The SNAP benefits update for fiscal year 2026 raised maximum monthly allotments, lifted income limits with the annual cost-of-living adjustment, extended stricter work rules to adults through age 54, and left a real gap where the federal stolen-benefit replacement program used to be. A single person in the 48 contiguous states can now receive up to $298 a month; a household of four, up to $994. The changes took effect October 1, 2025 and run through September 30, 2026.
New Maximum Monthly Allotments
These are the ceilings. Most households receive less, because SNAP expects you to contribute about 30 percent of your own net income toward food. For FY 2026 in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., the maximums are:1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
- 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
Alaska and Hawaii have higher allotments to reflect higher food costs. A one- or two-person household that qualifies but calculates to less than $24 a month still receives a minimum benefit of $24.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
New Income and Resource Limits
Most households have to pass two income tests: gross monthly income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, and net monthly income (after deductions) at or below 100 percent. Households where every member is elderly or disabled only need to pass the net test.2eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions
For FY 2026 in the 48 contiguous states, the monthly limits are:1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
- 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 without an elderly or disabled member can hold up to $3,000 in countable resources such as cash and bank balances. That ceiling rises to $4,500 when a household includes someone age 60 or older or a person with a disability.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
One boundary worth knowing: these federal numbers are a floor. Forty-six states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility, which lets them raise the gross income limit as high as 200 percent of the poverty level and eliminate or raise the asset test. If your income is above the standard 130 percent threshold, don’t assume you’re out. Check with your state SNAP office.
How Your Benefit Amount Is Calculated
The formula is straightforward. Take your household’s net monthly income, multiply by 0.30, and subtract that from the maximum allotment for your household size. What’s left is your monthly benefit. A household with zero net income gets the full maximum. A three-person household with $800 in net income calculates $240 as its expected food contribution, subtracts that from $785, and receives $545.
Deductions matter because they lower net income and raise the benefit. For FY 2026 in the 48 contiguous states, the standard deduction is $209 a month for households of one to three people, $223 for four-person households, and $261 for five-person households.4Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions On top of that, you can deduct 20 percent of earned income, out-of-pocket dependent care, legally owed child support, medical expenses above $35 per month for elderly or disabled members, and excess shelter costs.
Expanded Work Requirements for Adults Through Age 54
SNAP has always expected most working-age adults to register for work and accept suitable jobs. A tougher rule applies to a narrower group called able-bodied adults without dependents. If you’re in that group, you can receive SNAP for only three months in any 36-month period unless you work or take part in a qualifying activity for at least 80 hours a month.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 expanded who’s covered. The old ceiling was age 49. The law phased in a higher one, and as of October 2024 the requirement reaches adults through age 54.6Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements If you’re between 50 and 54 and don’t fall under an exemption, the three-month clock now applies to you.
What Counts Toward the 80 Hours
You don’t need a traditional job to satisfy the rule. Paid employment, unpaid work, volunteer hours, SNAP Employment and Training program participation, and other federal, state, or local work programs all count. Hours from different activities can be combined to hit the monthly total.6Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
New Exemptions
The same law created three new exemption categories. Veterans who served in any branch of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, are exempt regardless of age or discharge status. Adults experiencing homelessness are exempt. Adults age 24 or younger who aged out of foster care are exempt.7Federal Register. Program Purpose and Work Requirement Provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 All three are set to sunset on October 1, 2030, unless Congress extends them.
The longstanding exemptions still apply: anyone under 18 or over 65, people medically certified as unfit for employment, pregnant individuals, parents or household members responsible for a child under 14, and members of certain tribal nations.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
Federal Replacement of Stolen Benefits Has Expired
This is the change most likely to catch households off guard. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 created the first federal process for replacing SNAP benefits stolen through card skimming, cloning, and similar electronic theft.8Reginfo.gov. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Replacement of Stolen Benefits It covered thefts occurring between October 2022 and September 2024, and through the first half of FY 2024 states processed roughly 247,000 claims and replaced about $95 million.
The congressional authority behind that program expired on December 20, 2024. State SNAP offices are no longer accepting new claims for stolen benefit replacement, and no federal reimbursement mechanism currently exists for EBT theft victims.9Food and Nutrition Service. Replacing Stolen SNAP Benefits – State Plan Approvals If your benefits are stolen today, there is no guaranteed federal process to make you whole.
The Chip EBT Card Rollout
USDA’s longer-term answer to card theft is the transition from magnetic stripe EBT cards to chip-enabled ones. Magnetic stripes can be copied by skimmers at checkout terminals; chip cards generate a unique code for each transaction, which is much harder to clone.
Several states have begun issuing chip EBT cards, and SNAP retailers in bordering states are expected to accept them.10Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP EBT Modernization There’s no single federal deadline for the switch, so the timing depends on your state. Until your card is replaced, cover the PIN pad when you enter your number and look for loose or unusual card readers at checkout. With federal replacement gone, prevention is what you have.