Skip to content

Greensboro Medicaid Calculator

 

Spouse’s Income Allowance Calculator

Here’s a tool for estimating how much income the community spouse (the spouse at home) can keep for himself or herself, out of the couple’s combined income. This is a protection allowed by North Carolina Medicaid when one spouse is at home and the other spouse is in the nursing home…but it’s often miscalculated. For more about how the income allowance works and why it’s so important to do your own calculation, read the explanation that follows the calculator below.

Spouse's Income Allowance

Community Spouse's Monthly Income allowance

  • 1. Start Here:

    Include yourself, and any renters or borders or children who live with you. Do not include your spouse in the nursing home. For a community spouse who lives at home without others living there, this number will be "1."

  • 2. Next, Enter Monthly Amounts of Expenses

  • Enter monthly rent or mortgage payment for your principal residence only.
  • Include monthly amount for homeowner's or renter's insurance if paid separately from the mortgage/rent.
  • If you pay taxes seprately from the mortgage, enter the monthly amount here. Divide annual real estate taxes by 12, and enter that as the monthly amount for real estate taxes. Do not include personal taxes on motor vehicles or other personal property.
  • Required maintenance charges or homeowner fees from condominium, cooperative or homeowners' association.
  • This totals all shelter costs.
  • DISPLAYS IF: Excess Shelter expense <= 964, which allows for max CSIA. Add the excess shelter (if any) to $1,967 up to a maximum community spouse income allowance of $2,931. If the total is less than 2931, subtract the CS monthly gross income from the combined total, which is the Spousal Income Allowance. If the total is equal to or more than $2931, subtract the CS spouse gross monthly income from 2931, to get Spousal Income Allowance.
  • This is the lesser of the Uncapped Spousal Income Allowance or the Capped Spousal Income Allowance of $2,931. NOTE: This Adds the Uncapped SIA plus the Maximum SIA because only one of those fields will display based on the Excess Shelter Expense

  • 3. Enter Healthy Spouse's Income for Result:

  • This is the Community Spouse's gross monthly income, before any deductions for Medicare, insurance or taxes, etc. The Community Spouse is the spouse residing at home. Do not include the Institutionalized Spouse's income here.

  • (Please check the amount entered for Healthy Spouse's Income)

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Return to the top of the form

Questions about planning your estate?

Get answers about planning your estate for the second half of life answered

Attend a Free Seminar

More Information about the Income Allowance

This calculator computes the amount of the nursing home spouse’s income that the community spouse (the healthy spouse) can keep. The amount allowed to the community spouse depends on the community spouse’s income, the allowable shelter expenses, and how many people reside at the home where the community spouse lives. As described below, this calculator gives an estimate of what the community spouse can keep from nursing home spouse’s income. Whether the community spouse gets this amount of income depends on whether the nursing home spouse’s income is high enough, as explained below.

When one spouse is ill and in a nursing home, the community spouse still needs money to live at home. That’s why the North Carolina Medicaid laws protect the Community Spouse by allocating to the well-spouse a portion of the institutionalized spouse’s income. This is called the “Community Spouse Income Allowance.” It’s based on a calculation that uses the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance, or MMMNA, and changes each year.

The maximum amount of income that can be kept is based on a standard formula, which includes some housing costs and utility costs. However, this is amount is then reduced by the Community Spouse’s own gross income. And of course, the Income Allowance is further limited by the amount available from the Institutionalized Spouse.

 

This is an area that we see Medicaid calculate wrong, so this calculator might help you in checking your own situation. PLEASE NOTE: this calculator only calculates the most you can keep. The amount that you actually keep from your spouse’s income is limited to your spouse’s actual income.

Example: Bill is in the nursing home, and his income is $1,200 per month. Sally is at home, with income of $500 of Social Security Income. After entering Sally’s housing and utility expenses, in her case the calculator shows that she has a Maintenance Needs Allowance of $2377 and her Spousal Allowance is $1877 (the Monthly Needs Allowance reduced by her own gross income). Unfortunately, Sally can’t receive that $1,877 from Bill’s income because his available income is less than that. Bill’s available income is his income minus his own $30 personal needs allowance, or $1,170. Accordingly, Sally would receive all of Bill’s remaining income and have more to live on at home. She will be able to keep nearly all of the couple’s combined income rather than trying to live on $500 per month.

You can use this calculator as a tool to estimate your own income allowance for the community spouse. Provided courtesy of The Elderlaw Firm.

Request a Consultation in Triad Area

Stay up to date in Elder Care Law

You are registering to get updates, and emails about Elder Care Law

Articles You May Like

North Carolina Trust and Estates Lawyer: 5 Tips to Get Your Affairs in Order

North Carolina Trust and Estates Lawyer: 5 Tips to Get Your Affairs in Order

By Michelle Foster | March 7, 2019 By North Carolina Trust and Estates Lawyer, Dennis Toman Death or incapacity can creep up on anyone. If you’re not prepared, your family could bear a heavier burden when handling…North Carolina Elder Law Attorney: What are the Warning Signs of Dementia?

North Carolina Elder Law Attorney: What are the Warning Signs of Dementia?

By Michelle Foster | February 27, 2019 Dementia is one of the most devastating conditions affecting seniors, resulting in an eventual loss of cognitive functions. While there is no cure for dementia or the two leading diseases…North Carolina Estate Planning Lawyers Outline 5 Infamous Estate Planning Battles

North Carolina Estate Planning Lawyers Outline 5 Infamous Estate Planning Battles

By Michelle Foster | February 20, 2019 When done properly, an estate plan affords peace of mind to those creating it and leaves behind a legacy for their descendants. But sometimes estate planning can go awry –…North Carolina Will and Estate Attorney Says, “When It Comes to Cryptocurrency, Estate Planning Is a Must!”

North Carolina Will and Estate Attorney Says, “When It Comes to Cryptocurrency, Estate Planning Is a Must!”

By Michelle Foster | February 11, 2019 You’ve most likely seen articles and news segments about cryptocurrency. The most popular form is Bitcoin, but there are several others on the horizon. For the uninitiated, cryptocurrency is a… View All