The federal poverty income guidelines for 2026 start at $15,960 a year for a single person in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., with each additional household member adding $5,680. The Department of Health and Human Services publishes the figures each January in the Federal Register, and dozens of federal programs use them to set who qualifies for help. Alaska and Hawaii get their own, higher numbers.1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
2026 Poverty Guideline Amounts
The figures below are 100 percent of the federal poverty level for 2026. Most programs set their cutoffs as a multiple of these numbers, so the baseline matters even if you earn well above it.
For the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C.:
- 1 person: $15,960
- 2 people: $21,640
- 3 people: $27,320
- 4 people: $33,000
- 5 people: $38,680
- 6 people: $44,360
- 7 people: $50,040
- 8 people: $55,720
Add $5,680 for each person beyond eight.1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
Alaska starts at $19,950 for one person, with $7,100 added per additional member. Hawaii starts at $18,360 for one person, adding $6,530 per additional member.1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
Finding Your Percentage of the Federal Poverty Level
Many programs don’t cut off eligibility at exactly 100 percent of the poverty line. They use multiples like 130 percent, 200 percent, or 400 percent. To find where you fall, divide your household income by the poverty guideline for your household size, then multiply by 100.
A family of four earning $49,500 divides that by $33,000 and gets 1.50, or 150 percent of the federal poverty level. That family would qualify for any program with an income cutoff at or above 150 percent of FPL.1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
HHS also publishes a detailed table with pre-calculated dollar amounts at common FPL percentages for each household size, which saves you the math.
What Each Threshold Qualifies You For
Each federal program sets its own cutoff as a percentage of FPL. The most widely used ones fall along a familiar ladder.
Food and Nutrition
SNAP uses 130 percent of the poverty level as its gross income limit. For a family of four in 2026, that’s $42,900 a year.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility The National School Lunch Program gives free meals to children in households at or below 130 percent of FPL and reduced-price meals to those between 130 and 185 percent.3Food and Nutrition Service. Income Eligibility Guidelines
Health Coverage
In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, adults qualify up to 138 percent of FPL.4HealthCare.gov. Medicaid Expansion and What It Means for You CHIP covers children in families earning too much for Medicaid, with upper limits ranging from 170 to 400 percent of FPL depending on the state.5Medicaid.gov. CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment
ACA marketplace premium tax credits are a bigger change for 2026. From 2021 through 2025, Congress temporarily removed the upper income cap. That expansion has ended. For 2026 the 400 percent cap is back, so a single person earning above $63,840 or a family of four earning above $132,000 is no longer eligible for premium tax credits.6Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit Cost-sharing reductions on silver plans stay available up to 250 percent of FPL.1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
Other Major Programs
Head Start uses 100 percent of the poverty guidelines as its primary income threshold, one of the few programs where the guideline itself is the cutoff rather than a multiple. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) typically sets cutoffs between 150 and 200 percent of FPL, though the exact level varies by state. Some programs also use categorical eligibility, where qualifying for one benefit such as SNAP automatically satisfies the income test for another.
How Income and Household Size Get Counted
Before you compare your income to any of the numbers above, know that the definition of “income” is not the same across programs. Neither is the definition of your household. Getting either one wrong is one of the most common reasons people wrongly assume they don’t qualify.
SNAP measures gross monthly income before deductions for its initial screening, then applies a net income test that accounts for certain expenses like housing costs and dependent care.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility The ACA marketplace and Medicaid in expansion states use modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which starts with the adjusted gross income on your tax return and adds back untaxed foreign income, tax-exempt interest, and non-taxable Social Security benefits.7HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level Self-employed applicants generally show net earnings after business expenses. Wages, tips, Social Security, unemployment compensation, and investment income commonly count, but the details vary.
Household size matters just as much. A household generally includes the applicant, their spouse, and dependent children, whether biological, adopted, or under legal guardianship. Unrelated roommates who share housing but keep separate finances usually don’t count. For the ACA marketplace, your household typically matches everyone on your federal tax return. Adding one person raises the income threshold by thousands of dollars, so the count is worth getting right.
A Few Boundaries Worth Knowing
The HHS poverty guidelines are a separate document from the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds. The thresholds are used for statistical estimates of how many Americans live in poverty, and they vary by family composition in ways the guidelines don’t. If you’re applying for a benefit, you’re being measured against the HHS guidelines.8U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Poverty Guidelines
The guidelines also aren’t defined for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or several other U.S.-affiliated jurisdictions. When a federal program serving those areas uses the guidelines, the administering office decides whether to apply the contiguous-states figures or something else.8U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Poverty Guidelines If you live in a territory, ask the specific program rather than assuming the standard numbers apply.