---
title: "Texas Long-Term Care Planning | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/texas/long-term-care-planning/
description: "Texas planning priorities: income-cap compliance, Qualified Income Trust administration, transfer timing, home decisions, and probate-only estate recovery."
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.
---
Texas · Planning Ahead

# Texas Long-Term Care Planning

Last updated 2026-10-20

In Texas, the income cap isn't just a number to watch — it's the backbone of any planning strategy. The special income limit for 2026 is $2,982 a month for a single applicant, and for anyone whose countable income exceeds that, HHSC treats a Qualified Income Trust as the mechanism that makes eligibility possible when it's set up and used correctly (HHSC Appendix XXXVI).

That trust has to meet specific requirements: it must be irrevocable, hold only income rather than resources, name the State of Texas as residuary beneficiary up to the amount of Medicaid benefits paid, and receive income in the same month it's received by the applicant. HHSC also requires distributions from the trust by the last day of the following month, and treats a late distribution as a transfer of assets — which can trigger its own penalty (HHSC QIT policy).

## Texas figures

- Special income limit (2026): $2,982/month (one person)
- QIT distribution deadline: Last day of the following month

## Sources and official resources

- [Texas HHSC MEPD Handbook: Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information](https://fhb.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/medicaid-elderly-people-disabilities-handbook/appendix-xii-nursing-facility-home-community-based-services-waiver-information)
- [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.

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