What Income Level Qualifies for Food Stamps?

To qualify for food stamps in most of the United States, your household’s gross monthly income generally must be at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, and your net income (after deductions) must be at or below 100%. For fiscal year 2026, that gross ceiling is $1,696 a month for a single person and $3,483 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.¹ What income level qualifies you for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) depends on how many people are in your household, how much of your income counts, what deductions you claim, and whether your state uses looser rules than the federal minimum.

SNAP Income Limits by Household Size for FY 2026

The following monthly limits apply from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia:¹

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

Add $596 to the gross limit and $459 to the net limit for each additional person beyond eight. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands use higher thresholds. These figures update every October with the federal poverty guidelines.

The Two Income Tests

Most households have to pass both a gross income test and a net income test. Gross income is everything coming in before taxes or payroll deductions. Net income is what remains after SNAP-allowed deductions are applied. Households that include someone age 60 or older, or someone with a disability, skip the gross test entirely and only need to meet the net income limit.²

Your household size is the group of people who normally buy food and prepare meals together, not just everyone living at the same address. Roommates who shop and cook separately can apply as separate households. Spouses living together always count as one household, parents and their children age 21 or younger who live together must be grouped together, and a child under 18 in the care of a non-parent adult is counted with that adult.³

What Counts as Income

SNAP sorts income into earned and unearned. Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses, and net self-employment earnings, and it is counted at gross (before taxes and payroll deductions), not take-home. Unearned income includes Social Security, unemployment, disability payments, pensions, veterans’ benefits, child support received from outside the household, and alimony.²

Some money coming into the home is excluded. Student financial aid, including federal grants and work-study, does not count. Neither do foster care payments, most vendor payments made by a third party on your behalf, energy assistance payments, most in-kind benefits, or certain lump sums.

Deductions That Lower Your Countable Income

Getting under the net income limit almost always depends on deductions. The main ones for FY 2026 in the 48 contiguous states:

Standard deduction: $209 for households of one to three, $223 for four, $261 for five, and $299 for six or more.⁴
Earned income deduction: 20% of gross earnings is subtracted. On $2,000 of monthly wages, that is $400 off the top.²
Dependent care: out-of-pocket childcare or adult care costs that let a household member work, train, or attend school.
Medical expenses: for an elderly or disabled member, unreimbursed medical costs above $35 a month are deductible, including prescriptions, equipment, transportation to appointments, and attendant care.
Excess shelter costs: rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities above half of income after other deductions. Capped at $744 a month in FY 2026 for most households; households with an elderly or disabled member have no cap.⁴
Homeless shelter deduction: up to $198.99 a month, or actual shelter costs if higher, for homeless households paying some shelter expense.⁴
Legally owed child support paid to someone outside the household.

A household whose gross income sits just above the 130% line can sometimes still qualify after these deductions bring net income under the ceiling, but only if it also qualifies under the state’s rules for skipping the gross test or under broad-based categorical eligibility.

When You Can Qualify Above 130% of Poverty

More than 35 states use a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) to raise the gross income limit above the federal 130% floor, sometimes up to 200% of the poverty level. Under BBCE, qualifying for a non-cash benefit funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families makes your household categorically eligible for SNAP.⁵ Whether your state raises the income limit, and by how much, depends on how that state has structured its program. Your local SNAP office can tell you the exact threshold that applies where you live.

Asset Limits

Income isn’t the only gate. Under federal rules, countable assets must be at or below $3,000 for most households, or $4,500 for households with a member age 60 or older or a person with a disability. Countable assets include cash and money in bank accounts. Your home, most vehicles, and retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs don’t count.²

Most BBCE states have waived the asset test entirely. A few states that use BBCE still apply an asset ceiling, often around $5,000. States that don’t participate in BBCE apply the standard federal limits.⁵

Work Requirements Can Disqualify You Even If Your Income Fits

SNAP has two layers of work rules. General work requirements apply to most people between 16 and 59 who are able to work: you must register for work, take a suitable job if offered, and avoid quitting or cutting hours below 30 a week without good cause. You’re excused if you already work 30 hours a week, care for a young child or an incapacitated person, can’t work due to a physical or mental limitation, attend school or training at least half-time, or are in substance abuse treatment.⁶

Stricter rules apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), who can receive SNAP for only three months in a three-year period unless they work or participate in a qualifying work or training program for at least 80 hours a month. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, signed on July 4, 2025, expanded the ABAWD age range from 18–54 up to age 64. USDA is still finalizing implementation guidance, including changes to state waiver criteria.⁶ If you’re between 55 and 64 and your income would otherwise qualify you, watch for notices from your state agency about the new time limit.

Higher Limits in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Territories

The figures above are for the 48 contiguous states and D.C. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands use higher income thresholds and higher benefit allotments. If you live in one of those areas, your state or territory agency publishes the applicable numbers.

Confirming the Rules in Your State

Because states set their own gross-income ceilings under BBCE, run their own asset tests, and administer their own work-requirement waivers, the practical answer to whether your income qualifies depends on where you apply. The federal thresholds in this article are the starting point. Your state SNAP office is the source for the ceiling that will actually be applied to your household.

1
Food and Nutrition Service. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program FY 2026 Income Eligibility Standards
2
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
3
Social Security Administration. SI 01801.060 – SNAP Household Definition
4
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Fiscal Year 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
5
Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
6
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements