Hospice Cap Report Due Date: Cap Year Ended Sept. 30, 2026

Quick answer: Your hospice's self-determined cap report for the cap year that ended September 30, 2026 is due February 28, 2027. That is 5 months after the cap year ends (42 CFR 418.308(c)). It falls on a Sunday, so plan to file by Friday, February 26.

The hospice cap is a separate filing from your cost report. If you owe money, you send the payment with the report. If you are late, Medicare payments can be suspended.

Key takeaways

• Cap year: October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The cap year always ends September 30 (42 CFR 418.3).
• Due date: February 28, 2027, which is 5 months after the cap year ends (42 CFR 418.308(c)).
• Weekend: February 28, 2027 is a Sunday. We found no MAC page that moves the date, so file by Friday, February 26.
• Cap amount for this filing: $35,361.44 per beneficiary (FY 2026). The FY 2027 amount, $36,174.75, applies to the next cap year.
• If you owe: Pay with the filing. The overpayment is due then.
• If you are late: Payments are suspended until you file.

Want a second look at your cap before you file? Book a free 20-minute call and bring your PS&R report.

When is the hospice cap report due?

It is due no later than 5 months after the end of the cap year (42 CFR 418.308(c)). The cap year is the twelve-month period that ends September 30 (42 CFR 418.3). This year, it began October 1, 2025 and ended September 30, 2026.

Five months after September 30 is February 28. In 2027, that is a Sunday. CGS is a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). Its hospice caps page says the cap is due no later than February 28. Its February 2026 reminder for the prior cap year gave February 28, 2026.

We did not find a MAC page that says the cap due date moves to the next business day when it lands on a weekend. Some MACs apply that rule to cost reports, but the cap is a different filing. Do not count on it. File by Friday, February 26, 2027.

Some older articles say hospice caps are due March 31. Others say the cap year ends October 31. Those were old rules. The cap year now ends September 30.

What to do: Write February 26, 2027 on your calendar as your filing date.

Which cap amount applies?

Be careful here. Two cap amounts are in the news right now.

The report due February 2027 covers the FY 2026 cap year, so it uses $35,361.44 (CMS-1851-F). The new $36,174.75 amount starts October 1, 2026. It will matter for the report you file in 2028. To learn how the cap works, read our guide to the hospice aggregate cap.

What to do: Make sure whoever builds your report uses the FY 2026 amount, not the FY 2027 amount.

What do you file?

You file a self-determined cap with your MAC. CGS asks for these items:

• A cover letter.
• The Provider Self-Determined Aggregate Cap Limitation form.
• The PS&R Summary and Hospice Cap Reports you used to fill in the form.
• New hospices only: the Prorated Cap Amount form.

You pull your own PS&R reports (the Medicare summary of your claims and payments) from CMS Identity Management. CGS accepts the filing starting December 31. Other MACs use their own forms and addresses, so check with yours. If your MAC is not CGS, ask which contractor pays your Medicare claims, because that is where the cap goes.

You can estimate your result first with our hospice cap calculator. It is a planning tool. It does not replace the filing.

What to do: Find your MAC's hospice cap page and save the form.

What to do this week

The cap year just ended, so the numbers are mostly set. Use these steps over the next few weeks:

1. Confirm your cap year dates: October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
2. List the beneficiaries you served in the cap year. Mark which ones elected hospice before and during the year.
3. Ask your billing team to finish any late claims for the cap year.
4. Make a note to pull your PS&R reports when your MAC opens filing.
5. Run a quick estimate in the hospice cap calculator.
6. If the estimate shows you may be over the cap, plan the cash now. You pay at filing.
7. Pick your filing date: no later than Friday, February 26, 2027.

Your cost report is a different task. If you also have a June 30 fiscal year end, that report is due November 30, 2026. Your hospice cost report has its own steps.

What to do: Do not wait for January. A cap estimate takes an afternoon. A surprise repayment takes a plan.

What if you owe money?

Payments above the cap are overpayments and must be refunded (42 CFR 418.308(d)). The overpayment is due when you file the self-determined cap (42 CFR 418.308(c)).

CGS asks you to send a check with a cover letter. It also says that if you do not send the payment with the cap, it will demand the overpayment. We have not verified a repayment plan option for any specific MAC, so ask your MAC what is available before you file, not after.

What to do: If your estimate shows a repayment, call your MAC before February and ask about payment options.

What happens if the report is late?

The regulation is direct. If a hospice does not file on time, its payments are suspended in whole or in part until it files (42 CFR 418.308(c)).

CGS says it sends a past due letter and suspends payments if the cap is not received within 7 days of the due date. For a hospice that depends on Medicare, that can stop most of your cash flow. A late Medicare cost report has its own consequences. Read about a late or rejected Medicare cost report if that is also a concern.

What to do: File early. A filing on time is much easier than a filing under a payment suspension.

What we see in practice

The most common cap problem we see is not the math. It is that nobody owns the date. The cost report gets attention because everyone knows it. The cap sits in a separate drawer with a separate deadline.

Take five minutes to put both on one calendar. Then use the cost report deadline calculator for your cost report date. See also when the Medicare cost report is due for the full table. Our hospice accounting services include cap tracking all year, and the cost report document checklist helps with the cost report side.

Want us to prepare or review your cap? Book a free 20-minute call.

Frequently asked questions

When is the hospice cap report due for the cap year that ended September 30, 2026?

The self-determined cap is due no later than 5 months after the end of the cap year (42 CFR 418.308(c)). Five months after September 30, 2026 is February 28, 2027. CGS, one MAC, states a February 28 due date on its hospice caps page.

What is the hospice cap year?

The twelve-month period ending September 30 (42 CFR 418.3). The cap year that just ended started October 1, 2025 and ended September 30, 2026. It is not November 1 to October 31, which was the old cap year.

Is February 28, 2027 a weekend, and does the date move?

February 28, 2027 is a Sunday. We did not find a MAC page that says the cap due date moves to the next business day, so we tell clients to file by Friday, February 26, 2027. Ask your MAC if you want it in writing.

What cap amount applies to this filing?

The FY 2026 cap amount, $35,361.44 per beneficiary, applies to the cap year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The FY 2027 amount of $36,174.75 applies to the next cap year, October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (CMS-1851-F).

What do I file, and where?

You file the Provider Self-Determined Aggregate Cap Limitation form with your MAC. CGS asks for a cover letter, the form, and the PS&R Summary and Hospice Cap Reports you used. Check your own MAC for its address, email and form.

What happens if I owe money?

Payments above the cap are overpayments and must be refunded (42 CFR 418.308(d)). The overpayment is due when you file. CGS says that if you do not send payment with the cap, it will demand the overpayment.

What if I miss the due date?

42 CFR 418.308(c) says payments to the hospice are suspended in whole or in part until the self-determined cap is filed. CGS says it sends a past due letter and suspends payments if it has not received the cap within 7 days of the due date.

Is the cap part of the Medicare cost report?

No. The cap and the cost report are two separate filings with separate due dates. The cap is tied to the October 1 to September 30 cap year, not to your fiscal year.

Next step

Book a free 20-minute call with Christian Soriaga, CPA, and we will check your cap estimate and your filing date.

Sources

• eCFR, 42 CFR 418.308, The hospice aggregate cap (due date, suspension and overpayments)
• eCFR, 42 CFR 418.3, Definitions (cap period ends September 30)
• CGS Medicare, Hospice caps (February 28 due date, items to file, past due letter and suspension)
• CGS Medicare, Self-determined cap reminder, February 5, 2026
• CMS, FY 2027 hospice wage index and payment rate update final rule fact sheet (cap amounts; as cited on our hospice cap calculator)

Last updated: October 2026. We did not find a weekend rule for the cap due date on any MAC page we read.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Soriaga & Associates, LLC is a CPA firm founded in 1985 in Lisle, Illinois, serving home health, hospice, home care, wound care and dental providers nationwide. (630) 491-1268.