Do Gifts Count Against Medicaid

“If I make gifts of less than $17,000, are they exempt from Medicaid?”  This is a common question, because gifts of less than $17,000 are not reportable for purposes of US Federal gift and estate taxes.

However, they are not exempt for Medicaid purposes.  Once we’re in the Medicaid world and we’re asking Medicaid to pay for benefits we may be receiving, we need to deal with Medicaid laws.

Gifts made by a Medicaid applicant are subject to a Medicaid penalty if the applicant is asking Medicaid to pay for Nursing Home services. So we need to take that into account when we make gifts of any amount, if we’re asking for Medicaid.