Extra Help and Your Assets: What Counts, What Does Not, and the Burial Set-Aside

Many people never apply for Extra Help. They own a home that is paid off. They have some funds in the bank. They think both facts end their chance at once. In most cases, that thought is wrong. The home you live in does not count. One car does not count. Some funds do count, and some do not. This guide sorts out which is which. It uses the 2026 limits for pay and funds. It also shows how the burial set-aside works. Our Paying for Care section holds more guides like this one.

Why many people never apply

A paid off house can look like wealth on its own. A bank account can look too large at a glance. A car in the drive can raise the same doubt. So a person may not ask at all.

That choice can cost real help with drug costs. The rules do not treat all things the same way. Some things are left out by rule. Some things are counted in full. You need to know which list holds each thing you own.

Do not rule your own case out too soon. Check each item on the right list. Then check your pay and your funds. Then apply if the sums look close. Social Security makes the call, not a guess at home.

What Extra Help is

Extra Help is also called the Part D Low Income Subsidy. It is a federal plan. Social Security runs the sign up path. It is not a state plan of its own.

The aid cuts the cost of a Part D drug plan. It can cut the plan premium. It can cut the plan deductible to zero. It also caps what you pay for each drug. The caps for 2026 are set out in full below.

There is no partial tier now. A person who meets the test gets full Extra Help. A person who does not meet it does not get a part tier.

Extra Help is not open in the U.S. territories. For most of the states, the same federal rules apply. The pay limits are higher in two states. Those two states are named in the pay section below.

What counts as income

Income is the pay side of the test. Social Security looks at the pay you get each year. The ledger lists the types that count.

Counted income includes these types:

This list is about pay, not about things you own. A house is not pay. A car is not pay. Funds in the bank are not pay as such. Those items fall on the resource side of the test. The next two parts deal with that side.

Add up your pay for the year with care. Use gross sums where the form asks for them. Keep pay stubs and award letters close at hand. You may need to show them when you apply.

• Wages from a job count as income.
• Social Security checks count as income.
• Pensions count as income.
• Rental income counts as income.
• Veterans benefits count as income.
• Annuities count as income.
• Alimony counts as income.

The income limits for 2026

For 2026, pay must sit below a set line. The line turns on how you live and where you live.

These are the lines for the 48 states and for D.C., plus the two state lines shown. The lines for Alaska and Hawaii are higher by rule. If your pay sits near a line, apply and let the office check. A small gap in your own math can shift the result.

• For one person, pay must be below $23,940 per year (Ledger K1).
• For a couple who live together, pay must be below $32,460 per year (Ledger K1).
• In Alaska, the line is below $29,925 for one person (Ledger K1).
• In Alaska, the line is below $40,575 for a couple (Ledger K1).
• In Hawaii, the line is below $27,540 for one person (Ledger K1).
• In Hawaii, the line is below $37,335 for a couple (Ledger K1).

What counts as a resource

Resources are the things you own that hold cash value. The test asks what those things are worth in all. Social Security then checks that sum with a set limit.

Counted resources include these types:

Think of this list in a plain way. If you could turn the item into cash, it tends to count. Cash in a drawer counts in the same way. So do funds you hold in a joint account.

Joint accounts need care in this test. Your share may count, based on the facts. Tell the office who owns each account. Show the papers that prove your share. Do not leave a joint account off the form.

The value used is the value at the time you apply. A stock price can move from day to day. A bank sum can rise or fall each month. Use the sums from your most fresh statements. Keep those statements for your own files.

• Funds in a checking account count.
• Funds in a savings account count.
• Funds in a retirement account count.
• Stocks count as a resource.
• Bonds count as a resource.

What does not count as a resource

Some key things are left out by rule. This is the part that most people miss. It is the part that keeps a home owner in the test.

Items that do not count as resources:

The home rule is broad and clear. The house you live in is left out. The land it sits on is left out with it. Its value does not push you past the limit. Its paid off state does not change that rule.

The car rule covers one car. One car is left out in full. If you own more than one car, ask how the rest are treated. Do not guess at that point on your own form.

Household goods are left out as a group. That group holds the things you use each day. Beds, chairs, and lamps fall in that group. Clothes and rings and such goods fall there too. Their worth is not added to your funds sum.

• Your home does not count.
• One car does not count.
• A burial plot does not count.
• Furniture does not count.
• Household items do not count.
• Personal items do not count.

How the home and car are treated

Take the home first, step by step. You live in the home. You may own it in full. You may still owe on a loan for it. In each case, the home does not count. The test does not ask you to sell it. The test does not ask you to borrow on it.

Take the car next, step by step. You need the car to get to care and to shops. One car is left out for that cause. Its age does not change the rule. Its make does not change the rule.

These two rules explain the core point of this guide. A person can own a home and a car and still qualify. What will count is the cash type wealth they hold. Funds, stocks, and bonds are the items to check. The home and the car are not the block that some fear.

The burial set-aside

Many older adults set funds aside for burial costs. The rules make room for that wish. Up to $1,500 per person can be set aside. That sum is part of how the resource limit is built.

Read this next point with care. The set-aside is built into the limit. It is not added on top of the limit. The limit sums below already hold that room in them.

So do not add $1,500 to the limit on your own. That would count the same room twice. The ledger warns of that same trap in plain terms. The base sums are lower, and the set-aside brings them to the sums in use.

A burial plot sits on a split rule. The plot itself does not count at all. Cash set aside for burial costs is the set-aside part. Keep the two facts split in your mind. Keep proof of what the set-aside funds are for.

If a couple both set funds aside, each person has their own sum. Up to $1,500 counts for one spouse. Up to $1,500 counts for the other spouse too. The pair is thus up to $3,000 in all for the two of them. That sum, too, sits inside the couple limit.

The resource limits for 2026

For 2026, resources must sit below a set line. The line turns on if you apply alone or as a couple.

These lines are for the sum of counted resources. Your home is not in that sum. Your one car is not in that sum. Your burial plot is not in that sum. Your furniture is not in that sum.

Add up just the counted items for this test. Use bank sums, stock worth, and bond worth. Add funds in retirement accounts as well. Then set that sum next to the line for your case. If the sum sits below the line, the resource test is met.

• For one person, funds must be below $18,090 (Ledger K2).
• For a couple, funds must be below $36,100 (Ledger K2).
• These sums hold the burial set-aside in them.
• The set-aside is up to $1,500 per person (Ledger K2).
• The same resource lines hold in Alaska and Hawaii.

Who gets Extra Help with no separate form

Some people get Extra Help on their own, with no new form. The ledger names three groups in this class.

Our guide on Extra Help in 2027 sets out the pay part for next year. Our guide on Medicare Savings Programs shows how those state plans work. If you are in one of those groups, check your mail. You may get a note that says you now have Extra Help.

All other people must apply for it. There is no shame in that path. Most who get the aid came in that way. The next part shows where and how to apply.

• People with full Medicaid get it on their own.
• People in a Medicare Savings Program get it on their own.
• People who get SSI get it on their own.

How to apply through Social Security

Extra Help is federal, so you apply through Social Security. You do not apply through your state for this plan. States run some other aid plans, and that fact can cause mix ups. Keep the two paths split in your mind.

You can apply on the Social Security site. You can apply by phone with that office. You can apply at a local office in person. Pick the path you can do with care and with proof at hand.

Have these items close before you start:

Fill in each field as the form asks. List each account you hold. List each stock and each bond too. List each type of pay you get. Do not leave out a joint account.

There is no fee to apply for Extra Help. Watch out for a site that asks for a fee. Use the true Social Security site or phone line. Keep a copy of what you send in.

The office may ask for more proof by mail. Send what it asks for by the date it sets. Keep a note of each date and each call. If you are turned down, read the note with care. It will say why, and it will say how to appeal.

• Your Social Security card or your number.
• Your most fresh bank statements.
• A list of stocks and bonds you own.
• Proof of each type of pay you get.
• Papers for any funds set aside for burial costs.

What you pay if you qualify

Extra Help caps what you pay for drugs in 2026. The caps are the same for each plan you may pick.

The premium point needs one clear note. The $0 premium holds up to the benchmark sum for your area. A plan priced above that sum can cost you the gap. Check the plan price list for your area with care. Pick a plan at or below the benchmark if you can.

The caps hold for drugs your plan covers. A drug not on the plan list may cost more. Check your drug list when you pick a plan. You may switch Part D plans each month if you have Extra Help. That right can help if a plan stops covering a drug you need.

• You pay no more than $5.10 per generic drug (Ledger K3).
• You pay no more than $12.65 per other drug (Ledger K3).
• You pay $0 for drugs after the out of pocket threshold is met (Ledger K3).
• You pay a $0 deductible if you qualify (Ledger K3).
• You pay a $0 premium up to the plan benchmark if you qualify (Ledger K3).

If your pay or funds rise later in the year

Life can change in the same year you qualify. A small job may add to your pay. A bank sum may rise for a short time. That change does not end your aid at once.

People who qualify keep Extra Help through December 31 of that year. That rule holds even if pay or resources rise later. It gives you a full year of steady drug costs. It also gives you time to plan for next year.

The test will run again for the next year. Keep your pay and bank papers in good order. If your sums fall back down, you may qualify once more. If they stay up, your aid may end for the next year. The office will send you a note about any change.

How this fits with other premium costs

Extra Help sits at the low pay end of the scale. At the high pay end, a charge adds to premiums. Our guide on IRMAA and higher premiums covers that charge in full. The two aids and charges do not apply at the same time. One is for low pay, and one is for high pay.

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Who pays for what

• You pay no more than $5.10 for a generic drug in 2026 if you qualify (Ledger K3).
• You pay no more than $12.65 for an other drug in 2026 if you qualify (Ledger K3).
• You pay $0 for covered drugs after you meet the out of pocket threshold (Ledger K3).
• You pay a $0 deductible and a $0 premium up to the plan benchmark (Ledger K3).
• Your Part D plan pays its share of covered drug costs under its list.
• Medicare pays the plan funds that back the Extra Help aid.
• Social Security runs the sign up and makes the call on your case.
• Your state runs Medicaid and the state savings plans, not Extra Help itself.
• Private pay covers a drug your plan does not cover, or a cost above a cap.

Sample situation

Rosa is 71 years old. She lives alone in the house she owns. Her house is paid off in full. She has one car in her drive. She feared both facts would block her at once. A friend told her to check the rules first. Rosa has funds in a bank account. She also gets a small pension each month. Her pension and her Social Security check count as income. Her house does not count as a resource. Her car does not count as a resource. Her bank funds do count as a resource. She has $1,500 set aside for burial costs. That sum is part of the limit, not on top of it. Her counted funds sit below $18,090 for one person (Ledger K2). Her income sits below $23,940 per year for one person (Ledger K1). Rosa applies through Social Security with her bank papers in hand. She is found to qualify for Extra Help. She pays no deductible on her drug plan. She pays no more than $5.10 for a generic drug (Ledger K3). She pays no more than $12.65 for an other drug (Ledger K3).

What to check before you apply

Start with the two lists in this guide. Mark each thing you own as counted or not counted. That one step clears up most of the fear that stops people from filing.

• List each bank account and its most fresh sum.
• List each stock, bond, and retirement account you hold.
• Cross the home off your resource list.
• Cross one car off your resource list.
• Cross the burial plot and household goods off that list too.
• Note any funds set aside for burial costs, up to $1,500.
• Add up your pay from each source for the year.
• Set your pay sum next to the 2026 pay line for your case.
• Set your funds sum next to the 2026 resource line for your case.
• Gather your proof, then file through Social Security.