California Estate Planning Numbers 2026: Probate, Estate Tax, and Medi-Cal Limits

This page is a reference, not a news story. It collects the dollar figures that matter most in California estate planning, trust administration, and Medi-Cal planning, in one place, organized by figure rather than by year. Every number below carries its effective date, its statutory citation, and a note on when and how it is scheduled to change next, so you can rely on it in July as much as in January.

California Probate and Small-Estate Thresholds

California has no state estate tax or inheritance tax. What it does have is a set of dollar thresholds that determine whether an estate can avoid full probate. These figures are confirmed on Judicial Council form DE-300 (Rev. 4/28/2025).

Threshold	Current amount	Effective date	Citation
Affidavit for collection of personal property (no full probate)	$208,850	Deaths on or after 4/1/2025	Probate Code §§13100-13101
Affidavit re real property of small value	$69,625	Deaths on or after 4/1/2025	Probate Code §13200
Primary residence simplified court petition	$750,000	Deaths on or after 4/1/2025	Probate Code §§13151-13154 (AB 2016, 2024 ch. 331)
Small estate set-aside	$107,900	Deaths on or after 4/1/2025	Probate Code §§6602, 6609

Next change: the first three figures adjust automatically under Probate Code §890, which recalculates them every three years, effective April 1, using the CPI-U (U.S. city average), rounded to the nearest $25. The cycle ran in 2022 and again in 2025. The next adjustment is April 1, 2028.

The $750,000 primary-residence figure is the exception. AB 2016 set that number legislatively. It is not tied to the §890 CPI formula, so it will not move on April 1, 2028, or any other §890 adjustment date, unless the Legislature changes it separately. This is a common source of error on other sites, and it is worth stating plainly: a §890 adjustment moves the personal-property and real-property-of-small-value thresholds. It does not touch the $750,000 figure.

A warning about a figure circulating elsewhere: several California law firm websites currently state that the small-estate threshold rose to $239,700 effective April 1, 2026. That figure is incorrect. It does not appear in any primary source, and it contradicts the three-year §890 adjustment cycle, which does not call for another change until April 1, 2028. The current, correct figure is $208,850, confirmed on Judicial Council form DE-300. If you see $239,700 cited anywhere, treat it as an error.

These thresholds only govern whether an estate can use a simplified procedure instead of full probate. A simplified procedure is still a court process, with paperwork and statutory waiting periods that vary by procedure. None of it replaces having a funded living trust, which avoids probate entirely.

Federal Estate and Gift Tax

The federal estate and gift tax exclusion is set for 2026 by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21), which amended Internal Revenue Code §2010(c)(3), and confirmed by the IRS in Revenue Procedure 2025-32.

Figure	2026 amount	2025 amount	Citation
Basic exclusion (estate and gift), per individual	$15,000,000	$13,990,000	IRC §2010(c)(3); Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Annual gift tax exclusion	$19,000	$19,000	IRC §2503(b); Rev. Proc. 2025-32
Annual exclusion for gifts to a non-citizen spouse	$194,000	n/a	IRC §2523(i); Rev. Proc. 2025-32

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed 7/4/2025, replaced what would otherwise have happened: under the prior law from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the exclusion was scheduled to roughly cut in half on January 1, 2026, to about $7,000,000. That cut never took effect. The current $15,000,000 figure is also now permanently indexed for inflation going forward, so it is expected to rise again each year rather than sunset.

California has no state estate tax, so the federal figures above are the only estate tax exposure a California resident faces. A married couple can currently shelter up to $30,000,000 combined. A high federal number does not eliminate the reasons most Ridley Law clients have a trust: avoiding probate, keeping the estate out of the public record, and giving a successor trustee authority to act without a conservatorship if you lose capacity.

Medi-Cal Asset Limits

These limits apply to Long-Term Care Medi-Cal, Aged, Blind, and Disabled Medi-Cal, Share-of-Cost Medi-Cal, and the Medicare Savings Programs. SSI-linked Medi-Cal is on a separate track with its own $2,000 asset limit, unaffected by the figures below.

