Florida Medicaid income limits range from about $598 a month for a parent in a family of three to $5,500 a month for an infant in a family of four, with seniors seeking nursing home coverage capped at $2,982 a month in 2026. The right number depends entirely on which group you fall into. Florida has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, so working-age adults without a disability and without dependent children generally have no pathway to coverage no matter how little they earn.
Children and Pregnant Women
These are the most generous thresholds in the program. Coverage for kids and expectant mothers uses Modified Adjusted Gross Income and does not apply an asset test, so savings and property do not affect eligibility. The limits are pegged to percentages of the federal poverty level, which for 2026 is $15,960 a year for a single person and $33,000 for a family of four.1HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
The following monthly figures take effect in April 2026:2Florida Department of Children and Families. Family Related Medicaid Income Limits
- Pregnant women, at 185 percent of FPL: $2,461 for a household of one, $4,212 for a family of three, and $5,088 for a family of four.
- Infants under age 1, at 200 percent of FPL: $2,660 for a household of one, $4,554 for a family of three, and $5,500 for a family of four.
- Children ages 1 through 18, at 133 percent of FPL: $1,769 for a household of one, $3,028 for a family of three, and $3,658 for a family of four.
MAGI rules also include a 5 percent FPL disregard that can be applied when it would make an otherwise ineligible person eligible, effectively nudging borderline applicants over the line.2Florida Department of Children and Families. Family Related Medicaid Income Limits
If your child’s income is slightly above the Medicaid threshold, Florida KidCare (the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program) can reach higher, up to about 200 percent of FPL for infants and up to 140 percent for children ages 1 through 5.3MACPAC. Medicaid and CHIP Income Eligibility Levels as a Percentage of the Federal Poverty Level for Children and Pregnant Women by State It is worth filing a KidCare application even if you were denied Medicaid.
Parents and Caretaker Relatives
Parents and caretaker relatives face the tightest income limits in the entire program, anchored at roughly 26 percent of the federal poverty level because Florida has not expanded Medicaid. The current monthly ceilings are:4Florida Department of Children and Families. Determining Your Income Limit
- Family of two: $476
- Family of three: $598
- Family of four: $719
A parent earning $10 an hour and working just 20 hours a week already earns more than the cap for a family of four. Adults ages 19 and 20 without children use the same income table. A childless adult over 20 without a disability has essentially no route to Florida Medicaid, regardless of income.
Aged, Blind, and Disabled Adults
Florida’s MEDS-AD program, sometimes called Regular Medicaid for the Aged and Disabled, covers people age 65 or older along with people determined to be blind or disabled. The income ceiling is 88 percent of the federal poverty level.5Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 409.904 – Optional Payments for Eligible Persons From April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, that comes to:
- Single applicant: $1,171 per month
- Married couple: $1,588 per month
People who receive Supplemental Security Income are automatically enrolled in Florida Medicaid. The 2026 SSI federal benefit rate is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple, both within the MEDS-AD threshold.6Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026
Nursing Home and Long-Term Care
A different standard applies if you need institutional care, an assisted living waiver, or home and community-based services. Florida uses the federal special income level of 300 percent of the SSI federal benefit rate. For 2026 that puts the monthly cap at $2,982 for a single applicant and $5,964 when both spouses apply.7Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. January 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards When only one spouse applies, only that spouse’s income counts toward the cap.
The $2,982 figure is a hard line. Being a dollar over disqualifies you through the standard pathway. A Qualified Income Trust can fix that problem (see below).
Protection for the At-Home Spouse
When one spouse enters a nursing facility and the other stays home, the community spouse is entitled to keep a Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance. The 2026 minimum in Florida is $2,644 a month. If the community spouse’s own income falls below that figure, Medicaid allows a portion of the institutionalized spouse’s income to be diverted to close the gap. Families whose actual monthly expenses exceed the minimum can request a higher allowance through a fair hearing, but the burden of documenting property taxes, insurance, utilities, and other costs falls on the family.
