Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: North Carolina’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single nursing-home applicant is $752,000 as of 2026. North Carolina’s own manual states this figure directly but does not call it a ‘minimum’ or ‘maximum’; this session confirms it matches the lower end of the federal range under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396p(f), roughly $378,000 below the $1,130,000 ceiling some other states elect. Above that figure, you are not eligible for nursing-home Medicaid unless a spouse, minor child, or disabled child of any age lives in the home.
What North Carolina’s own document says
North Carolina’s rule applies only to institutional services, not in-home care, and is subject to its own DHB 5115 hardship-waiver process.
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How our partner relationships workWhy this is the lower federal figure, not the higher one
North Carolina’s manual states the dollar figure and its effective date, but never uses the words ‘minimum’ or ‘maximum.’ The number, $752,000 effective in 2026, matches the low end of the federal range under 42 U.S.C. Section 1396p(f), not the $1,130,000 ceiling some other states elect. This session classifies that as the federal minimum based on the dollar trajectory shown in the state’s own historical chart, not because the state’s document says so directly.
Figures verified against NC DHHS Medicaid Manual MA-2242, the CMS bulletin of December 9, 2025 on 2026 home equity limits, and 42 U.S.C. 1396p(f) on September 29, 2026.
| Citation | North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid Manual, MA-2242, ‘Home Equity Value and Eligibility for Institutional Services’ |
| What it says | “For applications for institutional services taken on or after January 1, 2026, the individual’s equity interest in their home cannot exceed $752,000.” |
This page covers whether the home counts as a resource while you are alive and applying. What happens to the same house after death is a separate question: see the Medicaid estate recovery by state table, which gives North Carolina’s row for what the state can reach and the authority for it. And if a spouse, or a minor or disabled child, still lives in the home, the equity limit on this page does not apply at all: see what the law protects for a spouse who stays at home.
Every citation on this page was read directly from the state’s own Medicaid agency, administrative code, or official eligibility manual this session. General information, not legal or financial advice; a figure this specific can change with a budget cycle or a federal inflation adjustment, and a county or state caseworker has the final say on any individual application.
Related: use the Medicaid spend-down calculator to estimate how much you would need to spend down to qualify for long-term-care Medicaid in your state.