New Jersey Medicaid Asset Limits

Last updated: August 21, 2026 Jurisdiction: New Jersey

The 2026 MLTSS financial baseline

New Jersey’s 2026 MLTSS application guidance states that an applicant must own $2,000 or less in total resources. It identifies the house in which the person lives and the vehicle the person uses as resources that do not count toward that $2,000 figure, subject to the state’s separate home-equity rules (2026 MLTSS application guidance).

The DMAHS 2026 income-and-resource chart lists a $2,000 resource figure for an individual under the Medicaid cap and a $3,000 resource figure for a two-person Medicaid-only household. It also lists the MLTSS/institutional Medicaid cap at $2,982 per month, subject to stated adjustments, so families should not substitute ordinary community Medicaid figures for the long-term-services category (DMAHS 2026 income standards).

New Jersey uses the high end of the 2026 federal home-equity range: the same DMAHS chart lists a maximum home-equity limit of $1,130,000. A home may be excluded for resource purposes in the appropriate circumstances, but a home-equity ceiling and later estate recovery are separate questions (DMAHS 2026 income standards; DMAHS estate-recovery guide).

New Jersey is an income-cap state with QITs

New Jersey adopted Qualified Income Trusts, also called Miller Trusts, effective December 2014. DMAHS says that when monthly income above 300% of the Federal Benefit Rate is placed in a QIT, it is not counted in determining Medicaid financial eligibility for the eligible long-term-care setting (New Jersey QIT guidance).

A QIT is not a place to shelter savings or sale proceeds. DMAHS says it must contain only the individual’s income, not resources such as proceeds from real or personal property, must be irrevocable, and must have a trustee; its template also says properly diverted income is not counted for MLTSS eligibility but remains relevant to post-eligibility treatment of income (New Jersey QIT conditions; New Jersey QIT guidance).

Community-spouse protections

For 2026, DMAHS lists the Community Spouse Resource Allowance minimum as $32,532 and maximum as $162,660. The chart separately lists a community-spouse maintenance allowance of $2,643.75 before the later July 2026 adjustment communication, so an applicant should use the effective-date-specific notice for an actual calculation (DMAHS 2026 income standards; DMAHS July 2026 maintenance update).

2026 planning figures: $2,000 individual MLTSS resources; $2,982/month income cap; QIT route for excess qualifying income; $1,130,000 home-equity ceiling; and $32,532–$162,660 community-spouse resource range (DMAHS 2026 chart).

Resource ownership, marital allocation, and trust drafting are fact-specific. Before moving funds, transferring title, or opening a QIT account, a New Jersey elder-law attorney or qualified benefits adviser should review the current rules and the family’s documents.

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The 2026 MLTSS financial baseline

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