The Medically Needy Spend-Down
If your income is above the limit for your category but you have heavy medical bills, Florida’s Medically Needy program offers a way in. The medically needy income limit is $180 a month for a single applicant and $241 for a couple.8Florida Department of Children and Families. Appendix A-7 – Family Related Medicaid Income Limit Chart Those numbers are correct. The threshold is set very low on purpose, because the program uses a spend-down.
Take your countable monthly income, subtract $180 (or $241 for a couple), and the difference is your share of cost. You have to incur that amount in medical expenses each month before Medicaid starts paying. If your income is $1,500 a month as a single applicant, your share of cost is $1,320. Once you have accumulated $1,320 in medical bills in a given month, Medicaid picks up the rest of that month’s costs. The clock resets monthly.
Qualified Income Trusts for Over-the-Cap Applicants
If your monthly income is above the $2,982 long-term care cap, a Qualified Income Trust (a Miller Trust) is the standard workaround. It is not optional for over-income applicants; it is required to maintain eligibility.
Every month you deposit the portion of your income that exceeds the cap into a separate, irrevocable trust account. A trustee, often a family member, manages the account. Medicaid then disregards the trust income when running the eligibility numbers.
Funds in a Miller Trust can only be spent on health and medical expenses: your patient-responsibility payment to a nursing home, costs at an assisted living facility not covered by Medicaid, additional home care, dental bills, and therapy costs not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Everyday expenses like utilities, cable, car insurance, and entertainment are prohibited. Using trust funds for non-medical items puts benefits at risk. On the beneficiary’s death, whatever remains in the trust goes to the state to reimburse Medicaid up to the total amount it spent on care. An elder law attorney typically drafts the document, and setting it up before you apply is the safest sequence.
What Florida Counts as Income
Nearly everything counts. That includes wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security (including disability), pensions, annuity payments, IRA withdrawals, rental income, and investment dividends. For non-MAGI programs Florida uses gross income, so Social Security payroll taxes and Medicare premiums are not deducted first.
A few items are excluded. Holocaust restitution payments do not count. VA Aid and Attendance benefits, which are supplemental payments above the base VA pension for veterans needing daily assistance, are also excluded.9Veterans Affairs. VA Aid and Attendance Benefits and Housebound Allowance The base VA pension itself is counted.
For MAGI-based programs covering families, children, and pregnant women, the calculation follows federal tax rules, so items like student loan interest and IRA contributions reduce your countable income.
Asset Limits Paired With Income
For MAGI-based programs (children, pregnant women, and family-related coverage) there is no asset limit. Savings, investments, and property do not affect eligibility as long as income is below the threshold.
Programs for the aged, blind, disabled, and long-term care applicants do cap assets:10Florida Department of Children and Families. 1640.0000 SSI-Related Medicaid, State Funded Programs – Asset Limits
- Single applicant: $2,000 in countable assets
- Married couple, both applying: $3,000 in countable assets
When one spouse needs long-term care and the other does not, the applicant is still held to $2,000, but the community spouse can retain a Community Spouse Resource Allowance. The 2026 federal maximum is $162,660 and the minimum is $32,532. Florida typically sets its allowance at the maximum.
Countable assets include cash, checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate other than your primary home. Several assets are exempt: the primary home (with an equity cap of $752,000 for single applicants in 2026, and no cap when a spouse lives there), one vehicle regardless of value, personal belongings and household goods, prepaid funeral and burial plans, and retirement accounts in payout status (though the monthly distributions count as income).
How to Apply
Applications go through the MyACCESS portal, which also handles SNAP and cash assistance.11Florida Department of Children and Families. MyACCESS – Home You can also submit a paper application by mail or in person at a Department of Children and Families office. DCF may request additional documentation or schedule an interview.
Long-term care applications are more demanding. You will typically need five years of bank statements, documentation of any asset transfers, proof of income from every source, and a medical assessment confirming your level of care. Missing or incomplete records stall applications more often than any other single problem. If you are considering a Miller Trust or restructuring assets, doing that work before you file is far easier than untangling it after a denial.