Who Qualifies for SNAP? Income, Assets, and Work Rules

You qualify for SNAP if your household’s gross and net monthly income fall under federal limits for your household size, your countable assets stay under the cap (unless your state waives it), and you meet citizenship, residency, and work rules. For fiscal year 2026, a single person in the 48 contiguous states qualifies with gross monthly income below $1,696 and net income below $1,305, with higher limits for larger households.¹ The details below tell you whether your specific situation fits.

Who Counts as Your Household

SNAP eligibility is measured at the household level, so the first question is who counts. A household is a person living alone, or a group of people who live together and routinely buy and cook food as a unit.² Roommates who shop and cook separately can apply as one-person households.

Two groups are always combined regardless of how meals are handled: spouses who live together, and children under 22 who live with a parent or stepparent.² A 20-year-old living at home cannot file separately even if they buy their own groceries. Every threshold that follows depends on getting this count right.

Income Limits by Household Size

SNAP applies two income tests. Gross income is everything the household earns before taxes or deductions. Net income is what remains after allowable deductions for things like childcare, shelter, and medical costs. Most households must pass both: gross income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, and net income at or below 100 percent.³ Households that include someone 60 or older or someone with a disability only need to pass the net test.

For FY2026 (October 2025 through September 2026), the monthly limits for the 48 contiguous states and D.C. are: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 / $3,139 net
6 people: $4,675 gross / $3,598 net
7 people: $5,271 gross / $4,057 net
8 people: $5,867 gross / $4,516 net

Each additional person adds $596 to the gross limit and $459 to the net limit. Alaska and Hawaii use higher thresholds. If your gross income is over the limit for your size, you don’t need to run the rest of the numbers. If it’s under, the deductions below decide whether your net income also passes.

Asset Limits

Federal rules cap countable resources at $3,000 for FY2026, or $4,500 for households that include someone elderly or disabled.⁴ Countable resources include cash, bank accounts, stocks, and bonds.⁵ Your home and most retirement accounts don’t count.

In most places, though, this test never comes into play. Forty-six states and territories use Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, which eliminates the asset test for households that receive even a minimal benefit from a state-funded assistance program.⁶ Many of these states also raise the gross income limit to 200 percent of the poverty level under this policy. Your local agency’s rules determine whether either change applies to you.

Deductions That Decide Your Net Income

Whether you pass the net income test often comes down to which deductions your household can claim. These reduce the income counted against you:

Standard deduction. Every household gets one. For FY2026 in the 48 contiguous states, it is $209 per month for households of one to three people, $223 for four, $261 for five, and $299 for six or more.¹
Earned income deduction. Twenty percent of gross wages is subtracted for any working household member.
Dependent care deduction. Out-of-pocket childcare or disabled-adult care costs count when the care lets a household member work or train.
Medical expense deduction. Household members 60 or older, or with a disability, can deduct medical costs over $35 per month, including premiums, copays, and transportation to appointments.
Excess shelter deduction. Rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities that exceed half your income after other deductions are subtracted, capped at $744 per month. The cap doesn’t apply if your household includes someone elderly or disabled.⁷

Utilities are handled through a Standard Utility Allowance set by each state rather than bill-by-bill documentation, and those allowances vary by state.

Work Requirements

Most adults ages 16 to 59 must meet general work requirements: register for work, take a suitable job if offered, and not quit a job voluntarily without good cause.⁸ You are exempt if you are physically or mentally unable to work, already employed at least 30 hours a week, responsible for a child under six, or enrolled at least half-time in school or training.

ABAWD Time Limits

A stricter rule applies to Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents. If you are 18 to 54, able to work, and have no dependents in your SNAP household, you can only receive benefits for three months out of every three-year period unless you do one of the following each month:⁹

Work at least 80 hours (paid, unpaid, or volunteer)
Participate in a qualifying work or training program for at least 80 hours
Combine work and program hours to reach 80 total

You are exempt from the ABAWD time limit if you are unable to work due to a physical or mental health condition, pregnant, caring for someone under 18 in your household, a veteran, experiencing homelessness, or age 24 or younger and were in foster care on your 18th birthday.⁹ Anyone already exempt from the general work rules is also exempt here.

College Students

If you are enrolled at least half-time in higher education, you are generally not eligible for SNAP unless you meet an exemption.¹⁰ The most common ways to qualify are working at least 20 hours per week in paid employment, participating in a federal or state work-study program, or enrolling in an on-the-job training program. The temporary COVID-era exemptions that expanded student access expired on July 1, 2023.

Non-Citizen Eligibility

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, effective July 4, 2025, narrowed the list of eligible non-citizen categories.¹¹ Under current rules, these non-citizen groups remain eligible:

Lawful permanent residents (green card holders), after a five-year waiting period. The wait is waived for LPRs who are under 18, blind or disabled, have 40 qualifying work quarters, have a U.S. military connection, or were lawfully residing in the U.S. and 65 or older on August 22, 1996.
Non-citizen U.S. nationals, with no waiting period.
Cuban and Haitian entrants, with no waiting period.
Citizens of Compact of Free Association nations, with no waiting period.

Some groups that qualified before, including certain refugees and asylees, are no longer eligible under the 2025 law.¹¹ You must reside in the state where you apply, and every non-citizen household member’s legal status must be documented during the application.

Disqualifications That Override Income Eligibility

Some people are barred from SNAP regardless of how their income and assets look. People convicted of certain serious felonies, including murder, aggravated sexual abuse, and federal sexual exploitation offenses, cannot receive SNAP if they are not complying with the terms of their sentence.¹² Anyone actively fleeing a felony warrant or violating probation or parole is also ineligible for the duration of that status.

Intentional program violations, such as hiding income or trading benefits for cash, bring a 12-month disqualification for a first offense, 24 months for a second, and permanent disqualification for a third.¹³ Trading benefits for controlled substances triggers a 24-month ban on the first offense and a permanent ban on the second. Using benefits to buy firearms, ammunition, or explosives, or trafficking $500 or more in benefits, brings permanent disqualification on the first offense.

How to Apply

Applications go through your state agency, either at a county office, by mail, or through your state’s online portal. Have these ready:

Social Security numbers for every household member
A photo ID such as a driver’s license
Pay stubs or other proof of earned income from the past 30 days
Award letters for unearned income like Social Security or unemployment
Rent or mortgage statements, property tax bills, and utility bills for the shelter deduction
Receipts for childcare or medical expenses you plan to claim

After you file, the agency schedules a mandatory eligibility interview, usually by phone. It has 30 calendar days from your filing date to decide. Households with very low income and minimal assets may qualify for expedited service, which puts benefits on your EBT card within seven days of the application date.¹⁴ If your application is denied, you have 90 days from the agency’s action to request a fair hearing.¹⁵

1
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
2
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.1 – Household Concept
3
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions
4
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
5
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.8 – Resource Eligibility Standards
6
Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE)
7
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
8
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
9
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
10
Food and Nutrition Service. Students
11
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 – Alien SNAP Eligibility
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
13
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.16 – Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation
14
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2 – Office Operations and Application Processing
15
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings