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Common situations
Live-In IHSS Wages and MAGI Medi-Cal
Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.
County Medi-Cal may treat live-in IHSS provider wages differently under MAGI. Ask that office. This is not tax advice, and it is not a household budget plan.
About 4 minutes to read. Based on CDSS and DHCS public program pages retrieved 2026-09-16. County offices apply these rules. Hourly rates, hour totals, and wait times are local and change.
Short answer
Official DHCS and county Medi-Cal rules may treat enrolled IHSS provider wages differently for MAGI when the provider lives with the recipient. That treatment is a Medi-Cal eligibility question the county Medi-Cal office applies to the household. It is not tax advice. The Internal Revenue Service uses a different system. Do not use another family’s chart, and do not invent an exclusion amount.
Who decides
County Medi-Cal staff apply MAGI or non-MAGI rules, including how they count live-in caregiver wages, for this household. County IHSS staff authorize tasks and hours on a separate track.
What to do next
Tell the county Medi-Cal office that an enrolled IHSS provider lives with the recipient, ask how they count those wages for this case, and keep IHSS enrollment and timesheets on the IHSS desk.
Two systems, one kitchen table
A family helping a parent after a relative moves in often hears two loud sentences: “IHSS pay will close Medi-Cal” and “live-in IHSS pay never counts.” Neither sentence is a rule you can take to the bank. County Medi-Cal staff apply MAGI or non-MAGI rules to the household. Official DHCS materials and county offices may treat caregiver wages differently for MAGI when the enrolled provider lives with the recipient. That is the only statewide idea this page can safely repeat. The county Medi-Cal office decides this file.
DHCS Medi-Cal is the coverage program. BenefitsCal is often how families apply and renew. IHSS is a CDSS program the county runs. How Medi-Cal and IHSS work together keeps those desks from merging into one rumor.
This is not tax advice
People mix Medi-Cal MAGI with federal income tax rules for household employees or difficulty-of-care payments. Those are different systems with different definitions of who lives where and what is countable. This page does not explain IRS forms, exclusion amounts, or how to file. If you need tax help, that is a tax professional or IRS question. If you need Medi-Cal counting, that is the county Medi-Cal office.
Do not copy a number from another county, or from another household, onto a Medi-Cal renewal. Do not build a personal budget around an exclusion you cannot cite from this office. Family provider income myths collects the louder myths next to this live-in MAGI question.
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Questions people ask
- If I am paid IHSS and I live here, does the recipient lose Medi-Cal?
- Not automatically. Medi-Cal staff apply the rules for this household. Live-in treatment may differ from a provider who only visits. Ask the county Medi-Cal office. Do not stop Medi-Cal based on a rumor.
- Is this the same as a tax exclusion for live-in care?
- No. Tax treatment and Medi-Cal MAGI are different systems. This page does not give tax advice. Ask a tax professional or the IRS about tax filing. Ask Medi-Cal about Medi-Cal.
- Does SOC 2298 decide MAGI?
- SOC 2298 is live-in self-certification that changes Electronic Visit Verification steps for IHSS. Medi-Cal income counting is a different office. Tell both offices the living situation honestly.
- Should I hide IHSS wages on a Medi-Cal renewal?
- No. Report what the Medi-Cal office asks for. Ask how they want live-in IHSS wages shown. Incomplete or invented numbers create a worse problem than an honest question.
Official sources for this guide
Related pages on California Home Help
Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.
Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.