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Title 8: Medicaid Page 105 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter C: Nonfinancial Eligibility Nonfinancial MAGI-Related Eligibility Revised October 10, 2025 MAGI Household Size The application and renewal forms ask whether an individual plans to file a tax return for the year. The individual’s household is constructed based on their plan to file a federal income tax return, regardless of whether or not they actually file a return at the end of the year, or be claimed as a tax dependent. It is not necessary to have filed a federal income tax return in previous years. Different households may exist within a single family, depending on each of the family members’ familial and tax relationships to each other. Applicant or Member is a Tax-Filer Legal Reference: 441 IAC 75 (Rules in Process) An applicant or member who expects to file a federal tax return for the year in which the applicant or member requests Medicaid and does not expect to be claimed as a tax dependent by another taxpayer is considered a “tax-filer”. A tax-filer’s Medicaid household size shall include: a. The tax-filer, b. The tax-filer’s spouse (if living together), or if expected tax status is married filing jointly (regardless if a spouse is absent from the home or whether the absence meets the definition of temporary), and c. Each dependent that the tax-filer expects to claim. Applicant or Member is a Tax Dependent Legal Reference: 441 IAC 75 (Rules in Process) An applicant or member who expects to be claimed as a tax dependent on a federal tax return for the year in which the applicant or member requests Medicaid is a “tax dependent”. A tax dependent’s Medicaid household size is the same as the tax-filer who claims the dependent. EXCEPTION: The dependent’s household size is determined the same as a non-filer who is not claimed as a tax dependent when the dependent meets one of the following exceptions: a. Expects to be claimed by someone other than a spouse or parent (biological, adoptive or step). b. Is a child under 19 who expects to be claimed by one parent while living with both parents who do not expect to file a joint return.