Delaware Medicaid Asset Limits

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: Delaware

Delaware’s basic 2026 long-term-care standards

DMMA’s 2026 SSI-related administrative notice sets the Long Term Care Programs income standard at 250% of SSI: $2,485 per month for one person and $3,727.50 for a couple. The same notice says each person receives a $20 available-income disregard, producing stated standards of $2,505 for one person and $3,747.50 for a couple; it also cautions that there is no $20 disregard for needs-based income such as VA pensions (DMMA 2026 SSI-related standards).

That current notice says the resource limits did not change: $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. These are the basic standards; when one spouse needs long-term care and the other remains in the community, Delaware instead applies the separate spousal-impoverishment assessment and allowance rules (DMMA 2026 income and resource notice).

Income-cap planning and a Miller Trust

Delaware uses a 250%-of-SSI long-term-care income standard rather than a general medical-expense spend-down described for every above-limit long-term-care applicant. DMMA’s long-term-care guidance says that a recent law allows income placed in an income-qualifying trust, called a Miller Trust, to be excluded, enabling a person over the then-current Medicaid income limit to qualify if the trust requirements are met (DMMA Long Term Care Income Eligibility guide).

The present dollar amount, trust document, deposit flow, patient-pay calculation, and care setting all matter. A Miller Trust is not a general asset shelter and should be prepared and administered with Delaware-specific professional advice before income is redirected.

Home equity and community-spouse protection

Effective January 1, 2026, Delaware selected the federal minimum excess-home-equity amount of $752,000, rather than the $1,130,000 maximum available to states. DMMA’s notice says the limit applies to Medicaid payment for long-term-care services and identifies the $752,000 figure as Delaware’s elected limit (DMMA 2026 home-equity notice).

For 2026, Delaware’s minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance is $32,532 and its maximum is $162,660. DMMA also reports a maximum monthly maintenance-needs allowance of $4,066.50; the allowance itself depends on the couple’s resources and other facts, so the maximum is not an automatic entitlement (DMMA 2026 spousal-impoverishment standards).

2026 Delaware figures: $2,000 individual resources; $3,000 basic couple resources; $2,485 individual LTC income before the stated disregard; $752,000 home equity; and a $32,532 to $162,660 community-spouse resource range (DMMA income notice; DMMA home-equity notice; DMMA spousal notice).

A home can be excluded or within the equity rule at application and still raise estate-recovery questions after death. See Medicaid (Baseline) and obtain individualized advice before selling assets, changing title, or funding a trust.

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Delaware’s basic 2026 long-term-care standards

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