State Medicaid Spend-Down Calculators 2026

Choose your state

Click a card to open that state's calculator. The tool sits at the top of each page with detailed Medicaid spend-down content below it.

Context

Why you need the right state calculator

Medicaid spend down is the dollar gap between your countable assets and your state resource cap. Elena moved her mother from Queens to Charlotte and assumed the $33,038 New York figure still applied. North Carolina uses a $2,000 single cap, so the family suddenly faced a much larger spend-down target.

Each tool on this hub matches the state on the Medicaid application, not where relatives live. Caps range from $1,600 in Connecticut (pending verification) to $130,000 in California after the January 2026 DHCS change. Ohio still posts $2,000 for the applicant but shields up to $162,660 for a community spouse under the 2026 CSRA.

Common mistake: Using a national $2,000 rule of thumb on every application. Illinois allows $17,500 while New York posts $33,038 for many home-care cases. Open the state page that matches your letterhead before you move money.

Method

How each state calculator works

Roberto in San Antonio listed $38,400 in checking and CDs for his father. The Texas tool subtracted the $2,000 HHSC cap and returned a $36,400 asset gap before exemptions. The same inputs on theCalifornia calculator would have produced a very different number against the $130,000 Medi-Cal limit.

1

Enter countable assets

Add bank balances, brokerage accounts, and other non-exempt resources. The widget does not auto-count your home, one vehicle, or burial plots. Those exemptions are explained in the prose below each calculator.

2

Apply the posted cap

Batch 1 states load verified limits from medicaid-rules.json. UNVERIFIED pages use the $2,000 federal floor and print a warning banner so you know to call the state agency before relying on the figure.

3

Factor in spousal protection

When a community spouse stays home, the tool applies the 2026 CSRA ceiling before it totals the applicant spend-down. Married couples in Tampa with $214,000 between IRAs and savings often split the pool between CSRA and applicant share on theFlorida page.

Common mistake: Cashing out an IRA and parking proceeds in checking. Many states count the full balance on the first of the month. Read the state page section on retirement accounts before you liquidate.

Batch 1

Verified 2026 asset limits

These ten states have agency-sourced caps in our database. Dollar amounts below reflect September 2026 data. Each row links to the full calculator page with FAQs, exemption tables, and agency phone numbers.

State	2026 single asset cap	Agency note	Calculator
California	$130,000	DHCS limit reinstated January 1, 2026	California tool
Texas	$2,000	HHSC $2,000 cap; Miller Trust often required for income	Texas tool
Florida	$2,000	DCF asset cap; five-year look-back on gifts	Florida tool
New York	$33,038	DOH excess income and home-care caps differ by program	New York tool
Pennsylvania	$2,000	$425 MNIL for medically needy income spend-down	Pennsylvania tool
Ohio	$2,000	2026 CSRA up to $162,660 for community spouse	Ohio tool
Illinois	$17,500	HFS posts higher asset cap than federal floor	Illinois tool
Michigan	$2,000	MDHHS $1,330 MNIL for income spend-down cases	Michigan tool
Georgia	$2,000	DFCS nursing-home cap matches federal minimum	Georgia tool
North Carolina	$2,000	NCDHHS uses $2,000 single resource limit	North Carolina tool

High-variance states outside the federal $2,000 floor includeIllinois ($17,500) andNew York ($33,038). Pennsylvania and Michigan pair the $2,000 asset cap with medically needy income rules described on each state page.

Data integrity

UNVERIFIED states and the $2,000 floor

Forty-one states plus D.C. still carry an UNVERIFIED badge. We display the federal $2,000 single / $3,000 couple floor as a placeholder, not as a promise that your county uses that exact figure. Staff at Alabama Medicaid or Alaska DHSS may post different resource rules in their handbooks.

Jurisdiction	Displayed cap	Status	Calculator
Connecticut	$1,600	UNVERIFIED	Connecticut tool
District of Columbia	$2,000 floor	UNVERIFIED	District of Columbia tool
All other non-Batch-1 states	$2,000 single / $3,000 couple	UNVERIFIED	Browse state grid

Common mistake: Treating an UNVERIFIED $2,000 result as final. Call the state Medicaid office listed on your calculator page and ask for the current resource limit before you spend down tens of thousands of dollars.

