SNAP Allotment: The 30% Formula and FY2026 Maximums

SNAP benefits are calculated with one formula: the maximum allotment for your household size minus 30% of your net monthly income. Net income is what’s left after a series of deductions come off your gross earnings. If your net income is zero, you receive the full maximum, which in fiscal year 2026 ranges from $298 for a single person to $994 for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states.¹ Every dollar of net income above zero reduces that maximum by 30 cents.

The Two Income Tests That Come First

Before the formula runs, your household has to clear the income limits. Gross monthly income — everything earned before taxes or withholdings — must fall below 130% of the federal poverty level. Net monthly income, after deductions, must fall below 100% of the federal poverty level.² Your household is everyone who lives with you and normally buys and prepares food together; roommates who shop and cook separately don’t count, even at the same address.

FY2026 limits for common household sizes:³

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
6 people: $4,675 gross / $3,596 net
7 people: $5,271 gross / $4,055 net
8 people: $5,867 gross / $4,513 net

Households with a member age 60 or older, or a member with a disability, only have to pass the net income test.⁴ Many states also apply broad-based categorical eligibility, which raises or removes the gross income limit for households that receive certain other benefits. In those states, a household can qualify with gross income above 130% of poverty.⁵

Deductions: How Gross Income Becomes Net Income

The distance between gross and net is where the benefit is really decided. Each deduction lowers the income the 30% rule is applied to, so a household that overlooks a deduction ends up with a smaller monthly benefit.

Standard Deduction

Every household gets one automatically. FY2026 amounts in the 48 contiguous states:¹

1–3 people: $209
4 people: $223
5 people: $261
6 or more: $299

Earned Income Deduction

If anyone in the household has a job, 20% of gross earned income comes off the top.⁶ No receipts required; it applies automatically to earnings.

Dependent Care, Medical, and Child Support

Out-of-pocket dependent care that lets a household member work or attend training is deductible.⁶ Elderly or disabled household members can deduct unreimbursed medical expenses above $35 per month; that $35 threshold applies to the combined expenses of all elderly or disabled members, not to each person separately.⁴ Legally obligated child support payments are also deductible.

Excess Shelter Deduction

Shelter costs get their own deduction, but only the portion that runs unusually high relative to income. After all other deductions are applied, take half of what remains. If your rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities together exceed that half-income figure, the amount above it is your excess shelter deduction. For most households, it’s capped at $744 per month in FY2026.¹ Households with an elderly or disabled member face no cap and can deduct the full excess amount.⁶

Utilities are usually counted through a state-set standard utility allowance rather than actual bills. If all household members are homeless, a flat shelter deduction of $198.99 substitutes for documenting expenses.¹

The 30% Formula, Worked Out

Once deductions are subtracted, you have net monthly income. SNAP assumes a household will spend about 30% of that net income on food. The benefit closes the gap between that expected contribution and the maximum allotment for the household’s size.²

Maximum allotment − (net monthly income × 0.30) = monthly SNAP benefit.

A Family of Three

Take a three-person household with one worker earning $1,672 a month, $56 in monthly child care costs, and $1,198 a month in rent and utilities.

Start with $1,672 in gross income. Subtract the standard deduction ($209), the 20% earned income deduction ($334), and the child care deduction ($56). That leaves $1,073.

Now the shelter deduction. Half of $1,073 is $537. Shelter costs of $1,198 exceed that by $661. That $661 is under the $744 cap, so the full amount counts.

Net income: $1,073 − $661 = $412. Expected food contribution: $412 × 0.30 ≈ $124. Maximum allotment for a three-person household is $785. Final benefit: $785 − $124 = $661 per month.¹

Different numbers, same steps. If you’re not sure which deductions apply, ask your state SNAP office to walk through the math during your certification interview.

Maximum Allotments for FY2026

The maximum is what a household with zero net income receives. In the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., for FY2026:¹

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 for SNAP receive a minimum benefit even when the formula would produce a smaller figure. Federal regulations set it at 8% of the one-person maximum, rounded to the nearest dollar, which is $24 for FY2026.⁷ Households of three or more have no such floor; if the formula lands at $0, they don’t qualify.

Higher Allotments in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Food costs run substantially higher in these areas, and the USDA publishes separate tables. FY2026 maximums for a family of four:⁸

Alaska (urban): $1,285
Alaska (rural): $1,639 to $1,995 depending on the area
Hawaii: $1,689
Guam: $1,465
U.S. Virgin Islands: $1,278

Alaska is divided into urban, rural tier 1, and rural tier 2 zones. A single person in a remote rural Alaskan community can receive up to $598 per month, roughly double the contiguous-states maximum.⁸

When the Numbers Change

Every October 1, the USDA updates maximum allotments, deduction amounts, and income limits for the new fiscal year.⁹ The adjustments follow the Thrifty Food Plan, the USDA’s estimate of what a basic healthy diet costs for a family of four.¹⁰ When food prices rise, the maximums rise with them, and your monthly benefit can change even if your income doesn’t.

Your household is assigned a certification period, typically six months to a year, though elderly or disabled households sometimes receive longer. Before it ends, you’ll get a recertification packet; miss the deadline and benefits lapse, meaning a new application from scratch. Between recertifications, report significant changes in income or household size, since both feed directly into the calculation.

1
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
2
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
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USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Income Eligibility Standards
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Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
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Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
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eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions
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eCFR. 7 CFR 273.10 – Determining Household Eligibility and Benefit Levels
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USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotment Amounts for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands
9
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment Information
10
Food and Nutrition Service. Thrifty Food Plan, 2021