Food Stamp Laws: SNAP Eligibility, Work Rules, and Fraud Penalties

Food stamp laws in the United States are set by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and run by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service under the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Federal statute fixes who qualifies, how much they get, what they can buy, and what happens when the rules are broken; states handle applications and case management, and can loosen a few thresholds through broad-based categorical eligibility. The figures below are for the federal fiscal year running October 2025 through September 2026.

Who Qualifies

Most households have to clear two income tests. Gross monthly income (before deductions) generally cannot exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty level, and net monthly income (after allowed deductions) cannot exceed 100 percent. For FY2026 the ceilings are:

1 person: $1,696 gross / $1,305 net
2 people: $2,292 gross / $1,763 net
3 people: $2,888 gross / $2,221 net
4 people: $3,483 gross / $2,680 net
Each additional person: add $596 gross / $459 net

Households in which every adult is elderly or disabled skip the gross income test and only need to meet the net figure.¹

Countable resources like cash and bank balances must stay at or below $3,000, or $4,500 if any member is 60 or older or has a disability.² Your home, most retirement accounts, and resources belonging to anyone receiving SSI or TANF do not count. In practice the asset test bites less than it looks on paper, because most states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility rules that raise or eliminate the cap, and often lift the gross income threshold as well.

What Counts as One Household

A SNAP household is either a person living alone or a group of people who live together and routinely buy and prepare food together. Share a kitchen and share the cooking, and everyone is one household for SNAP purposes.³

Some people get grouped together whether they say they share meals or not. Spouses living under the same roof always count as one household. Parents and their children age 21 or younger who live together are combined automatically. Children under 18 living with a non-parent caretaker have to be included in that caretaker’s household as well.³

Noncitizens

U.S. citizens and some categories of noncitizens can receive SNAP. Lawful permanent residents generally have to have lived in the country for at least five years or earned 40 qualifying work quarters before they become eligible. Refugees, people granted asylum, and noncitizens with qualifying military connections are exempt from the waiting period. Citizen children of noncitizen parents can receive benefits regardless of the parents’ status, and states cannot penalize those citizen children because a parent is undocumented.

Work Requirements

Most adults between 16 and 59 have to meet basic work-related conditions to stay eligible: register for employment, accept a suitable job offer, participate in an assigned training program, and not voluntarily quit or drop below 30 hours a week without good cause. Failing to comply disqualifies the person for at least one month on a first violation, with longer penalties for repeated ones.⁴

ABAWDs

Adults ages 18 through 54 who can work and have no dependents face a tougher rule. These able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) must work, volunteer, or take part in a training program for at least 80 hours a month. An ABAWD who falls short loses benefits after three months and cannot get them back until completing a qualifying 30-day work period or waiting for the three-year clock to reset.⁴ Exemptions cover documented physical or mental health conditions, pregnancy, and residence in an area where the state has an unemployment waiver. States can also grant a limited number of individual exemptions each year.

How the Benefit Is Calculated

Your benefit is the maximum monthly allotment for your household size minus 30 percent of your net income. The premise built into the statute is that a household spends about 30 percent of its own resources on food and SNAP fills the rest. A household with zero net income gets the full allotment. For FY2026 in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., the maximums are:

1 person: $298
2 people: $546
3 people: $785
4 people: $994
5 people: $1,183
6 people: $1,421
7 people: $1,571
8 people: $1,789
Each additional person: $218

One- and two-person households that qualify always get at least $24 a month, even if the formula would produce less.⁵

Deductions That Shape Net Income

Net income is gross income minus the deductions federal law allows:

Standard deduction: $209 for households of one to three, $223 for four, $261 for five, and $299 for six or more.
Earned income deduction: 20 percent of employment earnings.
Excess shelter costs: housing expenses that exceed half your income after other deductions, capped at $744. No cap applies if a household member is elderly or disabled.
Dependent care: out-of-pocket child care or care for a disabled adult needed for work, training, or school.
Medical expenses: costs over $35 a month for elderly or disabled members that insurance does not reimburse.

Some states also allow a deduction for legally owed child support.² Homeless households can claim a standard shelter deduction of $198.99 in place of documenting actual costs.⁵

What SNAP Can Legally Buy

SNAP covers food meant for home preparation and eating at home: fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, breads, cereals, snack foods, and non-alcoholic beverages. Seeds and plants that produce food for the household are also eligible.⁶

Benefits cannot be used for alcohol, tobacco, vitamins, supplements, or medicines. Hot foods sold ready to eat at the point of sale are excluded. Non-food items like cleaning supplies, pet food, and paper products are not covered at all.⁶

Two narrow programs stretch that footprint. EBT cards can be used at participating online grocery retailers under the same food-eligibility rules, but delivery fees, service charges, and convenience fees have to come out of pocket.⁷ A separate Restaurant Meals Program lets certain recipients buy prepared meals at approved restaurants, but every household member must be elderly (60 or older), disabled, or homeless, plus their spouses. As of 2026 the participating states are Arizona, California, Illinois (Cook and Franklin Counties only), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia.⁸

What You Must Report After You Are Approved

Federal regulations make certain reports mandatory once you are receiving benefits. You have to report changes in the source of income, such as starting or losing a job; changes in household composition when someone moves in or out; changes in housing and shelter costs; and any lottery or gambling winnings. You also have to report if your gross income rises above 130 percent of the poverty level for your household size.⁹ Most changes must be reported within 10 days. Small fluctuations in expenses generally do not have to be reported, though voluntarily reporting a cost increase can raise your benefit.

Certification periods usually run six to twelve months. Before yours ends the state sends a recertification form that has to be completed and returned, and a caseworker has to interview you at least once every 12 months as part of the renewal. Missing the recertification deadline closes the case and forces a fresh application.¹⁰

Stolen Benefits: No Federal Replacement Right Now

Card skimming and cloning have hit SNAP recipients hard. Congress authorized states to replace stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024, but that federal authority expired on December 20, 2024, and has not been renewed.¹¹ If benefits are stolen today, there is no federal reimbursement program. Changing your EBT PIN regularly, avoiding unfamiliar terminals, and contacting the state EBT customer service line as soon as you spot an unauthorized charge are the practical protections; the state can issue a new card to stop further loss, but the funds already drained are gone.

Penalties for Fraud and Trafficking

Intentional program violations bring escalating disqualifications for the person involved:

First violation: one year of ineligibility.
Second violation: two years of ineligibility.
Third violation: permanent disqualification.

Two categories are treated more harshly. Trading SNAP benefits for controlled substances brings a two-year disqualification on the first offense and permanent disqualification on the second. Trading benefits for firearms, ammunition, or explosives brings permanent disqualification on the first offense.¹² During a disqualified member’s penalty period, the rest of the household does not receive a larger allotment to make up the loss.

Trafficking SNAP benefits is also a federal crime, with penalties scaled to the dollar amount:

$5,000 or more: felony, up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
$100 to $4,999: felony, up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on a first conviction.
Under $100: misdemeanor, up to one year in jail.

Those figures come directly from the penalty statute.¹³ Retailers caught trafficking benefits, selling prohibited items, or lying to the agency can be temporarily or permanently disqualified from accepting SNAP, hit with civil monetary penalties, or prosecuted.¹⁴

1
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
2
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2012 – Definitions
4
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
5
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
6
Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy
7
Food and Nutrition Service. Stores Accepting SNAP Online
8
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Restaurant Meals Program
9
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.12 – Reporting Requirements
10
Food and Nutrition Service. State SNAP Interview Toolkit
11
Food and Nutrition Service. Addressing Stolen SNAP Benefits
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2024 – Penalties
14
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Fraud Prevention