New York · Deposit calculation

How Much to Deposit Each Month

New York's 2026 community Medicaid income limit is $1,836/month for a household of one and $2,489/month for a household of two (effective 2026-01-01, per NYS DOH GIS 26 MA/05 (2026 Federal Poverty Levels, effective 1/1/2026)). The deposit is the difference between your total countable monthly income and that limit — everything above it is "surplus" and goes into the trust each month. This figure updates every year, so verify it against the current community Medicaid income level before relying on it, not treat it as permanently fixed.

The calculation

Add up every source of countable monthly income — Social Security, pension, annuity, and any other recurring payment. Compare that total to New York's current community Medicaid income limit above. Whatever sits above the limit is the surplus, and that amount is what gets deposited into the Pooled Income Trust each month. Whatever sits at or below the limit stays yours, the same way a Miller Trust only diverts the amount above a state's income cap rather than someone's entire paycheck.

For example: a single applicant with $2,400/month in Social Security and pension income is $564/month over the $1,836 limit — that $564 is what gets deposited into the trust each month, and the remaining $1,836 stays theirs.

A real complexity worth knowing about before you enroll

New York currently has no transfer-penalty look-back at all for Community Medicaid (home care, Managed Long-Term Care, CDPAP, and the Assisted Living Program) — the 30-month look-back authorized by state law in 2020 still hasn't been implemented as of this guide's review date, and New York's Department of Health has issued no enforcement guidance. That means deposits into a Pooled Income Trust for Community Medicaid aren't reviewed for transfer-penalty purposes at any age, including 65 and older. The age-65+ question only becomes relevant if you later need Nursing Home Medicaid: New York's own guidance (GIS 08 MA/020) confirms that trust deposits made after turning 65 are then reviewed under Medicaid's standard 5-year transfer-penalty rules for nursing-home eligibility — but any amount the trust already spent on your behalf before that nursing-home determination offsets the transfer dollar-for-dollar, so only the unspent remainder at that point counts as a penalized transfer. In practice: if a nursing home stay becomes likely later, ask your trust organization for a record of exactly what it spent on your behalf each month — that documentation, not the raw deposit total, is what determines any penalty exposure.

What counts as income

Common countable sources: Social Security retirement or disability benefits, pension payments, annuity payments, and Required Minimum Distributions from retirement accounts. As with a Miller Trust, some benefits (VA aid and attendance, for example) are frequently treated differently in Medicaid budgeting — confirm with your trust organization or DSS caseworker which of your specific income sources actually count before you finalize a deposit amount.

Miller Trust Guide is an informational publisher, not a law firm — we do not draft trust instruments, compute individualized deposit amounts, or advise on individual situations. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed elder-law attorney in your state.