Period	Individual	Couple	Each additional household member	Citation
Current, since 1/1/2026 through 6/30/2027	$130,000	$195,000	$65,000 (max 10)	Welfare and Institutions Code §14005.62, as amended by AB 116 (2025, ch. 21)
Scheduled, on or after 7/1/2027	$21,000	$31,000	$1,550 (max 10)	Welfare and Institutions Code §14005.62, as repealed and added by Stats. 2026, ch. 27, §69 (SB 164)

The scheduled 7/1/2027 step-down comes from a different bill than the current 2026 limits, and it is not a certainty on that date. Three conditions in the statute qualify it:

First, §14005.62(a)(2) makes the lower limit operative only after the Department of Health Care Services director determines the department’s systems are programmed to administer it and communicates that determination in writing to the Department of Finance, and no sooner than July 1, 2027. That date is a floor, not a guarantee. Second, §§14005.62(a)(1) and (e) condition implementation on the department obtaining any required federal approvals and on available federal financial participation. Third, §14005.62(b) applies the new limit to people already receiving benefits only starting at their first annual redetermination on or after the operative date, not on the operative date itself. DHCS’s own public materials state the July 2027 date without these qualifications. The statute is more conditional than that.

For context, the Governor’s May 2026 Revision had proposed a much lower asset limit ($2,000 individual, $3,000 couple) effective January 2027. That proposal was rejected in the final 2026-27 state budget and is not currently pending.

The asset limit governs eligibility while you are alive. It is separate from Medi-Cal estate recovery, which is what the state can claim after you die. Under SB 833, effective 1/1/2017, Welfare and Institutions Code §14009.5 limits estate recovery to your probate estate. A fully funded revocable living trust keeps assets out of probate and therefore out of estate recovery’s reach, but it does not shield those same assets from the asset limit above while you are alive and applying for benefits. Read more on the current Medi-Cal asset limit, on how a living trust interacts with Medi-Cal, and on what to do when a parent is entering a nursing home.

What Is Scheduled to Change

Two changes are already on the calendar. Neither is guaranteed to arrive exactly as described, and this section explains why.

Medi-Cal asset limits, on or after 7/1/2027. The limit is scheduled to drop from $130,000 and $195,000 to $21,000 and $31,000, individual and couple, under Welfare and Institutions Code §14005.62 as amended by SB 164. That drop depends on the DHCS director certifying systems readiness to the Department of Finance, on federal approval and funding participation, and it reaches existing beneficiaries only at their next annual redetermination after the operative date, not automatically on July 1, 2027. Anyone doing long-term Medi-Cal planning between now and then should track the DHCS director’s certification rather than assume the date is fixed.

California probate thresholds, April 1, 2028. The Probate Code §890 CPI adjustment is due again on that date, applying to the personal-property affidavit ($208,850), the real-property-of-small-value affidavit ($69,625), and the small estate set-aside ($107,900). Based on the CPI-U formula, expect modest increases, not a jump anywhere near the incorrect $239,700 figure discussed above. The $750,000 primary-residence threshold will not change on that date. It moves only if the Legislature amends AB 2016 directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

The federal exclusion is $15 million. Do I still need an estate plan?

Yes. The federal exclusion only determines whether you owe estate tax to the IRS. It has nothing to do with whether your family goes through California probate, how long that takes, what it costs, whether it becomes a public record, or who manages your affairs if you lose capacity. Those are the problems a trust solves, and none of the figures on this page change that.

Is the small-estate threshold really $208,850, not $239,700?

Yes, $208,850 is correct and current for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, confirmed on Judicial Council form DE-300. The $239,700 figure appearing on some other sites is not supported by any primary source and does not match California’s three-year adjustment cycle, which does not run again until April 1, 2028.

Will the Medi-Cal asset limit affect my application or renewal right now?

If you are applying for or renewing Long-Term Care Medi-Cal, Aged, Blind, and Disabled Medi-Cal, Share-of-Cost Medi-Cal, or a Medicare Savings Program, yes. As of the current period, you need to document countable assets against the $130,000 individual or $195,000 couple limit. SSI-linked Medi-Cal keeps its separate $2,000 limit.

Does California have a state estate tax?

No. California has never had a state estate tax and has no inheritance tax. That has not changed and nothing scheduled changes it.

Can a living trust protect my house from Medi-Cal after I die?

It can protect against estate recovery, the state’s claim against your probate estate after death. Since 2017, California law limits that recovery to assets that pass through probate. Assets already held in a fully funded trust do not go through probate, so they generally fall outside that recovery claim. A trust does not, however, make those same assets invisible while you are alive and applying for Medi-Cal benefits. They are still counted toward the asset limit during your lifetime.

Where This Leaves You

If any of this touches your situation, the next step is a conversation, not a guess. I offer a no-cost 30-minute call, by phone or video, to talk through where you stand and whether any of these figures change what your plan should look like. Call (805) 244-5291 to set it up.

Related reading: What to do when someone dies in California · Medi-Cal and your living trust: the 2026 rules · Estate planning after divorce · Estate planning in Santa Barbara County · Do You Need Probate?

This article is for general information only, not legal advice. Figures and thresholds are current as of 2026 and are subject to change. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.