How SNAP benefits are calculated: the formula with FY2027 numbers

Your monthly SNAP benefit is the maximum benefit for your household size minus 30% of your household’s net income. Net income is what is left after SNAP’s deductions: 20% of earnings, a standard deduction, and some costs for child care, child support, medical bills and housing. For October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (federal fiscal year 2027), the maximum is $306 for one person and $1,023 for four in the 48 states and D.C., the standard deduction is $217 for one to three people, and the housing deduction is capped at $769 unless someone in the home is 60 or older or disabled. Those figures come from USDA’s FY2027 cost-of-living memo of August 21, 2026. The order of the steps is set by federal regulation, 7 CFR 273.10(e). This guide walks through each step, then works three real examples to the dollar.

USDA explains the 30% this way on its SNAP eligibility page (updated October 1, 2026): SNAP households “are expected to spend about 30 percent of their own resources on food.” SNAP fills the gap between that amount and the cost of a low-cost diet for a household of your size.

The formula at a glance

1. Add up the household’s gross monthly income (earned plus unearned, minus income that federal rules exclude).
2. Subtract 20% of earned income.
3. Subtract the standard deduction.
4. Subtract medical costs over $35 for members who are 60 or older or disabled.
5. Subtract dependent care costs needed for work, job search or school.
6. Subtract child support you are legally required to pay (in some states it is excluded from income instead).
7. Subtract the homeless shelter deduction, if it applies.
8. Add up shelter costs (rent or mortgage, property tax, home insurance, utilities). Whatever is more than half of the income left after steps 1-7 is the excess shelter deduction, capped at $769 for most households.
9. What remains is net income. Multiply it by 0.3 and subtract the result from the maximum benefit.

The SNAP benefit estimator on this site runs these same steps with your numbers and your state’s utility allowance.

Step 1: Gross income and the gross income test

Gross income is everyone’s income in the household before taxes and other withholding: wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security, SSI, unemployment, child support you receive and similar payments. Wages count at the amount before payroll deductions, not your take-home pay.

The gross income test decides whether you can get SNAP at all; the amount comes from net income, later in the formula. Under federal rules, a household without an elderly or disabled member must have gross income at or below 130% of the poverty line: $1,729 a month for one person and $3,575 for four in FY2027 (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)(i)). Most states use broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE), which sets a higher limit, often 165% or 200% of poverty. Texas uses 165% ($2,195 for one person) and Wisconsin uses 200% ($5,500 for four) in FY2027. Your state’s limit is in SNAP income limits by state.

Step 2: The deductions, in order

Earned income deduction (20%)

Take 20% off gross earnings only: wages, salary and self-employment income (7 CFR 273.9(d)(2)). Social Security, SSI, unemployment and other unearned income get no 20% deduction. That is why $1,500 of wages leaves less net income than $1,500 of Social Security.

Standard deduction

Every household gets it. For FY2027 in the 48 states and D.C. it is $217 for one to three people, $229 for four, $268 for five and $308 for six or more. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have their own amounts:

Medical costs over $35 (60+ or disabled members only)

If a household member is 60 or older or receives disability benefits such as SSI or Social Security disability (the full federal definition is in 7 CFR 271.2), the household can deduct that member’s out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 a month. Allowed costs include doctor and dental bills, prescriptions, health insurance and Medicare premiums, dentures, hearing aids, prescribed eyeglasses, and travel to medical appointments (7 CFR 273.9(d)(3)). Costs paid by insurance or someone else do not count.

Some states use a standard medical deduction so people do not have to document every bill. In Texas, a household with verified medical costs over $35 and up to $170 a month is budgeted at a standard $170, minus $35, for a $135 deduction. Households with more than $170 in verified costs can use their actual costs (Texas Works Handbook A-1428; amount in C-121.1, effective October 1, 2026).

Dependent care

Costs of caring for a child under 18 or an incapacitated adult are deducted when the care lets a household member work, look for work, or attend training or school. This includes the care itself, transportation to and from the provider, and required activity fees (7 CFR 273.9(d)(4)).

Child support you pay

Legally owed child support paid to someone outside the household reduces your income. Each state chooses whether to exclude it from gross income or subtract it as a deduction at this step (7 CFR 273.9(d)(5)).

