SNAP Benefits Calculator

The maximum monthly allotment sets the ceiling: $994 for a household of 4 in the 48 states + DC (see the full table above for other sizes and Alaska/Hawaii/Guam/VI). Your actual benefit is that maximum minus 30% of your net monthly income after deductions — so a household with zero net income gets the full maximum, and the benefit shrinks as net income rises until it hits the net income limit (100% of the federal poverty line), where SNAP eligibility ends.

The gross income test compares your total monthly income before any deductions to 130% of the federal poverty line for your household size. The net income test applies AFTER deductions (20% earned income, standard deduction, dependent care, child support paid, excess medical for elderly/disabled members, and excess shelter) and compares the result to 100% of the federal poverty line. Most households must pass both tests; households with an elderly or disabled member skip the gross test but still must pass the net test.

Yes, several rules change. The 130% gross income test is skipped entirely. The excess shelter deduction is uncapped (other households cap it — see the shelter deduction question below). Medical expenses over $35/month are deductible (this calculator asks for your actual medical expenses and applies the $35 excess itself). There's also a separate "elderly/disabled separate household" rule: if an elderly or disabled person lives with others but buys and prepares food separately, they can be treated as their own SNAP household as long as everyone else's combined income stays under 165% of the federal poverty line for that group.

Yes, but only for 1-2 person households that are otherwise eligible: $24/month in the 48 states + DC (higher in Alaska/Hawaii/Guam/VI — see the calculator's region selector). Households of 3 or more that compute to $0 or less under the formula get $0, not a minimum payment — the minimum-benefit floor doesn't extend to larger households.

SNAP's Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) is set separately by each state, not by USDA nationally, and states may adjust their FY2026 figures. Rather than guess or use a stale national number, this calculator asks for your actual monthly shelter and utility costs — check your own state SNAP agency's current SUA if your state gives you a flat utility allowance instead of billing you for actual usage, and include that figure. Note that under the 2025 OBBB law, internet/phone service costs are no longer an allowable shelter expense starting FY2026.

SNAP figures follow the federal fiscal year, not the calendar year — FY2026 runs Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. USDA FNS typically publishes the next fiscal year's COLA-adjusted allotments, deductions, and income limits around August, effective every October 1.

No. SNAP benefits are not taxable and do not need to be reported as income on your federal tax return.

Yes, homeless households can still qualify for SNAP. Instead of computing an excess shelter deduction from actual rent/mortgage costs, a homeless household may take a flat $198.99/month homeless shelter deduction. Check the "homeless" box in the calculator above to use this instead of entering a shelter cost.

Excess shelter is the amount your shelter and utility costs exceed half of your income after other deductions. For most households this deduction is capped — $744/month in the 48 states + DC (higher caps apply in Alaska/Hawaii/Guam/VI). Households with an elderly or disabled member get the FULL excess shelter deduction with no cap, which is often the single biggest reason an elderly/disabled household's benefit is higher than the raw income numbers would suggest.

Work-requirement and non-citizen eligibility rules are being updated under the 2025 OBBB law; this calculator reflects the FY2026 dollar figures (allotments, income limits, deductions) verified directly from USDA FNS, current as of July 2026 - always confirm work-requirement/ABAWD/immigration eligibility separately.