Updated August 27, 2026. Quick answer: California’s CSRA is not a standing protection the way most states describe theirs. The Department of Health Care Services states that “The CSRA applies to the initial month of eligibility only, whether it is the first month of the retroactive period or the month of application (Section 50490.3(a) in ACWDL 90-01).” After that, “Once initial eligibility is established, the CSRA is no longer considered available to the institutionalized/HCBS spouse (Section 50490.3(b) in ACWDL 90-01. The community spouse’s sole and separate property is no longer considered during the continuous period of institutionalization in accordance with (Section 50490.3(e) in ACWDL 90-01 and ACWDLs 17-25 and 18-19. The CSRA transfer period begins with the initial month of eligibility and ends on the last day of the month in which the 90th day falls, from the date the approval notice of action (NOA) is mailed (Section 50490.7 in ACWDL 90-01).” What follows is a transfer window measured in days, not a permanent allocation.
What California actually sets out
| What the state provides | What it says |
|---|---|
| The 2026 figure | “Starting January 1, 2026, the CSRA is $162,660.00 As a reminder, property limits were eliminated as an eligibility criterion for Non-MAGI programs from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2025. As a result, DHCS did not publish the CSRA value for 2025. The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” |
| When it applies | “The CSRA applies to the initial month of eligibility only, whether it is the first month of the retroactive period or the month of application (Section 50490.3(a) in ACWDL 90-01).” |
| What happens next | “Once initial eligibility is established, the CSRA is no longer considered available to the institutionalized/HCBS spouse (Section 50490.3(b) in ACWDL 90-01. The community spouse’s sole and separate property is no longer considered during the continuous period of institutionalization in accordance with (Section 50490.3(e) in ACWDL 90-01 and ACWDLs 17-25 and 18-19. The CSRA transfer period begins with the initial month of eligibility and ends on the last day of the month in which the 90th day falls, from the date the approval notice of action (NOA) is mailed (Section 50490.7 in ACWDL 90-01).” |
| The transfer window | “The CSRA transfer period begins with the initial month of eligibility and ends on the last day of the month in which the 90th day falls, from the date the approval notice of action (NOA) is mailed (Section 50490.7 in ACWDL 90-01).” |
| What happens if the window closes | “At the end of the CSRA transfer period, any countable property held in the name of the institutionalized/HCBS spouse in excess of the $130,000 will be considered excess property, unless undue hardship applies (Section 50096.5 in ACWDL 90-01).” |
| Why there is no 2025 figure | “As a result, DHCS did not publish the CSRA value for 2025. The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” |
| Who the new figure reaches | “The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” |
How it works in practice
- The initial-month rule is the fact that changes what a reader should do, and it is stated twice in the letter. The CSRA “The CSRA applies to the initial month of eligibility only, whether it is the first month of the retroactive period or the month of application (Section 50490.3(a) in ACWDL 90-01).” and then “Once initial eligibility is established, the CSRA is no longer considered available to the institutionalized/HCBS spouse (Section 50490.3(b) in ACWDL 90-01. The community spouse’s sole and separate property is no longer considered during the continuous period of institutionalization in accordance with (Section 50490.3(e) in ACWDL 90-01 and ACWDLs 17-25 and 18-19. The CSRA transfer period begins with the initial month of eligibility and ends on the last day of the month in which the 90th day falls, from the date the approval notice of action (NOA) is mailed (Section 50490.7 in ACWDL 90-01).” In a state that treated the allowance as a standing allocation, a couple could take their time. In California the protection attaches at one moment.
- What replaces it is a deadline. The letter sets out that “The CSRA transfer period begins with the initial month of eligibility and ends on the last day of the month in which the 90th day falls, from the date the approval notice of action (NOA) is mailed (Section 50490.7 in ACWDL 90-01).” Ninety days from the mailing of the approval notice, rounded up to the end of that month, is the whole of the period in which the resources are moved.
- Missing the window has a stated consequence, and it is expressed against a figure that is not the CSRA: “At the end of the CSRA transfer period, any countable property held in the name of the institutionalized/HCBS spouse in excess of the $130,000 will be considered excess property, unless undue hardship applies (Section 50096.5 in ACWDL 90-01).” The $130,000 in that sentence is the property limit that applies to the member afterwards, not the allowance itself. Reading the two figures as if they were the same number is the mistake this page exists to prevent.
- There is no 2025 CSRA to compare against, and the letter explains why rather than leaving a gap: “As a result, DHCS did not publish the CSRA value for 2025. The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” A reader who searches for a 2025 California figure and finds nothing has not missed it.
- The 2026 figure does not reach back. The letter is explicit that “The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” A couple already determined under the spousal-impoverishment provisions before January 2026 are not re-determined on the new number by force of this letter.
What the allowance is for, and why protecting the spouse at home is a federal requirement rather than a state kindness, is explained on the community spouse resource allowance page. The date the couple’s resources are counted is its own subject, on the snapshot date page, and the monthly income allowance that runs alongside it is on the MMMNA page. This page is the record for California.
What this page does not settle
- The figure itself is stated plainly: “Starting January 1, 2026, the CSRA is $162,660.00 As a reminder, property limits were eliminated as an eligibility criterion for Non-MAGI programs from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2025. As a result, DHCS did not publish the CSRA value for 2025. The new CSRA value for 2026 will only apply to cases being newly determined under SI provisions from January 1, 2026, onward.” That is the federal maximum for 2026, which California adopts rather than setting a lower state ceiling.
- This page reads one source: California Department of Health Care Services All County Welfare Directors Letter 26-02, January 28, 2026. It is the state’s own publication on this rule, but no state puts its whole treatment of a couple’s resources in a single document, and a detail that decides your case may sit in one this page did not read.
- The resource rule is one hurdle. The income rules for the spouse at home are separate and are decided on their own numbers, the level-of-care test is separate again, and the transfer-of-assets look-back is separate from all of them. Clearing this rule does not clear any of the others.
- Every quotation here was read against the source on August 27, 2026. The federal minimum and maximum figures are reset each January, and a state can revise its own rule without the page around it changing. Open the source before you rely on a number.
Eligibility is decided by the state agency on the whole file, not by one rule on one page. Nothing here is legal advice, and no one should move, retitle or spend a couple’s savings on the strength of a web page.
Sources
The source above was retrieved and read against the state text on August 27, 2026. Every quotation on this page was checked against those bytes.
Related: California’s Long-Term Care Partnership Program status; a separate, policy-based way some families protect assets alongside this spend-down allowance.