Federal Poverty Level: 2026 Guidelines, Calculations, and Programs

The federal poverty level for 2026 is $15,960 a year for a single person and $33,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., with each additional household member adding $5,680.¹ Most benefit programs don’t cut off eligibility at that line. They use a multiple of it — 130%, 138%, 200%, sometimes 400% — so households earning well above the poverty guideline can still qualify.

2026 Poverty Guidelines by Household Size

These are the figures published by the Department of Health and Human Services for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, effective January 13, 2026:²¹

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

For households larger than eight, add $5,680 per additional person. A household of ten works out to $67,080 ($55,720 plus two increments of $5,680).

One quick clarification before you use these numbers: the figures above are the HHS poverty guidelines, which is what agencies mean when an application asks about the “federal poverty level.” The Census Bureau publishes a separate set of poverty thresholds for statistical reporting, and those do not decide who gets benefits.³

Higher Guidelines for Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska and Hawaii have their own scales because everyday costs run above the mainland average. In 2026, Alaska’s guideline is $19,950 for a single person, with $7,100 added per additional household member. Hawaii starts at $18,360 for one person and adds $6,530 per additional member.¹

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands use the same numbers as the 48 contiguous states. American Samoa is the exception — the HHS poverty guidelines do not apply there, and programs use different standards set by the relevant federal agency.²

Calculating Your Percentage of FPL

Because most programs use a multiple of the poverty line, the number you actually need is your own percentage of FPL. Divide your annual gross income by the guideline for your household size, then multiply by 100.

A single person earning $24,000 in 2026 would divide $24,000 by $15,960, arriving at about 1.50, or 150% of the federal poverty level.¹ If a program’s cutoff is 200% of FPL for a single person, that applicant is within range. HHS also publishes pre-calculated tables showing common FPL percentages by household size.⁴

What Counts as Income

The poverty measure looks at gross cash income before taxes: wages, unemployment compensation, Social Security, pensions, interest, child support, and similar cash receipts. Non-cash benefits such as housing subsidies, food assistance, and Medicaid are excluded, as are capital gains and tax credits.⁵

Individual programs adjust that baseline. SNAP, for example, excludes certain income the general definition would include and applies its own deductions before comparing to its threshold. Always check the specific program’s rules; the same income figure won’t work identically across every application.

Programs That Use the Federal Poverty Level

SNAP

SNAP generally requires gross monthly income at or below 130% of the poverty level. For a family of four in 2026, that’s $3,483 per month. SNAP also applies a net income test at 100% of poverty after deductions, and in most cases a resource limit — up to $3,000 in countable assets such as cash and bank balances, or $4,500 if any household member is 60 or older or has a disability. Your home and most retirement accounts don’t count.⁶

Medicaid and CHIP

In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, adults with income up to 138% of the poverty level generally qualify.⁷ For a single person in 2026, that’s roughly $22,025. The Children’s Health Insurance Program covers children in families earning too much for Medicaid, with state cutoffs ranging from around 170% up to 400% of FPL.⁸

ACA Premium Tax Credits

For the 2026 plan year, premium tax credit eligibility on the ACA marketplace runs from 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level.⁹ For a family of four, 400% of FPL is $132,000.⁴ The credit shrinks as income rises within the range and disappears once you cross 400%. Enhanced credits that temporarily removed the 400% cap expired at the end of the 2025 coverage year.

Other Programs

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Head Start, the National School Lunch Program, and civil legal aid all peg eligibility to FPL percentages. State administrators often have discretion to set their own thresholds within federal parameters, so eligibility for the same program can look different depending on where you live.

If Your Income Changes During the Year

Guidelines are set once a year, but income moves. Most benefit programs require you to report significant income changes within a set window, commonly 10 to 30 days. An unreported raise or new job can create an overpayment that the agency later claws back.

The ACA premium tax credit is where this bites hardest. The credit is paid in advance to your insurer based on your projected income. If actual income comes in higher, you repay the excess when you file, using IRS Form 8962. Starting with the 2026 tax year, there is no cap on that repayment: the full difference between what was paid on your behalf and what you actually qualified for is added to your tax bill or subtracted from your refund.¹⁰ Updating your income estimate on the marketplace whenever your earnings change is the simplest way to avoid a surprise at tax time.

1
GovInfo. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines, 91 FR 2026-00755
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Poverty Guidelines
3
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Poverty Guidelines and Poverty
4
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
5
U.S. Census Bureau. How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty
6
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
7
HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
8
Medicaid.gov. CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment
9
Internal Revenue Service. Eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit
10
Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit