Texas Medicaid Asset Limits

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: Texas

Texas's 2026 resource limits are low

HHSC's 2026 nursing-facility and HCBS-waiver guidance lists a $2,000 countable-resource limit for one applicant and a $3,000 limit for a couple when both spouses apply. These are resource limits, not limits on every item a household owns, because program exclusions also apply (HHSC Appendix XII).

HHSC lists as excludable a Texas homestead when the applicant intends to return, one vehicle regardless of value, and qualifying burial funds or life insurance up to $1,500 face value, alongside other exclusions. The exact treatment of a home can turn on facts such as principal residence and intent to return (HHSC Appendix XII).

Income is a separate cap with a separate tool

The 2026 special income limit is $2,982 per month for one person and $5,964 for a couple. Texas does not use an income spend-down for this institutional and waiver eligibility path; a person over the cap may need a Qualified Income Trust if the other conditions are met (HHSC Appendix XXXVI).

2026 core limits: $2,000 for an individual, $3,000 for a couple applying together, and $2,982 monthly income for one person. A QIT can address qualifying excess income, but it cannot shelter excess resources (HHSC Appendix XII; HHSC QIT policy).

A spouse at home has separate protections

For 2026, HHSC lists a protected-resources amount for the community spouse from $32,532 to $162,660, excluding the homestead, household and personal goods, one vehicle, and burial funds. HHSC also lists a community-spouse income allocation up to $4,066.50 per month in the nursing-facility co-payment calculation (HHSC Appendix XII).

Those amounts are not an automatic answer for every married couple. Income allocation and resource treatment depend on the household's circumstances and the rules governing the application, so a calculation should be done from the current HHSC materials (HHSC Appendix XII).

Do not confuse exclusions with a transfer strategy

Keeping an item outside the countable-resource calculation is different from giving it away. Texas separately reviews certain transfers during a 60-month look-back period, so a resource decision can raise both eligibility and transfer-penalty questions (HHSC look-back policy).

Compare the state-specific presentation on Florida's Medicaid asset-limits page, then see Medicaid (Baseline) for the broader framework. Current figures and an applicant's documents should be reviewed before any asset move.

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Texas's 2026 resource limits are low

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