USDA Food and Nutrition Service Income Thresholds by Program

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service sets income thresholds by program using a single anchor — the federal poverty guidelines published each year by HHS — then applies a different multiplier to each program. Free school meals, SNAP’s gross income test, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and FDPIR generally use 130 percent of the guidelines. Reduced-price school meals, WIC, and the baseline for TEFAP use 185 percent. SNAP’s net income test uses 100 percent, and states can push SNAP eligibility as high as 200 percent through broad-based categorical eligibility. Once you know your household’s position relative to the poverty line, you can read every FNS program’s cutoff from the same ruler.

The 2026 Poverty Guideline Baseline

Every FNS threshold is calculated from the HHS poverty guidelines and rounded upward. For 2026, the annual figures for the 48 contiguous states and D.C. are:¹

1 person: $15,960
2 people: $21,640
3 people: $27,320
4 people: $33,000
5 people: $38,680
6 people: $44,360
7 people: $50,040
8 people: $55,720

Each additional household member adds $5,680. Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines: for a four-person household, the baseline is $41,250 in Alaska and $37,950 in Hawaii.¹

School Meal Thresholds: 130 and 185 Percent

The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program have two income tiers. A household at or below 130 percent of poverty qualifies for free meals; between 130 and 185 percent, for reduced-price meals. The 2026–2027 Income Eligibility Guidelines, effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, reflect a 2.6 percent increase over the prior year.²

Annual limits for the 48 contiguous states, D.C., Guam, and U.S. territories:³

1 person: $20,748 free / $29,526 reduced-price
2 people: $28,132 / $40,034
3 people: $35,516 / $50,542
4 people: $42,900 / $61,050
5 people: $50,284 / $71,558
6 people: $57,668 / $82,066
7 people: $65,052 / $92,574
8 people: $72,436 / $103,082

Each additional member adds $7,384 for free meals or $10,508 for reduced-price. FNS also publishes monthly, twice-monthly, biweekly, and weekly versions so schools can match a family’s pay frequency. A four-person household qualifies for free meals at monthly income up to $3,575 or weekly income up to $825.³

Households report gross income before taxes for every member, including wages, self-employment income, Social Security and SSI, pensions, disability and veterans’ benefits, unemployment, child support, alimony, and welfare payments. SNAP, FDPIR, and WIC benefits are not counted, and neither are military housing allowances under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, combat pay tied to deployment, federal education benefits, or foster care payments.⁴

SNAP: Gross and Net Income Tests

SNAP applies two income tests for most households. For October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, in the 48 contiguous states, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a household of four must have monthly gross income at or below $3,483 (130 percent of poverty) and monthly net income at or below $2,680 (100 percent).⁵

Households with a member age 60 or older or a disabled member skip the gross income test and only need to meet the net standard. Net income is gross income minus a set of allowable deductions: a 20 percent earned-income deduction, a standard deduction, dependent care costs, and excess shelter expenses. Asset limits run $3,000 for most households and $4,500 when a member is elderly or disabled.⁵

These federal numbers are not the whole story. Forty-six states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE), which raises or removes the asset test and often raises the gross income ceiling. Twenty-seven states set the BBCE gross income limit at 200 percent of the poverty guidelines; others use 185, 175, 165, 160, or 150 percent.⁶ Working families with income above the standard 130 percent cap can still qualify in those states.⁷

WIC: 185 Percent of Poverty

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children caps eligibility at 185 percent of poverty, the same threshold as reduced-price school meals. Both come from the same statutory authority in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.⁸

Annual limits for July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, in the 48 contiguous states:⁹

1 person: $29,526
2 people: $40,034
4 people: $61,050
8 people: $103,082

Alaska and Hawaii again run higher: $76,313 and $70,208, respectively, for a four-person household.⁹

FDPIR, TEFAP, CSFP, and Summer EBT

FDPIR. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations gives USDA commodity foods to low-income households on reservations as an alternative to SNAP. For fiscal year 2026, net monthly income limits in the 48 contiguous states run from $1,514 for one person to $4,812 for eight, with $459 per additional member. Deductions mirror SNAP’s: 20 percent earned income, dependent care, child support, medical costs for elderly or disabled members, and shelter or utility expenses.¹⁰

TEFAP. The Emergency Food Assistance Program distributes USDA food through food banks and pantries, and its income limits are set by each state. Federal rules require a floor of 185 percent of poverty; states may go up to 300 percent, or higher with FNS approval. Illinois uses 300 percent, so a four-person household there qualifies with monthly gross income up to $8,038.¹¹ At the federal 185 percent floor, the 2026 annual limit for a four-person household is $61,050.¹²

CSFP. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides monthly food packages to seniors 60 and older. Income eligibility is capped at 130 percent of poverty, with each state setting specific limits within that ceiling.¹³

Summer EBT. Summer EBT gives families with school-age children grocery benefits during the summer. Eligibility tracks the school meal standards: a child qualifies if household income meets the free or reduced-price cutoff, or if the child is categorically eligible through SNAP, TANF, or FDPIR.¹⁴

How the Thresholds Stack for One Household

Because the same poverty guidelines anchor every program, the cutoffs line up predictably. Take a four-person household in the contiguous states:

At $33,000 or less (100 percent of poverty), it meets the SNAP net income test and the FDPIR standard.
At $42,900 or less (130 percent), it qualifies for free school meals, CSFP, and the SNAP gross income test.
At $61,050 or less (185 percent), it qualifies for reduced-price school meals, WIC, and TEFAP at the federal floor.
In a BBCE state using 200 percent, it can still qualify for SNAP at up to $66,000.

One qualification cascades into others. A child in a household that receives SNAP, TANF, or FDPIR is automatically eligible for free school meals and Summer EBT and does not need a separate income determination. Foster children, Head Start participants, and children classified as homeless, migrant, or runaway are also categorically eligible.¹⁵ State agencies match SNAP, TANF, and FDPIR enrollment data against school rosters to certify these students automatically through direct certification; SNAP direct certification has been mandatory for all school districts since the 2008–2009 school year.¹⁶

In high-poverty areas, the income test disappears altogether. Schools with an Identified Student Percentage of at least 25 percent can opt into the Community Eligibility Provision and serve breakfast and lunch free to every enrolled student, with no household applications.¹⁷

Changes on the Horizon

Several proposals in the 119th Congress would move the thresholds. The Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025 (H.R. 2680) would raise the free meal threshold from 130 to 224 percent of poverty, eliminate the reduced-price tier, allow states to directly certify students through Medicaid data, and increase the CEP reimbursement multiplier from 1.6 to 2.5.¹⁸

The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 (H.R. 8798), introduced in May 2026 by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ilhan Omar, would provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to every student regardless of income, cancel existing school meal debt, and raise reimbursement rates. Vermont, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, and New York have already enacted their own universal school meal laws.¹⁹

Moving the other direction, an anticipated Trump Administration regulation would eliminate SNAP’s broad-based categorical eligibility. Analysts estimate roughly 6 million people would lose SNAP benefits, including 1.8 million children who would also lose automatic access to free school meals and Summer EBT.⁷

1
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – Detailed
2
Federal Register. Child Nutrition Programs Income Eligibility Guidelines
3
Texas Department of Agriculture – Square Meals. 2026-2027 Income Eligibility Guidelines
4
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Applying for Free and Reduced Price School Meals
5
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
6
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
7
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. SNAP’s Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility Supports Working Families and Older Adults
8
Federal Register. WIC 2026-2027 Income Eligibility Guidelines
9
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. WIC 2026-2027 Income Eligibility Guidelines
10
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. FDPIR Net Monthly Income Standards
11
Illinois Department of Human Services. TEFAP Income Guidelines
12
USDA. TEFAP Income Guidelines 2026
13
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. CSFP Applicant and Recipient Information
14
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Summer EBT
15
EveryCRS Report. School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs
16
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program
17
Food Research & Action Center. Community Eligibility
18
U.S. Congress. H.R.2680 – Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025
19
Office of Rep. Ilhan Omar. Sanders, Omar, More Than 100 Colleagues Introduce Legislation to End Child Hunger