Published August 30, 2026
Quick answer: Virginia’s 2026 Medicaid home equity interest limit is $752,000. If a long-term care Medicaid applicant’s equity interest in their primary residence exceeds that figure, the home stops being an exempt asset and counts against an asset limit that is typically $2,000. Home equity means current market value minus any debt against the property. An independent appraisal establishes that market value.
I get called on these by elder law attorneys, and the question is never really about the number. It is about whether the number will survive a caseworker’s review.
I am licensed in all three jurisdictions, and that DC difference of $378,000 catches people. A family with property on both sides of the river is working under two different rules.
Federal law sets a floor and a ceiling, and each state picks where it sits between them. For 2026 the federal minimum is $752,000 and the federal maximum is $1,130,000. Virginia and Maryland both use the minimum. Washington DC uses the maximum.
The limit came out of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and took effect in 2006, when the floor was $500,000. It has been indexed to inflation since 2011, which is how it reached $752,000.
One more date matters. The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 sets a hard national ceiling of $1,000,000 starting in January 2028. That does not change anything in Virginia, where the limit is already well below a million. It matters for DC.
The home equity limit only applies when no qualifying occupant lives in the home. A qualifying occupant is a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child of any age.
If a community spouse still lives in the house, the home is exempt regardless of equity. The limit is aimed at the applicant who has moved into a facility and left the property behind.
This is also not a one-time test. Equity interest is checked at application and again at redetermination. A Fairfax County property that cleared the limit two years ago may not clear it now.
Home equity is current market value minus debt against the property. State Medicaid agencies usually call that debt encumbrances, and it includes mortgages, reverse mortgages, home equity loans, and recorded liens.
Equity interest is the portion of that equity the applicant personally owns. A property held jointly splits accordingly.
So the appraisal answers one half of the equation. Current market value. The debt side comes off the title work and the payoff statements.
A Medicaid home equity appraisal is a market value assignment with a specific intended use, and the file has to show its work:
Fairfax County tax assessments are not market value and are not a substitute. Neither is an automated estimate from a real estate portal. Those tools do not inspect the property, and a caseworker reviewing a file has no reason to accept them.
Here is the part families get backwards. They sometimes want an appraiser who will help the number land where they need it. That is precisely the appraisal that fails.
A value developed independently, supported by comparable sales, and documented to USPAP is defensible because nobody tailored it. A value that appears tailored to a threshold invites exactly the scrutiny the family was trying to avoid. I have no stake in whether a property comes in above or below $752,000, and that disinterest is the entire reason the report holds up.
Sometimes the honest answer is that the property is over the limit. That is useful information. It tells the attorney to plan around a countable asset instead of discovering the problem after a denial.
I need a market value appraisal on a primary residence for a Medicaid long-term care application. The intended user is the applicant and their elder law attorney. I need current market value as of a stated effective date so we can calculate home equity interest against Virginia’s limit.
That sentence tells me the intended use, the intended user, and the effective date, which is everything I need to define the assignment correctly.
I provide independent residential appraisals for estate, probate, and elder law matters throughout Fairfax County, Herndon, Reston, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Washington DC, and suburban Maryland.
I am a Certified Residential Appraiser with 34 years of experience and more than 15,000 completed appraisals, and I handle every assignment personally. Most reports are finished 5 to 7 days after inspection. Call or text (703) 350-2542, email mike.g@dcmetroappraisals.com, or order online.
No. An assessment is a mass appraisal produced for taxation, not an inspected opinion of market value for a specific property on a specific date. Medicaid home equity is based on current market value.
The home stops being exempt and counts toward the asset limit, which is typically $2,000 for an individual. An elder law attorney can advise on planning options. That is a legal question, not an appraisal question.
No. When a community spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child lives in the home, the equity limit does not apply and the home remains exempt.
Yes. It is checked at application and again at redetermination. Values in Northern Virginia move, so a property that cleared the limit previously may need a current appraisal.
Current market value minus debt recorded against the property, including mortgages, reverse mortgages, home equity loans, and liens. Equity interest is the share of that amount the applicant owns.
No, and any appraiser who says otherwise should worry you. I develop the value from market evidence and report what it supports. A number produced to fit a threshold is the number a caseworker challenges.
Every appraisal is property-specific, market-specific, and dependent on its effective date. This article is general information and is not an appraisal, legal advice, or tax advice. Medicaid eligibility rules are complex and change annually. Confirm current limits and matter-specific requirements with your elder law attorney or your state Medicaid agency.
