Texas Form H1239, Request for Verification of Bank Accounts: HHSC Deadlines

Texas Form H1239, Request for Verification of Bank Accounts, is a document that a Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) case manager mails directly to your bank to confirm your account balances and activity. You do not fill it out. HHSC uses the bank’s response to decide whether you meet the resource limits for programs like Medicaid, TANF, and in some cases SNAP.¹

What the Form Asks Your Bank to Share

The form is addressed to a bank representative and asks for specific details about every account tied to your name. That includes account numbers, account types, authorized signatories, balances as of the dates the case manager specifies, and any interest paid on each account. The bank is also asked to list other assets you can access through the institution, such as IRAs, certificates of deposit, and safety deposit boxes.²

If you recently closed any accounts, the bank must report the account numbers, closing dates, and closing balances. This lets HHSC spot transfers that could affect eligibility, especially for Medicaid long-term care programs. The case manager encloses a signed Form H0003, Authorization to Furnish Information, which gives the bank legal permission to release the data.¹

Why HHSC Is Asking

Bank verification only comes up when a program has a resource limit, meaning a cap on countable assets like bank accounts, investments, and cash. Three programs commonly trigger it.

Medicaid for the Elderly and People With Disabilities

This is where Form H1239 shows up most often, because the limits are strict. For community-based services, waiver programs, and institutional care, an individual cannot have more than $2,000 in countable resources, or $3,000 for a couple. The case manager verifies the balance as of the first day of the relevant month.³

When one spouse enters a nursing facility or other institutional care, HHSC takes a snapshot of the couple’s combined countable resources on the first day of the month skilled care begins. For 2026, the community spouse (the one who stays home) keeps between $32,532 and $162,660 of those resources, calculated as half the couple’s total subject to that floor and ceiling.⁴

For Medicaid applications, the case manager reviews statements for the month of application and the three prior months. If those statements suggest assets were transferred to qualify for Medicaid, the case manager can request up to 60 months of records to investigate.⁴

TANF

A TANF household in Texas cannot have more than $1,000 in accessible resources. If you don’t provide resource verification, HHSC denies the TANF application and processes the case for non-public-assistance SNAP eligibility instead.⁵

SNAP

Texas uses broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP, which raises the resource limit to $5,000 for most households and excludes one vehicle worth up to $22,000. Because the threshold is relatively high, many SNAP households never see Form H1239.⁶

What HHSC Counts as a Resource

HHSC counts your bank balance as of 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the month being tested. Funds that were already committed before that moment are subtracted. On a joint account where you have unrestricted withdrawal access, the entire balance is treated as yours. If two eligible people share the account, each is presumed to own an equal share, though you can present evidence showing a different split.⁷

Beyond checking and savings, countable liquid resources include certificates of deposit (at net value after any early-withdrawal penalty, or not counted at all if you can’t cash them before maturity), stocks (valued at the closing price on the last business day of the prior month), bonds (at cash surrender value), IRAs and Keogh accounts, money market accounts, cash on hand at the amount you state, convertible virtual currency at its dollar exchange value the month after you receive it, and the remaining balance on a prepaid debit card as of the first day of the month after the deposit.⁷

How to Speed Up the Process

Because Form H1239 goes to your bank rather than to you, the return timeline depends on how quickly the bank responds. You don’t have to wait. HHSC accepts several other forms of verification, including bank statements you provide, a letter from the financial institution, or phone contact between the case manager and a bank employee. For Medicaid initial applications, note that data from the Automated Verification System alone is not treated as sufficient; the case manager will still need statements or a completed H1239.⁴

You can submit statements to HHSC four ways:

Online, by uploading through your Your Texas Benefits account at yourtexasbenefits.com
In person at a local HHSC benefits office
By mail to HHSC, P.O. Box 149027, Austin, TX 78714-9027
By fax to 877-447-2839

Keep a copy of everything you send. If you drop documents off in person, ask for a stamped receipt.⁸

Deadlines That Affect Your Case

For SNAP and TANF during a redetermination, you have at least 10 days to provide requested verification. Miss that window and HHSC denies benefits on the 11th day. A denied TANF redetermination can be reopened within 60 days of the filing date if you provide the missing information.⁹

For Medicaid, you also get at least 10 days to supply missing information, and the due date must fall on a business day. If your case is denied because you did not respond in time, HHSC can reopen it without a new application if you provide the verification within 90 days of the last day of your last eligibility month.⁹

If the Bank’s Response Puts You Over the Limit

When the reported balance exceeds the program’s resource limit, HHSC denies or terminates benefits. For TANF, a household over the $1,000 limit is ineligible on or after the first interview date.⁵ For Medicaid, an application over the applicable limit is denied, and current coverage ends after proper notice.

You have the right to challenge the number. If the reported balance includes money that was already spoken for before the first of the month, funds in a joint account that actually belong to someone else, or a CD you can’t access until it matures, bring evidence to your case manager. HHSC policy allows you to disprove presumed ownership of joint account funds and to show that specific assets are encumbered.⁷

1
Texas Health and Human Services. Form H1239, Request for Verification of Bank Accounts
2
Texas Health and Human Services. Form H1239 PDF
3
Texas Health and Human Services. Appendix VIII, Income and Resource Limits
4
Texas Health and Human Services. Appendix XVI, Documentation and Verification Guide
5
Texas Health and Human Services. A-1220, Limits
6
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE)
7
Texas Health and Human Services. F-4100, Types of Liquid Resources
8
Texas Health and Human Services. Benefits Application Next Steps
9
Texas Health and Human Services. B-120, Redeterminations