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State rules · Texas

Texas: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

What applies in Texas, collected from the site’s state datasets: estate and inheritance tax, transfer-on-death deeds, small-estate procedure, Medicaid long-term-care rules, and state income tax on retirement income. Where the dataset holds a source, the entry links it with its effective marker and check date; where it does not, the entry shows its verification status and the reason.

Quick answers

Does Texas have a state estate tax?

State estate tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Texas, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Does Texas have an inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Texas, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Texas?

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: Available — Transfer-on-death deed. Tex. Est. Code ch. 114 (Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Texas Legislature's statute site

What is the Medicaid look-back period in Texas?

Look-back period: 60 months from the later applicable application, program-transfer, or institutional-entry date (Texas HHS I-2100, Look-Back Policy; Revision 13-4 effective December 1, 2013).

Does Texas tax Social Security benefits?

Social Security benefits: No state individual income tax (comptroller.texas.gov; tax year 2026).

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Texas, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Texas estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Texas, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Texas estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
Available — Transfer-on-death deedNot primary-verified

Tex. Est. Code ch. 114 (Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Texas Legislature's statute site

· Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute
Not primary-verified

Tex. Est. Code ch. 114 (Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — verify the current section on the Texas Legislature's statute site

· Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: Texas transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Eligibility rule
$75,000 excluding homestead and exempt property; intestate estate; 30-day waitVerified

Source: Texas Estates Code chapter 205 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: Texas small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Individual income limit
$2,982 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Couple income limit
$5,964 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: couple when both spouses apply.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Individual resource limit
$2,000Verified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Couple resource limit
$3,000Verified
  • Applies to: couple when both spouses apply.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse resource allowance
$32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse minimum monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$2,705 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Texas HHS J-7400, Spousal Impoverishment Dependent Allowance · Effective: Revision 26-3 effective September 1, 2026; base effective July 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse maximum monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$4,066.50 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XII, Nursing Facility and HCBS Waiver Information · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Home-equity limit
$752,000Verified
  • Applies to: applicant without a spouse or qualifying child in the home.

Source: Texas HHS F-3600, Substantial Home Equity · Effective: Revision 26-1 effective March 1, 2026; amount effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Texas Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period
60 months from the later applicable application, program-transfer, or institutional-entry dateVerified

Source: Texas HHS I-2100, Look-Back Policy · Effective: Revision 13-4 effective December 1, 2013 · Checked September 5, 2026

Transfer-penalty divisor
$262.37 per dayVerified

Source: Texas HHS Appendix XXXI, Budget Reference Chart · Effective: Revision 26-2 effective June 1, 2026; divisor effective September 1, 2025 · Checked September 5, 2026

How the state administers the penalty
Transferred value is divided by the average private-pay nursing-facility rate and the resulting period withholds payment for covered long-term-care services.Verified

Source: Texas HHS I-1200, Overview of Transfer of Assets · Also: Texas HHS Appendix XXXI, Budget Reference Chart · Effective: Revision 18-1 effective March 1, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Texas Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope
Published practice is a claim against probate assets for specified long-term services and supports received at age 55 or older by applicants initially applying on or after March 1, 2005.Verified

Source: Texas HHS D-7800, Medicaid Estate Recovery Program · Effective: Revision 18-1 effective March 1, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority
Texas HHS Medicaid Estate Recovery Program handbook section D-7800Verified

Source: Texas HHS D-7800, Medicaid Estate Recovery Program · Effective: Revision 18-1 effective March 1, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals
Recovery is barred while a surviving spouse lives or when there is a surviving child under 21 or blind or disabled. The adopted rule also protects a qualifying unmarried adult child who lived continuously in the homestead for at least one year before death and specified American Indian and Alaska Native property.Verified

Source: Texas Register adopted Medicaid estate-recovery rules, 1 TAC chapter 373 · Effective: Filed August 7, 2026; effective August 27, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver
A hardship request is due within 60 days. The adopted criteria cover qualifying family farms, businesses, and ranches; public-assistance hardship; crime victims; compelling reasons; and the first $150,000 of homestead value for a qualifying sibling or direct descendant below 300% of the federal poverty level.Verified

Source: Texas Register adopted Medicaid estate-recovery rules, 1 TAC chapter 373 · Effective: Filed August 7, 2026; effective August 27, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice
Texas pursues a Class 7 probate claim rather than taking title. Recovery is not cost-effective when the recoverable estate is $15,000 or less, recoverable Medicaid is $5,000 or less, or sale costs equal or exceed value.Verified

Source: Texas Register adopted Medicaid estate-recovery rules, 1 TAC chapter 373 · Also: Texas HHS D-7800, Medicaid Estate Recovery Program · Effective: Filed August 7, 2026; effective August 27, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Texas Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: comptroller.texas.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Public pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: comptroller.texas.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Private pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: comptroller.texas.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

IRA and 401(k) distributions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: comptroller.texas.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Military retirement pay
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: comptroller.texas.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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