• Burial spaces (plot, crypt, headstone) and up to $1,500 set aside for burial expenses

Timing matters. Under 20 CFR 416.1207, “Resources determinations are made as of the first moment of the month.” Texas puts it even more exactly: it values your resources “as of 12:01 a.m. on the first day of a calendar month.” A Social Security check that lands on the 3rd and is spent on the 20th was never counted as a resource. If it is still sitting in your account on the 1st of next month, it can be.

We did not check how each state treats retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s. Ask your state agency before assuming they do or do not count.

If You or a Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care

Long-term care has its own layer of rules. The numbers below are the federal 2026 standards from CMS.

The spouse who stays home is protected. Federal “spousal impoverishment” rules let the at-home spouse keep a share of the couple’s savings and income:

2026 standard	Amount
Savings the at-home spouse can keep — federal minimum	$32,532
Savings the at-home spouse can keep — federal maximum	$162,660
Minimum monthly income allowance for the at-home spouse, from July 1, 2026 (48 states and D.C.)	$2,705 (Alaska $3,381.25, Hawaii $3,111.25)
Maximum monthly income allowance	$4,066.50
Home equity limit for long-term care	$752,000 to $1,130,000, depending on the state

States set their floor within this range. New York, for example, lets the at-home spouse keep “the greater of” $74,820 or half of the couple’s resources, up to $162,660, according to its 2026 chart.

The monthly allowance changed this summer. CMS raised the minimum monthly allowance from $2,643.75 to $2,705 on July 1, 2026, in an April 27, 2026 update. Charts printed earlier in the year still show the old figure.

The home equity limit has an important exception. Section 1917(f) of the Social Security Act says the limit does not apply if your spouse, or your child who is under 21 or blind or disabled, lives in the home. The same section says nothing stops you from using a reverse mortgage or home equity loan to lower your equity.

Gifts and the 5-Year Look-Back

This is where families get hurt, usually with good intentions.

When someone applies for nursing home care or home care through Medicaid, the state looks back 60 months at any money or property given away or sold for less than it was worth (Social Security Act §1917(c)). If it finds a transfer, it sets a penalty — a stretch of months when Medicaid will not pay for that care.

The penalty is plain arithmetic:

Months without coverage = total value given away ÷ your state’s average monthly cost of a nursing home for a private-pay patient

The law adds, “A State shall not round down.” A partial month counts as a partial month of penalty.

Some transfers are allowed without penalty. The law lists transferring your home to:

• your spouse;
• your child who is under 21, or blind or disabled;
• a brother or sister who owns part of the home and lived there at least one year before you entered care; or
• a son or daughter who lived with you at least two years before you entered care and whose care kept you at home.

Transfers to your spouse, or “for the sole benefit of” your spouse, are also allowed.

If someone offers to “protect your assets” for a fee, be careful. Free help exists: a SHIP counselor can explain how Medicare works with Medicaid, and a local legal aid office may be able to advise on transfers. Our legal aid guide explains how to find the federally funded legal aid office near you.

Estate Recovery: What Happens Later

Federal law requires states to try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who was 55 or older when they got nursing home care, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug care (§1917(b)). States may choose to recover other Medicaid costs too, but not Medicare cost-sharing paid through the Medicare Savings Programs.

Two protections matter most. Recovery can happen only after the surviving spouse has died, and not while there is a surviving child who is under 21, or blind or disabled. States must also have a hardship waiver process.

Before You Apply: A 10-Minute Check

1. Which group are you in? Under 65 and not disabled → your savings likely do not matter. 65+, blind, disabled or needing long-term care → keep going.
2. Find your state’s limit. Ask your state Medicaid agency for the resource limit for the aged, blind and disabled group. It may be $2,000 or much more.
3. Add up only what counts. Use the checklist above. Leave out your home, one car, household goods, burial spaces and small life insurance.
4. Look at the first of the month. What you have at 12:01 a.m. on the 1st is what gets counted.
5. Married and one of you needs care? Read the spousal rules above before assuming you must spend down to $2,000 as a couple.
6. Given anything away in the last 5 years? Write down what, to whom, and when. You will be asked.
7. Apply anyway if you are unsure. HealthCare.gov says, “You can apply for Medicaid and CHIP any time of year.” You can apply through the Marketplace or directly with your state Medicaid agency.

If You Are Over the Limit — or Were Denied

• Check the Medicare Savings Programs. Their $9,950/$14,910 limit is far higher, and they can pay your Part B premium. See our Medicare Savings Programs guide.
• Were you denied? You have hearing rights. Our guide on what to do after a Medicaid denial walks through the steps and deadlines.
• Veterans: VA pension uses a very different net worth test. See VA Aid and Attendance vs. Housebound.

Other Help Worth Checking

• The main Medicaid guide: Medicaid eligibility and how to apply.
• Income limits by state for the income-based groups (no asset test): Medicaid income limits by state.
• SSI has the same $2,000 limit and a longer list of exclusions: SSI income and resource limits.
• Care at home instead of a nursing home: the PACE program serves people 55+ in some areas.
• Food help: SNAP has its own, separate asset rules — see SNAP asset limits.

How We Checked This

Every figure in this guide came from a primary source we opened and read on September 27, 2026.

• The no-asset-test rule and who it leaves out come from the full text of 42 CFR 435.603, paragraphs (g) and (j), and the state option to be more generous from 42 CFR 435.601(d). Both were read through the eCFR’s official API (current through September 24, 2026).
• The 2026 federal standards ($2,000/$3,000, $32,532/$162,660, $752,000/$1,130,000, $9,950/$14,910, $4,066.50) come from the CMS December 9, 2025 bulletin. The July 1, 2026 monthly allowance of $2,705 comes from the CMS April 27, 2026 update.
• The look-back, penalty formula, home transfer exceptions, home equity exception and estate recovery rules come from the text of Social Security Act §1917.
• The SSI counting rules come from 20 CFR 416.1205, 416.1207, 416.1210, 416.1212, 416.1218, 416.1230 and 416.1231.
• The state examples come from New York’s 2026 non-MAGI standards chart (GIS 26 MA/05, February 13, 2026) and the Texas HHS MEPD handbook, sections F-1300 and F-1310.

Where the facts differ from what people repeat:

• “Medicaid will make me spend my savings.” Not if you qualify through the income-based groups. The regulation forbids an asset test for them.
• “The spouse at home can keep $2,643.75 a month.” That was the figure through June 30, 2026. CMS’s April 27, 2026 update raised the minimum to $2,705 from July 1, 2026. We found the older figure still circulating in search results the day we checked.
• “A gift of $30,000 means a flat 5-year ban.” The 60 months is how far back the state looks, not the length of the penalty. The penalty is the gift divided by your state’s average private-pay nursing home cost — a figure each state sets.
• “The $2,000 limit goes up every year.” It has been $2,000 since January 1, 1989, per 20 CFR 416.1205, even though the CMS chart shows prices up 171.1% since September 1988.

What we could not verify: medicaid.gov and ssa.gov refused ordinary requests from our location (HTTP 403), so the two CMS bulletins were retrieved as PDF text and the Social Security Act section as page text through a US-based browser service, and read in full. California’s Department of Health Care Services asset-limit page blocked every method we tried, so this guide does not state California’s Medi-Cal limit — check with your county office. We did not review every state’s limit, the treatment of retirement accounts, or the average nursing home cost each state uses for the penalty.

Medicaid is run by each state under federal rules. The federal figures above are for calendar year 2026; the state examples are New York and Texas as of 2026. All sources cited here were verified on September 27, 2026.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.