What are the income and asset limits for Georgia's Medicaid waiver?
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Georgia's Medicaid waiver applies two financial tests: an income limit tied to a federal benefit rate that is updated every year, and a limit on countable assets. The home the person lives in is generally not counted. Confirm the current year's figures with your Area Agency on Aging or Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services.
How the financial test is built
Georgia Medicaid applies two financial tests to a waiver applicant. One looks at monthly income. The other looks at countable assets. A person has to be within both.
That structure is stable from year to year. The actual numbers are not, which is why this page explains how the tests work rather than quoting figures that would be wrong within a few months.
The income test
The waiver income limit is not a number Georgia picks on its own. It is tied to a federal benefit rate that is adjusted annually, so it moves each year, usually upward by a small amount.
Two consequences follow from that. First, a figure you find in a forum post, an old brochure, or an article from a previous year is very likely wrong now. Second, a person who was over the limit last year may not be over it this year, and it is worth rechecking rather than assuming.
Income generally means regular money coming in: Social Security, pensions, annuities, and similar payments. Which payments count and which are disregarded is set by Medicaid rules, and the Division of Family and Children Services is the office that applies them.
If the income figure is the obstacle, there is a recognized route worth understanding before anyone concludes the person is out of range.
The asset test
The asset test looks at what the person owns that could be converted to cash: bank accounts, investments, additional property, and similar holdings.
The most important exclusion for most families is the home. The house the person actually lives in is generally not a countable asset while they live there. There are rules about home equity and about what happens when someone moves out permanently, and those are worth asking about specifically rather than assuming either way.
Transfers matter too. Assets given away or sold below fair value in the years before an application are reviewed, and can push eligibility back. Families cause a great deal of avoidable harm here by acting on well-meant advice from friends. If anyone is thinking about moving money or deeding a house, that is a conversation for an elder law attorney first.
Spouses are treated differently in CCSP and SOURCE
The Elderly and Disabled Waiver is delivered two ways, and the financial rules are not identical.
CCSP includes spousal income and asset protections. These exist so that when one spouse needs services and the other continues living at home, the spouse at home is not stripped of income and resources in the process.
SOURCE uses tighter, SSI-level income rules and does not carry those spousal protections.
For a married couple this difference is not a detail - it can decide whether the waiver is workable at all. If there is a spouse still living in the community, raise that fact in your very first conversation with the Area Agency on Aging, and read the comparison of the two models before choosing.
Where to get the real numbers
Ask your Area Agency on Aging, or ask Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services, which is the office that decides Medicaid financial eligibility. Ask for the current year’s income limit and the current asset limit, and ask them to confirm which delivery model the figures apply to.
Two habits are worth adopting. Ask when the figure was last updated. And write down who told you, and when, because these conversations happen over months and memory blurs.
Last reviewed
This page was last reviewed on 4 September 2026 and carries no dollar figures by design. Because the limits are updated annually, it is scheduled for review again by 4 September 2027. If you are reading it near or after that date, treat the structure as reliable and confirm everything numerical directly.
Questions people ask about this
Does my parent's house count against the asset limit?
Generally not, while they live in it. Georgia Medicaid treats the primary home differently from other property, though rules exist about equity and about what happens if the person moves out permanently. Ask the Division of Family and Children Services about the specific situation before selling anything.
What happens to my father's income if my mother still lives at home?
It depends on which delivery model applies. CCSP includes spousal income and asset protections, which are designed so a spouse remaining in the community is not left without resources. SOURCE does not offer those protections and uses tighter income rules.
Where do I get this year's actual dollar figures?
From your Area Agency on Aging or from Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services. The income limit is tied to a federal benefit rate that is adjusted annually, so any figure you read online may be out of date. Ask for the current year's number in writing.
Can we give away money or property to qualify?
Transfers made below fair value in the years before an application are reviewed and can delay eligibility. This is an area where families cause real damage by acting on advice from friends. Speak to an elder law attorney before moving assets.
Does income include Social Security and a pension?
Countable income generally includes Social Security, pensions, annuities, and other regular payments. Exactly what is counted and what is disregarded is set by Medicaid rules, so the Division of Family and Children Services is the place to confirm how a particular payment is treated.
Related questions
- Do I qualify? Two tests decide eligibility for Georgia's Elderly and Disabled Waiver: nursing-home level of care and Medicaid financial rules. Work through both here.
- If income is too high Georgia recognizes Qualified Income Trusts, also called Miller trusts, for people whose income is over the Medicaid waiver limit. What they are and who to ask.
- CCSP vs SOURCE CCSP and SOURCE are the two ways Georgia delivers the same waiver. What differs is your doctor, the income rules, and whether medical care is built in.
- Document checklist A printable checklist of the documents a Georgia Medicaid waiver application needs: identity, income, assets, insurance, medical and legal authority papers.