For SNAP, federal asset limits cap a household’s countable resources at $3,000, or $4,500 if at least one member is age 60 or older or has a qualifying disability. Those are the FY 2026 figures under 7 CFR 273.8(b), adjusted annually for inflation from base amounts of $2,000 and $3,000.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility But the limits matter less than they look: roughly 40 states have used a federal waiver to eliminate the asset test altogether, so whether your savings actually affect eligibility depends on where you live.
The Federal Dollar Limits
The cap that applies to your household is $4,500 if any member is at least 60 years old or receives qualifying disability benefits, and $3,000 for everyone else. Only one member needs to meet the age or disability criterion to move the whole household to the higher figure, and that person doesn’t have to be the applicant or head of household.
USDA recognizes a member as disabled for SNAP purposes if they receive federal disability or blindness payments under Social Security (including SSI and SSDI), comparable state disability payments, a government disability retirement benefit for a permanent condition, or certain Railroad Retirement Act annuities with Medicare eligibility. Veterans rated as totally disabled, permanently homebound, or in need of regular aid and attendance also qualify, along with certain surviving spouses and children receiving VA benefits based on permanent disability.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
Your countable resources must stay below the applicable cap when you apply and throughout your certification period.
What Counts Toward the Limit
Countable resources are things you could turn into food money: cash on hand, checking and savings balances, savings certificates, stocks, bonds, and other investments you can reach quickly.3eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards Non-liquid property such as land, buildings, and recreational property counts too, unless it falls under a specific exclusion. For non-exempt, non-vehicle property, the program uses equity value: fair market value minus what you owe.
The organizing question is accessibility. If you can practically get to the money, it counts. If you can’t, it usually doesn’t.
What Doesn’t Count
Several categories of property are excluded outright, regardless of value.
Your Home and Personal Belongings
Your primary residence and the lot it sits on are fully exempt, even if the home is worth a great deal. The exemption survives a temporary absence for work, job training, illness, or a natural disaster that made the home uninhabitable, as long as you intend to return. If you own or are buying a lot where you plan to build a home, that lot is also excluded.3eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards
Household goods, clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal effects don’t count. Neither does the cash value of life insurance. One burial plot and one funeral agreement per household member are also exempt.
Retirement Accounts
Most tax-advantaged retirement savings are excluded. USDA guidance specifically lists 401(k) plans (including Simple 401(k)s), traditional and Roth IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs among the excluded account types.4USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Resources Exclusion Chart You are not expected to drain long-term savings and trigger early withdrawal penalties to get temporary food help.
Money You Can’t Actually Reach
Resources with a cash value you can’t get to are excluded. Common examples include irrevocable trust funds, security deposits on rental property or utilities, property tied up in probate, and real estate you’re actively trying to sell at a reasonable price.5eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards For property listed for sale, the state agency can check that you haven’t turned down a reasonable offer. Trust funds are treated as inaccessible when no household member can revoke the trust or change the beneficiary during the certification period, and the trustee is a court or an independent institution.
How Vehicles Are Treated
Vehicles go through a two-part test under 7 CFR 273.8(f). The agency looks at fair market value, and any amount above $4,650 counts against the resource limit regardless of what you owe. It also looks at equity value (fair market value minus the loan balance). Whichever number is higher counts as your resource.6eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards The $4,650 threshold has been fixed since 1996 and has never been adjusted for inflation, so even a modest car can trigger the fair market value test in states that still apply it.
Several vehicles come off the table entirely:
- One licensed vehicle per adult household member, regardless of how it’s used.
- Vehicles used for work, such as making deliveries or calling on clients, or required by the terms of employment.
- Any vehicle serving as the household’s primary residence.
- One vehicle per physically disabled household member, if it’s needed to transport that person. No special equipment required, and the purpose of the trip doesn’t matter.
States often align their vehicle rules with their TANF policies, which are frequently more generous than the federal baseline. In states that have waived the asset test, vehicle values generally don’t matter at all.
Lump Sums and the Lottery Rule
One-time payments like insurance settlements, retroactive benefits, or tax refunds are excluded from income under federal rules. Once the money lands in your bank account, though, it counts as a resource in the month received.7Food and Nutrition Service. Treatment of Medical Loss Ratio Rebates A deposit that pushes you over $3,000 (or $4,500) can cost you eligibility for that month in a state that applies the asset test. In a state that has waived the test, a lump sum sitting in your account generally won’t affect eligibility.
Lottery and gambling winnings are the exception, and this rule applies everywhere. Under the 2014 Farm Bill, if any household member receives winnings equal to or greater than the elderly/disabled resource cap (currently $4,500) in a single occurrence, the entire household loses SNAP eligibility until it can show it meets both resource and income limits again.8Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP – Reporting of Lottery and Gambling, and Resource Verification The threshold is per win, not cumulative, and a state waiver of the asset test does not override it.
Transferring Assets to Qualify
Giving away or selling property below fair market value to get under the limit is treated as fraud. At application, households have to disclose any resources transferred in the three months before filing. If a caseworker finds a household member knowingly transferred resources to qualify, the household can be disqualified for up to a year from the date the transfer is discovered.5eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards
The disqualification period scales with how far over the limit the transferred amount would have put you. Transfers that wouldn’t have affected eligibility anyway, because the asset was exempt or the total would still be under the cap, don’t trigger a penalty. Selling property at fair market value is fine, and moving money between members of the same household doesn’t count as a transfer.
Why Your State Probably Doesn’t Apply the Asset Test
Most states have used a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility to waive the federal resource test. A state can extend categorical eligibility to households that receive any non-cash benefit funded by TANF, and that “benefit” can be something as slight as an informational brochure, a referral to a helpline, or a flyer about community services.9Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
As of August 2025, 45 states and territories use broad-based categorical eligibility. Roughly 40 have eliminated the asset limit entirely, so bank balances, vehicle values, and other property don’t affect SNAP eligibility. A handful set their own higher asset caps, such as $5,000, rather than dropping the test completely.10USDA Food and Nutrition Service. BBCE Table – August 2025
Where the test has been waived, eligibility turns on income. Applicants still have to meet gross and net income thresholds, but caseworkers skip verifying bank statements, property values, and vehicle equity. If you’re unsure which rules apply where you live, your local SNAP office or the USDA’s BBCE table can tell you.