Medicaid Planning
Medicaid Asset Spend-Down: What You Can Keep (2026)
Exempt assets, countable resources, and legal spend-down strategies before applying for nursing home Medicaid.
8 min readUpdated 2026-06-20
Countable assets must generally be at or below $2,000 for an individual before nursing home Medicaid approval. Exempt assets include a primary home (with conditions), one vehicle, and personal belongings.
Common exempt assets
- Primary residence (if spouse or dependent lives there, or equity under state limit)
- One automobile
- Household goods and personal effects
- Prepaid funeral and burial plans (state limits apply)
- Term life insurance without cash value
Asset limits by state
- Texas
- Florida
- California
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Ohio
- Illinois
- Georgia
- Arizona
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Washington
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Colorado
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
- District of Columbia
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