The new food stamp requirements enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 expanded work rules to able-bodied adults through age 64, removed exemptions that had protected veterans, homeless individuals, former foster youth, and parents of older teens, and narrowed eligibility for noncitizens. These changes build on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which had already pushed the work-requirement age ceiling from 49 to 54. If you receive SNAP benefits or plan to apply in 2026, the rules you meet today are not the rules that were in place two years ago.
Who Now Has to Meet Work Requirements
Able-bodied adults without dependents, known as ABAWDs, can receive SNAP for only three months in any three-year period unless they meet a work requirement.1eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults Meeting that requirement means logging at least 80 hours per month of paid work, unpaid work, a qualifying work program such as SNAP Employment and Training, or any combination.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements Volunteer hours count.
The age range covered by these rules has grown in stages. The Fiscal Responsibility Act pushed the upper limit from 49 to 50 in September 2023, to 52 in October 2023, and to 54 in October 2024.3Federal Register. Program Purpose and Work Requirement Provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act The One Big Beautiful Bill Act then eliminated the exemption that had shielded adults aged 55 through 64. As a result, ABAWD work requirements now reach every able-bodied adult from 18 through 64 without qualifying dependents.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
Falling below 80 hours in any month costs you one of your three months. Once all three are used, benefits stop until you complete a full month at 80 hours or the three-year clock resets. State agencies track your hours through monthly reporting, so keep your own records.
The law also limited state waivers. States used to be able to waive work rules based on a shortage of jobs. That option is gone. Waivers are now available only where local unemployment exceeds 10 percent, with a special provision for Alaska and Hawaii through 2028.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements USDA is still developing detailed guidance, so some state procedures may continue to shift.
Exemptions That No Longer Apply
Several groups that had automatic protection from the ABAWD time limit lost it under the 2025 law. If you fall into any of these categories, you now face the 80-hour monthly requirement:
- Honorably discharged veterans, who had been exempt regardless of age.
- People experiencing homelessness, whose exemption had been designed to give them time to stabilize housing first.
- Former foster youth aged 18 to 24 who were in care at 18.
- Adults aged 55 through 64.
- Parents whose youngest dependent child is older than 13. The exemption now covers only households with a dependent child aged 13 or younger.
If one of these categories previously kept you off the time-limit clock, treat your next recertification as the point at which the new rules take hold in your case.
Exemptions That Still Protect You
Not every SNAP recipient has to meet the work rules. The following exemptions survived the 2025 changes:
- Physical or mental health limitations that prevent work. Your caseworker will typically ask for documentation from a medical provider.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
- Pregnancy.
- Responsibility for a dependent child aged 13 or younger.
- Age 65 or older.
- Individuals defined as Indian, Urban Indian, or Californian Indian under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This is a new exemption added by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Exemptions are not always applied automatically. Raise them yourself during the eligibility interview, especially the medical exemption, which will not be granted without supporting paperwork.
Income Limits for 2026
SNAP uses two income tests. Gross monthly income (before taxes and deductions) generally cannot exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty level. Net monthly income (after allowed deductions) cannot exceed 100 percent of the poverty level.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions For fiscal year 2026, the limits in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. are:5Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Income Eligibility Standards
- 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
- 5 people: $4,079 gross / $3,138 net
- Each additional person: add $596 gross / $459 net
Households with at least one member aged 60 or older or disabled get a break: they skip the gross income test and only need to pass the net income test.6Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled For a household living on Social Security, this can be decisive.
Deductions and What Changed
Deductions are what move you from gross to net income, and a few of them shifted under the 2025 law. The main deductions are:7Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
- A 20 percent earned income deduction, applied automatically.
- A standard deduction of $209 per month for households of one to three, with higher figures for larger households and for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Dependent care costs when needed so a household member can work or train.
- Excess shelter costs (rent, mortgage, taxes, utilities) above half your income after other deductions, capped at $744 per month. The cap does not apply if the household includes an elderly or disabled member.
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses above $35 per month for elderly or disabled members.6Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
Two changes are worth flagging. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act excluded internet service fees from counting as a shelter or utility cost, so those bills no longer feed the shelter deduction. The law also stripped the automatic heating and cooling standard utility allowance from households without an elderly or disabled member, which can shrink the shelter deduction for other recipients.
Asset Limits
SNAP also considers countable resources such as cash and bank balances. Federal limits sit at $3,000 for most households and $4,500 if any member is 60 or older or disabled.7Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility Your home and most retirement accounts do not count.
Many states use broad-based categorical eligibility to raise or waive these limits. That policy remains in place as of mid-2026, though the current administration has signaled it may curtail it through regulation. If your state has been applying looser rules, watch its announcements: a rollback could push households with modest savings back over the federal limit.
Citizenship and Immigration Status
The 2025 law narrowed noncitizen eligibility. SNAP now covers U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and individuals from countries with a Compact of Free Association with the United States. If you previously qualified under a different immigration category, check with your local SNAP office to confirm whether you remain eligible.
Keeping Your Benefits After Approval
SNAP benefits run for a set certification period, usually 6 or 12 months depending on your household. Households where every member is elderly or disabled and has no earned income may get a longer period. Before your certification ends, you must file a recertification application and complete another interview. Miss either step and your case closes when the period expires.
Between recertifications, you must report significant household changes. The key trigger: if your income climbs above 130 percent of the federal poverty level, report it promptly. Some households on simplified reporting only report at the midpoint of their certification period; others have 10 days to report changes. Your approval notice will say which applies to you.
Missed recertification is one of the most common reasons people lose benefits, and reinstatement is not retroactive. Any gap between an expired certification and a new approval is a gap without benefits. Put the deadline on your calendar as soon as your approval notice arrives.
Penalties for Fraud
Intentional program violations, such as misreporting income or household size, carry escalating disqualification periods:8eCFR. 7 CFR 273.16 – Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation
- First violation: 12-month disqualification.
- Second violation: 24-month disqualification.
- Third violation: permanent disqualification.
Trafficking benefits, meaning selling or exchanging them for cash or other items worth $500 or more, brings a permanent disqualification on the first offense.8eCFR. 7 CFR 273.16 – Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation Disqualifications apply only to the individual who committed the violation, and other eligible household members can keep receiving benefits.
Overpayments that come from honest mistakes are treated separately from fraud but still must be repaid, typically through a reduction in your monthly benefit until the balance is cleared. If you think an overpayment finding is wrong, you can request a fair hearing to challenge it.