SNAP Income Guidelines: Gross, Net, Deductions, and Asset Limits

To qualify for SNAP in fiscal year 2026, a one-person household must have gross monthly income at or below $1,696 and net monthly income at or below $1,305. The limits rise with household size, and the USDA updates them every October. Gross income is what your household brings in before taxes; net income is what remains after SNAP’s allowed deductions for things like housing, child care, and, for some households, medical costs. Most applicants have to clear both tests, but households with an elderly or disabled member only have to pass the net test. Below are the current SNAP income limits, how the net calculation works, and the exceptions that can change the answer.

Gross Monthly Income Limits for FY 2026

Gross monthly income has to sit at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level for your household size.¹ For October 2025 through September 2026, the caps in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. are:²

1 person: $1,696
2 people: $2,292
3 people: $2,888
4 people: $3,483
5 people: $4,079
6 people: $4,675
7 people: $5,271
8 people: $5,867
Each additional person: add $596

Gross income counts wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security, pensions, unemployment, and most other recurring income. If your total lands above the cap for your household size, the application ordinarily stops there. The exception is households that include someone 60 or older or someone with a disability, which skip the gross test entirely.

Net Monthly Income Limits and How Deductions Work

Net income has to fall at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level after SNAP’s allowed deductions.³ The FY 2026 net caps are:²

1 person: $1,305
2 people: $1,763
3 people: $2,221
4 people: $2,680
5 people: $3,138
6 people: $3,596
7 people: $4,055
8 people: $4,513
Each additional person: add $459

Six deductions come off gross income before your net figure is set.³ Every household gets a flat standard deduction, which for FY 2026 runs from $209 for households of one to three people up to $299 for households of six or more.⁴ Twenty percent of wages and self-employment income comes off automatically as the earned income deduction.¹ Dependent care costs count when the care lets someone in the household work, look for work, or attend training. Child support paid to someone outside the household is deductible. Excess shelter costs come off when rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities together run higher than half of your income after the other deductions; for households without an elderly or disabled member, the shelter deduction is capped at $744 per month in FY 2026. Finally, elderly and disabled members can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 per month.⁵

Deductions matter. A household that looks over the limit on gross wages can land well under the net cap once housing, child care, and the standard and earned income deductions are subtracted. The net figure, not the gross, drives your benefit amount.

Different Rules for Elderly and Disabled Households

If at least one member of your household is 60 or older or meets the federal definition of disabled, two things change. The gross income test is waived, so you only have to pass the net test.³ A single 62-year-old with $1,800 in gross monthly income can still qualify if deductions bring the net below $1,305.

These households also get the medical expense deduction. Anything above $35 per month in out-of-pocket costs paid by the elderly or disabled member counts, including prescriptions, dental work, hearing aids, insurance premiums, service animal expenses, and transportation to appointments.⁵ You will need receipts or bills to document them. The $744 shelter deduction cap also doesn’t apply, so the full excess amount can come off regardless of how high your housing costs run.

Asset Limits

Income isn’t the only screen on paper. Federal rules cap countable resources at $3,000 for most households and $4,500 if a member is 60 or older or has a disability.⁴ Countable resources include cash, checking, savings, and certain investments. Your home, most personal belongings, and retirement accounts are excluded.

In most of the country, the asset test doesn’t actually apply. As of 2025, 46 states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility, which effectively waives the resource test for SNAP applicants by linking eligibility to a TANF-funded benefit.⁶ Households in those states still go through the full income test. In the four states without this policy, the federal asset caps apply in full.

Work Requirements That Can Override Income Eligibility

Meeting the income limits isn’t always enough. Most adults between 16 and 59 must register for work, agree to accept a suitable job, and not voluntarily quit a job of 30 or more hours per week without good cause.⁷ You’re exempt if you are under 16 or 60 and older, physically or mentally unable to work, caring for a child under 6 or an incapacitated household member, receiving unemployment, enrolled at least half-time as a student, or already working 30 or more hours a week.

A stricter rule applies to able-bodied adults without dependents. If you are 18 to 54, have no dependents, and don’t qualify for an exemption, benefits are limited to three months in any three-year period unless you work or participate in a training program for at least 80 hours per month.⁸ Those 80 hours can come from paid work, volunteering, or approved education or training. Any month you fall short counts against your three-month total. Once those are gone, benefits stop until you hit the hours or the three-year clock resets.

What SNAP Actually Pays

Income limits set the door; net income sets the check. Households with very low net income get the maximum allotment for their size, and the amount phases down as net income rises. For FY 2026 in the 48 contiguous states, monthly maximums are:⁴

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: add $218

The formula subtracts 30 percent of your net income from the maximum for your household size, on the assumption that households spend about 30 percent of their own resources on food. Benefits in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are set higher to reflect local food costs.

1
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
2
United States Department of Agriculture. SNAP FY2026 Income Eligibility Standards
3
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions
4
United States Department of Agriculture. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
5
Food and Nutrition Service. A Guide to the Treatment of Medical Expenses for Elderly or Disabled Household Members
6
Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE)
7
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
8
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults