---
title: "Tennessee Long-Term Care Planning | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/long-term-care-planning/
description: "Tennessee planning centers on the income cap, QIT requirements, daily transfer penalty, and title-aware home planning."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
Tennessee · Planning Ahead

# Tennessee Long-Term Care Planning

Last updated 2026-10-20

**Quick answer:** Tennessee long-term care planning starts with TennCare's 2026 limits: a $2,982 monthly income cap and a $2,000 resource limit for one person. Income over the cap requires a Qualifying Income Trust that meets TennCare's requirements.

Tennessee planning starts with a hard number: TennCare's current LTSS materials set a 2026 income cap of $2,982 a month alongside a one-person countable-resource cap of $2,000. Anyone whose income exceeds that cap may still qualify by using a Qualifying Income Trust, which is why Tennessee planning has to treat income with the same care as assets.

A valid TennCare QIT isn't an informal arrangement — it has real structural requirements. The trust has to be irrevocable, has to name only Tennessee and the individual as beneficiaries, and has to include a Tennessee payback provision covering whatever remains in the trust up to the amount of medical assistance TennCare paid. Combined with the state's daily rather than purely monthly transfer-penalty calculation, these requirements make Tennessee planning noticeably more structured than a simple spend-down.

## Tennessee figures

- LTSS income cap: $2,982/month
- Individual resource limit: $2,000

## Sources and official resources

- [TennCare: CHOICES](https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/long-term-services-supports/choices.html)
- [CMS: 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/cib04272026.pdf)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full Tennessee guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/)