California Medicaid Spend-Down & Look-Back Penalty Calculator
Estimate Medi-Cal asset spend-down, spousal protection and a conditional nursing-facility transfer penalty under the 2026 staged look-back.
Your Situation
Gifts & Transfers (Look-Back)
Conditional nursing-facility estimate. DHCS or the county must review eligibility, purpose, exemptions and hardship.
Your Estimate
How your assets break down
Look-back transfer penalty
Gift now vs. no gift
Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA)
When one spouse enters care, the healthy “community” spouse can keep the CSRA. In 2026 the federal range is $32,532 to $162,660. Only assets above the CSRA plus the applicant’s allowance must be spent down.
Single vs. married — same assets
Your protected spousal amount
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California is a “100% state,” so the community spouse can keep up to 100% of countable assets, capped at $162,660.
Also protected for the spouse
A minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) shifts some of the applicant’s income to a low-income community spouse, and the family home is generally exempt while the spouse lives there. An elder-law attorney can often protect more.
Medicaid spend-down & look-back in California (2026)
In California, a single applicant for long-term-care Medicaid can keep $130,000 in countable assets in 2026 — everything above that must be spent down on care or other allowable costs before Medicaid pays for a nursing home. This page pre-loads the calculator with California's own asset limit, spousal rules, and penalty divisor so the numbers reflect your state.
California nursing-facility transfers require a purpose, exemption and hardship review. For a qualifying 2026 nonexempt transfer while assets exceed the applicable limit, divide by the $14,440 APPR and take whole months, capped at 30, starting in the transfer month. A $60,000 qualifying January transfer illustrates January–April 2026; amounts below the APPR do not create a POI.
Medi-Cal restored the affected one-person non-MAGI asset limit of $130,000 on January 1, 2026. Transfers made in 2024–2025 are excluded from POI review. From July 2026 the review grows from January 2026 toward 30 months by July 2028. The penalty concerns nursing-facility-level services, not all Medi-Cal; assets and overall eligibility remain separate.
California figures were verified in July 2026 against the American Council on Aging and CMS spousal-impoverishment standards, and are reviewed annually. This is an educational estimate only — not legal or financial advice.
California Medicaid FAQ
What is the 2026 Medi-Cal asset limit?
The affected non-MAGI one-person standard is $130,000. Additional-person and spousal protections, exemptions and other eligibility facts require county review.
How is a California transfer penalty calculated?
A qualifying nonexempt transfer above the applicable asset limit is divided by the 2026 APPR of $14,440 and rounded down to whole months, capped at 30. It starts in the transfer month. Transfers below the APPR, exempt transfers, other established purposes and hardship require their specific treatment.
What transfer dates are reviewed?
2024–2025 transfers are excluded. The staged post-July-2026 review increases from January 2026 to a full 30 months in July 2028. An elapsed POI does not establish overall eligibility.
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