The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, gives eligible low-income households a monthly food budget loaded onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that works like a debit card at grocery stores and farmers’ markets. The program is federally funded through the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, but each state runs its own application process, conducts interviews, and issues the cards. A single person in most states can qualify with gross monthly income below $1,696 and may receive up to $298 per month in fiscal year 2026.
Who Qualifies
Most households must pass two income tests. Gross income (before deductions) cannot exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty level, and net income (after allowable deductions) cannot exceed 100 percent of the poverty level.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility Households where every member is elderly (60 or older) or disabled only need to meet the net income test.
For fiscal year 2026, in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., a one-person household can have up to $1,696 gross and $1,305 net per month. For two people the limits are $2,292 and $1,763; for a family of four, $3,483 and $2,680. Each additional person adds $596 gross and $459 net.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
The gap between gross and net matters. Allowable deductions include a standard 20 percent deduction from earned income, dependent care costs tied to work or training, medical expenses over $35 per month for elderly or disabled members, and excess shelter costs above half of the household’s adjusted income.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility A household that looks over the gross limit sometimes qualifies once rent and childcare come out.
Resource Limits
Countable resources like cash and bank balances are capped at $3,000 for most households, or $4,500 if any member is 60 or older or has a disability.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility Vehicles may or may not count depending on how the household uses them. In practice, 46 states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility, which raises or eliminates the asset limit for households receiving certain TANF-funded benefits.3Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility State policies are shifting as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 is implemented, so check with your local office for current rules.
Work Requirements
Non-exempt recipients between 16 and 59 must register for work, accept suitable job offers, and avoid quitting without good cause. Stricter rules apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), who must work or train at least 80 hours a month or lose benefits after three months in any three-year period.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults The 2025 law expanded the ABAWD age range from 54 up to 64, pulling more adults into the 80-hour rule. Exemptions still cover people who are medically unfit for work, pregnant, caring for a child or incapacitated household member, or already meeting the requirement through a state employment and training program.5eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
College Students
Students enrolled at least half-time in a college, university, or trade school are generally ineligible unless they meet a specific exemption.6Food and Nutrition Service. Students Common exemptions include working 20 or more hours a week, participating in federal or state work-study, caring for a child under 6, being under 18 or age 50 and older, receiving TANF, or being placed in college through a SNAP employment and training program or similar workforce program. Students enrolled less than half-time follow the standard rules with no student restrictions. The school defines what half-time means.
Non-Citizens
As of July 4, 2025, SNAP eligibility for non-citizens is limited to lawful permanent residents (green card holders), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of nations with a Compact of Free Association (Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia), along with U.S. citizens and nationals.7Food and Nutrition Service. OBBB Implementation Memo – SNAP Eligibility for Non-Citizens Green card holders generally wait five years before they can receive benefits, with exceptions for LPRs under 18, those with 40 qualifying work quarters, and those receiving disability-based benefits. Refugees, asylees, trafficking victims, Afghan and Ukrainian parolees, and battered immigrants no longer qualify unless they hold or obtain LPR status. All non-citizens who do qualify must still meet every other SNAP requirement.
How Much You Can Get
Your benefit is not a flat payment. The state starts with the maximum monthly allotment for your household size and subtracts 30 percent of your net monthly income, on the assumption that households will spend about 30 percent of their own resources on food. A household with zero net income receives the full maximum.
For fiscal year 2026 in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., the maximum monthly allotments are $298 for one person, $546 for two, $785 for three, $994 for four, and up to $1,789 for eight, with $218 added for each additional member.8Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions Alaska and Hawaii have higher allotments to reflect food costs.
Here’s how the math works. A household of three with $1,200 in net monthly income has 30 percent of that ($360) subtracted from the $785 maximum, leaving $425 a month. One- and two-person households that would otherwise receive less than $24 are bumped up to a $24 minimum benefit.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
How to Apply
Applications go through your state SNAP agency, which may be called the Department of Social Services, Department of Human Services, or something similar depending on where you live. Most states let you apply online, by mail, or in person. The application asks for names, Social Security numbers, and income for everyone in your household, along with monthly expenses for shelter, utilities, dependent care, and medical costs for elderly or disabled members.9Social Security Administration. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Facts
Gather your verification documents before applying. You’ll typically need proof of identity (driver’s license, state ID, or birth certificate), proof of income (recent pay stubs or benefit letters), and proof of housing costs (lease, rent receipts, or utility bills). Elderly or disabled members claiming medical deductions should collect receipts or statements for out-of-pocket health expenses.9Social Security Administration. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Facts
The Interview and Timeline
Once you file, a caseworker will conduct an eligibility interview, usually by phone, covering income, household composition, and expenses. Someone in the household or an authorized representative must complete it. Federal rules require a decision within 30 calendar days of the filing date.10eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2 – Office Operations and Application Processing
Households in urgent need get expedited processing. If your household has less than $150 in gross monthly income and no more than $100 in liquid resources, the agency must load benefits onto your card within seven calendar days.10eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2 – Office Operations and Application Processing An approval notice explains your benefit amount and certification period. A denial notice explains why and describes your right to a fair hearing.
Using Your EBT Card
Benefits land on an EBT card that you use with a PIN at authorized retailers. Most states stagger deposits across the month based on your case number, with benefits typically arriving between the 1st and the 28th.
You can buy most foods and beverages intended for home preparation: bread, produce, meat, dairy, canned goods, snack foods, nonalcoholic drinks, and seeds and plants to grow food at home.11eCFR. 7 CFR 271.2 – Definitions States cannot charge sales tax on food purchased with SNAP.
You cannot use SNAP for alcohol or tobacco, vitamins, medicines, or supplements (anything with a Supplement Facts label), hot prepared foods meant for immediate consumption at the store, or non-food items like cleaning supplies, paper products, pet food, and toiletries.12Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy?
A few states run a Restaurant Meals Program that lets certain recipients buy prepared meals at participating restaurants. To qualify, every member of your household must be elderly, disabled, or homeless. The state codes your card to allow restaurant purchases; cards without the coding are declined at those terminals.13Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Restaurant Meals Program
Keeping Your Benefits
Approval is not the end. You must report certain changes within 10 days: gaining or losing a household member, a significant income increase, or changes in address or shelter costs.14eCFR. 7 CFR 273.12 – Reporting Requirements Failing to report changes that would have reduced your benefit can trigger an overpayment claim.
Certification periods usually run 6 to 12 months, or up to 24 months for households where all adults are elderly or disabled.15eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 – Certification of Eligible Households Before that window closes, you have to recertify with updated financial information and a new interview. Miss the deadline and your benefits stop, even if you’re still eligible. Most agencies send a reminder, but the responsibility is yours.
A Note on Misuse
Intentionally misrepresenting your income, household size, or other information counts as an intentional program violation and can disqualify you from SNAP for a year on the first offense, two years on the second, and permanently on the third.16eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 Subpart F – Disqualification and Claims Trafficking benefits of $500 or more, or using them in transactions involving controlled substances or firearms, triggers a permanent ban on the first offense. Fraud can also be prosecuted as a federal crime under 7 USC 2024.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2024 – Violations and Enforcement Overpayments from honest mistakes or agency errors are handled less severely, but the state will still recover the amount by reducing future benefits or, if you’re no longer on SNAP, by referring the debt for offset against federal payments like tax refunds.