Updated August 27, 2026. Quick answer: Montana divides the uncompensated value of a transfer by the average daily cost of nursing home care, $322.72 a day from July 1, 2025 onward. The state also publishes the monthly equivalent, $9,816.05, but the penalty itself is counted in days.
The figure Montana publishes
| What the state lists | Figure |
|---|---|
| July 1, 2025 to ongoing, daily | $322.72 |
| July 1, 2025 to ongoing, monthly | $9,816.05 |
| July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, daily | $306.27 |
| July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, monthly | $9,315.71 |
| July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, daily | $286.71 |
| July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, monthly | $8,720.76 |
How the penalty period is calculated
- Divide the uncompensated value of the transferred assets by the average daily cost of nursing home care at the time of the Medicaid application or the transfer, whichever is later.
- The result is a number of days, and the penalty period runs continuously from its first day to its last whether or not the person stays in the nursing home or the waiver program.
- The penalty cannot begin until three things are all true: the transfer or application has happened, the person is otherwise eligible, and the person is institutionalized or meets the waiver criteria.
- Where multiple assets were transferred on or after the look-back date, the combined uncompensated value is what gets divided.
Once you have the figure above, the Medicaid penalty period calculator does the arithmetic. This page is the Montana rate record; the calculator is the class parent.
What this page does not settle
- The current rate is published as running from July 1, 2025 to ongoing, so Montana has not set an end date for it.
- When both spouses are institutionalized or waiver-eligible and part of a penalty remains, the remainder is divided between them, which this single figure does not show.
- The manual states no maximum penalty length.
Eligibility is decided by the state agency on the whole file, not by this one number. Nothing here is legal advice, and no one should transfer, retitle or give away property on the strength of a worksheet.
Sources
Each source above was retrieved and read against the state text on August 27, 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against those bytes.
A transfer penalty is a separate test from the income standard that decides eligibility in the first place. For what Montana uses as that standard, and the state document it comes from, see Medicaid nursing home income limit in Montana ($30/Month Standard).
Related: Montana’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single applicant with no spouse or dependent child at home.
Related: Montana’s Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance; the amount a nursing-facility resident keeps from their own income each month.