The starting point for any Georgia long-term-care plan is the state's income cap. For 2026, Georgia's special income limit for institutional and waiver Medicaid sits at $2,982 a month for a single applicant, doubling to $5,964 if both spouses are applying (Georgia DFCS Appendix A1).
Cross that line and there's no simple spend-down available — Georgia requires a properly funded Qualified Income Trust to bring an applicant's countable income back under the cap (DFCS PAMMS §2407).
One caution worth flagging: Georgia's public-facing consumer PDF of income limits still shows 2025 numbers. Anyone building a plan off that document risks working from an outdated cap rather than the figure that's actually current in the DFCS policy manual (Georgia 2025 consumer limits PDF; Georgia DFCS Appendix A1).