SNAP Income Chart: Household Limits, Deductions, and Assets

For federal fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 through September 2026), the SNAP income chart sets two limits tied to the federal poverty level: your household’s gross monthly income generally cannot exceed 130 percent of poverty, and your net monthly income after deductions cannot exceed 100 percent.¹ A single person can earn up to $1,696 gross and $1,305 net. A family of four can earn up to $3,483 gross and $2,680 net. Both tests must be met for most households.

FY2026 SNAP Income Limits by Household Size

These figures apply in the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Alaska and Hawaii use higher limits because living costs are higher.²

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
Each additional person: add $596 gross / $459 net

Gross income is what your household takes in before taxes or deductions. Net income is what remains after allowable deductions are subtracted. Households that include a member age 60 or older, or a person with a disability, only have to meet the net income limit; the gross test is waived for them.¹

How Your Household Size Is Counted

The row that applies to you depends on your SNAP household, which isn’t always the number of people at your address. A SNAP household is a group who live together and buy and prepare food together.³ A roommate who buys and cooks their own food separately can apply as a separate household.

Some people must be grouped together regardless of how they eat. Spouses living together are always one household. Children under 22 living with a parent are always in the parent’s household.³ A 23-year-old living with parents who shops and cooks on their own can apply alone; a 20-year-old in the same situation cannot.

When the Standard Chart Doesn’t Apply

The limits above are the standard federal thresholds, but many states have raised them through broad-based categorical eligibility, a policy that links SNAP to a state-funded benefit program. States using this approach can set gross income limits as high as 200 percent of poverty and can reduce or eliminate the asset test.⁴ A single person in one of those states could earn up to roughly $2,610 per month and still qualify, well above the $1,696 on the standard chart.

Whether your state uses the expanded limits changes the answer for working households near the cutoff. Your local SNAP office can tell you which limits apply where you live.⁵

What Counts as Income

SNAP treats income in two categories. Earned income is wages, salaries, and self-employment profits. Unearned income covers Social Security, unemployment, pensions, and child support received.⁶ Both count toward gross income on the chart.

Some money is excluded entirely: loans that must be repaid, one-time lump sums such as tax refunds, most educational financial aid, and payments to VISTA volunteers.⁶ Income that doesn’t fit neatly in a category is classified by the caseworker reviewing your application.

Deductions That Lower Your Net Income

The gap between the gross and net columns is where deductions come in. Even if your gross income sits right at the line, allowable deductions can push your net well below the threshold. They apply in a set order.

Standard and Earned Income Deductions

Every household gets a standard deduction based on size. For FY2026 in the 48 contiguous states, the amounts are $209 for one to three people, $223 for four, $261 for five, and $299 for six or more.⁷ Anyone with a job gets an additional 20 percent deduction from gross earned income. If you earn $2,000 in wages, $400 comes off before the net test.⁶

Shelter, Dependent Care, Medical, and Child Support

After the standard and earned income deductions, you can subtract dependent care costs necessary for work or training, with no federal cap. Legally obligated child support payments made for a child outside your SNAP household are also deductible.⁶

The excess shelter deduction applies when housing costs (rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities) exceed half of your income after the other deductions. You can deduct the amount over that 50 percent mark, capped at $744 per month in the 48 contiguous states for FY2026 for most households.⁷ Households with an elderly or disabled member have no cap on the shelter deduction, one reason those households often qualify at higher income levels.⁶

Elderly or disabled household members can also deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses above $35 per month, including prescriptions, medical equipment, and transportation to appointments. Other household members cannot claim this deduction.⁶

Asset Limits

Income isn’t the only test. FY2026 asset limits are $3,000 for most households and $4,500 for households that include someone age 60 or older or a person with a disability.¹ Countable resources include cash, checking and savings balances, and some investments. Your home is not counted. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs are excluded.⁸

Vehicle treatment varies by state, with federal rules giving states considerable flexibility. Common exclusions include vehicles used for work, vehicles used as a home, and vehicles that would sell for $1,500 or less. Most states with broad-based categorical eligibility waive the asset test altogether, so savings and vehicle equity don’t affect eligibility at all in those places.⁵ Without that waiver, a household with $3,100 in the bank is disqualified regardless of income.

When Meeting the Income Limits Isn’t Enough

Two groups have to clear additional hurdles beyond the chart.

College Students

Students enrolled at least half-time in higher education are generally ineligible for SNAP unless they meet a specific exemption. Working at least 20 hours per week in paid employment or participating in a federal or state work-study program qualifies. Students who are parents of young children, who receive TANF, or who are unable to work due to a disability are also exempt.⁹ Meeting the income limits alone doesn’t qualify a half-time student.

Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents

Most SNAP recipients ages 16 to 59 must register for work and accept suitable employment if offered. Stricter rules apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, the ABAWD age range expanded from 18 through 54 to 18 through 64. ABAWDs must work, volunteer, or participate in a training program at least 20 hours per week, or they are limited to three months of SNAP benefits in any three-year period.¹⁰

Exemptions from the ABAWD time limit include pregnant individuals, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, anyone caring for a child under six or an incapacitated household member, and people unable to work due to a physical or mental health condition. Students enrolled at least half-time and participants in substance abuse treatment programs are also exempt.¹⁰

1
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
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Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Income Eligibility Standards
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eCFR. 7 CFR 273.1 – Household Concept
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Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
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Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
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eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions
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Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
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Food and Nutrition Service. Excluded Retirement Accounts
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Food and Nutrition Service. Students
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Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements