Albany Senior AdvisorHow much can the spouse at home keep under New York Medicaid in 2026?
When one spouse enters a nursing home, the spouse at home can keep resources between New York's minimum community spouse resource allowance of $74,820 and the federal maximum of $162,660, plus a minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance of $4,066.50 in income.
| New York spousal figure, 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Resource allowance for the spouse at home, state minimum | $74,820 |
| Resource allowance for the spouse at home, federal maximum | $162,660 |
| Minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance | $4,066.50 |
| Personal needs allowance, nursing home resident | $50 |
Source: NYSDOH GIS 26 MA/03, 2026 Medicaid Levels and Other Updates (January 23, 2026).
New York lets the community spouse keep the greater of the state minimum or half of the couple's combined countable resources, up to the federal maximum. A spousal refusal, permitted in New York, is a separate strategy best handled with an attorney.
Does owning a house disqualify someone from Medicaid in New York?
No: a home is generally exempt while a spouse, minor or disabled child lives there or the applicant intends to return, as long as the applicant's equity does not exceed New York's 2026 cap of $1,130,000.
The house can still matter later through estate recovery, so families with a home in Delmar, Clifton Park or Loudonville should ask an elder law attorney about it before a sale or transfer.
How does the transfer penalty work in the Capital Region?
A gift or below-value transfer made within 60 months of a nursing home Medicaid application is divided by the Northeastern region's 2026 rate of $14,783 a month, and the result is the number of months Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care.
A $44,349 gift, for example, produces a three-month penalty. Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie, Warren, Washington, Columbia and Greene are all in the Northeastern region, so the same arithmetic applies across our whole area.
How much of a nursing home resident's income goes to the home?
Nearly all of it: a Medicaid nursing home resident in New York keeps a personal needs allowance of $50 a month, health insurance premiums such as the 2026 Medicare Part B premium of $202.90 are deducted, and the rest goes toward the cost of care.
If there is a spouse at home, part of the income can be redirected to bring that spouse up to the maintenance allowance before the remainder goes to the home.
Where are these Medicaid figures published?
In Department of Health General Information System messages: GIS 26 MA/03 for the 2026 spousal and other levels, GIS 26 MA/05 for income and resource standards, and GIS 25 MA/14 for the 2026 regional rates.
The figures change each January. We update them when the department publishes new GIS messages, and every cost page shows when it was last verified.
Side by side
| These rules protect | These rules do not protect | |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse at home | Resources up to $162,660 and income up to $4,066.50 | Unlimited assets |
| Home | Equity up to $1,130,000 while exempt | The house from estate recovery |
| Gifts | Transfers older than 60 months | Recent gifts, penalized at $14,783/month |
| Resident | A $50 monthly personal needs allowance | Most of the resident's income |
Where this page states a rule or a dollar figure, it relies on New York statute or regulation (Social Services Law, Public Health Law, 18 NYCRR and 10 NYCRR), Department of Health GIS messages and directories, CMS, the VA or CareScout, as named in the text. How we source facts: editorial standards.