Spot an error? Email [email protected] with the agency PDF link. We update caps within a few business days once we verify the source.

Scope

What these calculators cover (and what they skip)

Every page on this hub estimates asset spend-down gaps and basic CSRA protection. The tools do not run income spend-down budgets, Miller Trust funding schedules, penalty divisors, or waiver eligibility screens. Those topics appear in state-specific prose where they matter.

Topic	Included in widget	Where to read more
Countable asset gap	Yes	Calculator at top of each state page
Community spouse resource allowance	Yes (2026 federal max)	Ohio orTexas pages
Medically needy income spend-down	No	Pennsylvania orMichigan pages
Miller Trust / QIT	No	Texas orFlorida pages
Look-back penalties	No	Look-back guide andhomepage overview

James and Linda in Tampa held $214,000 between IRAs and savings. Florida counted the IRAs, applied the $2,000 applicant limit, and left Linda with a CSRA near $107,000. The remaining balance still had to move through allowed spend-down channels, not a lump gift to their son.

Common mistake: Gifting $40,000 to children six months before filing. Florida's five-year look-back can convert that transfer into penalty months with no coverage. Pay legitimate debts and care invoices instead.

Common questions

Calculator hub FAQ

How many state Medicaid spend down calculators do you offer?

Fifty-one tools cover every state plus Washington, D.C. Ten Batch 1 states load verified 2026 agency limits. The other 41 jurisdictions display a $2,000 federal floor with an UNVERIFIED label until we log the official handbook page.

Which states have verified 2026 limits right now?

California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina are in Batch 1. California posts a $130,000 single cap after its January 2026 rule change. New York lists $33,038 for many cases. Illinois allows $17,500.

How do I pick the right calculator on this page?

Open the state where the applicant will file Medicaid, not where adult children live. A daughter in Denver still needs the Ohio tool if her father applies in Columbus. Each URL follows spenddowncalculator.com/calculator/{state}-medicaid-spend-down-calculator/.

Why are some state calculators marked UNVERIFIED?

We refuse to publish dollar limits without a dated agency source. Alabama, Alaska, and the other non-Batch-1 states still show a $2,000 federal floor estimate with a clear UNVERIFIED label until we log the official PDF or handbook page.

What inputs does each state calculator use?

You enter countable assets, marital status, and whether a community spouse stays home. The tool subtracts the posted asset cap and applies the 2026 CSRA ceiling when a spouse remains in the community. It does not run income spend-down budgets or penalty divisors.

Will each state page include income spend-down math?

State pages for Pennsylvania and Michigan cover medically needy income rules in prose. Texas and Florida pages explain Miller Trust requirements where medical-bill spend-down is blocked for many LTC cases. The widget itself stays focused on asset gaps.

Does a calculator result mean I qualify for Medicaid?

No. Every tool on this site prints estimates only. Your county Medicaid office still reviews bank statements, look-back transfers, home equity, and level-of-care forms before it approves nursing-home coverage.

How often do you update these calculators?

We refresh Batch 1 limits when a state agency posts a new bulletin. UNVERIFIED pages update as soon as we confirm a cap. Each page shows a last-updated date and links to our editorial policy for sourcing rules.

Sources

We pull asset caps, CSRA figures, and program names from the agencies below. Access dates reflect when each link was last checked for this page.

Medicaid.gov: Eligibility (accessed 2026-09-26)
CMS: Spousal Impoverishment (accessed 2026-09-26)
SSA: SSI Federal Benefit Rate (accessed 2026-09-26)
eCFR: Medicaid Financial Eligibility (42 CFR Part 435) (accessed 2026-09-26)
California DHCS: Medi-Cal eligibility (accessed 2026-09-26)
New York DOH: Excess Income Program (accessed 2026-09-26)
Texas HHS: Medicaid for long-term care (accessed 2026-09-26)
NAELA: Find an elder law attorney (accessed 2026-09-26)

Medicaid Spend Down Calculators