Homeless shelter deduction

States may give households in which everyone is homeless, and who are not getting free shelter all month, a flat homeless shelter deduction. The FY2027 maximum is $205.66 a month (COLA memo). The regulation still prints an older $143 figure; the memo sets the amount for FY2027. A household that takes it cannot also claim the excess shelter deduction below, but it can claim actual costs instead if they are higher and verified.

Step 3: The excess shelter deduction

This is the deduction that most often makes the biggest difference, and the one people most often get wrong.

What counts as shelter costs (7 CFR 273.9(d)(6)(ii)): rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance on the building (not on your belongings), condo and association fees, and utilities: heating and cooling fuel, electricity, water, sewer, trash collection and one telephone.

Utilities usually count as a flat amount. Most states use a standard utility allowance (SUA) instead of your actual bills. The largest one, the heating and cooling SUA, goes to households that pay for heating or air conditioning separately from rent. Smaller allowances cover households that pay only for other utilities or only a phone. Each state sets its own amounts every October 1. Two FY2027 examples:

• Texas (from October 1, 2026): SUA $464, basic utility allowance $417, telephone $64 (Texas Works Handbook C-121.1).
• Wisconsin (FoodShare, from October 1, 2026): heating SUA $930, limited utility allowance $466, phone $113 (DHS Operations Memo 26-32, September 16, 2026).

Your state’s allowance is on your state page, where the state has published its FY2027 figures.

Two changes from the 2025 law. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) changed this step:

• Internet fees no longer count toward shelter costs (section 10104). The federal regulation text still lists internet; the law overrides it.
• Energy assistance (LIHEAP) no longer gives everyone the heating and cooling SUA (section 10103). Since July 4, 2025, a LIHEAP payment qualifies a household for it only if the household has a member who is 60 or older or disabled. Other households get it only if they pay heating or cooling costs themselves. Texas, for example, writes this as a LIHEAP or similar payment of more than $20 in the past 12 months and an elderly or disabled member (Texas Works Handbook A-1429.3.1).

The calculation. Add up the shelter costs. Subtract half of your income after steps 1-7. What is left is the excess shelter cost. If nothing is left, there is no shelter deduction.

The cap. For FY2027 the excess shelter deduction cannot exceed $769 in the 48 states and D.C., $1,229 in Alaska, $1,036 in Hawaii, $903 in Guam and $606 in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Households with a member who is 60 or older or disabled have no cap (7 CFR 273.9(d)(6)(ii)).

Step 4: Net income, the net income test and the 30% rule

Income after all deductions is net income. Under federal rules it must be at or below 100% of poverty: $1,330 for one person and $2,750 for four in the 48 states, D.C., Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands for FY2027. Households that qualify through BBCE do not have to pass the federal gross and net tests (7 CFR 273.2(j)(2)), but the same formula still sets their benefit.

Then: benefit = maximum benefit − 30% of net income. If 30% of net income has cents, the state either rounds it up to the next dollar or rounds the final benefit down (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)(ii)(A)). Both methods give the same dollar amount. Texas rounds the 30% up (Texas Works Handbook C-122).

The maximum benefits for FY2027:

Three rules shape the result at the edges:

• Zero net income gets the maximum. A household with $0 net income receives the full amount for its size.
• One- and two-person households get at least $25 in the 48 states and D.C. for FY2027, even when the formula gives less, except in the first month (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)(ii)(C); amount from the COLA memo). For one person, the formula reaches $0 at about $1,020 of net income ($306 ÷ 0.3), below the $1,330 net limit. So a single person with net income between those two figures gets the $25 minimum.
• Larger households can qualify for $0. A household of three or more whose formula result is $0 is either denied or certified with benefits suspended, depending on the state (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)(iii)). In practice this happens only to households that qualify through BBCE or another form of categorical eligibility, because a household that passes the federal net test still gets something: at the net limit, a household of four gets $198 ($1,023 − 30% of $2,750).

Example 1: one person working in Texas

Maria lives alone in Texas and earns $1,400 a month before taxes. She rents an apartment for $700 a month and pays her own electric bill, which runs her air conditioning, so Texas gives her the $464 SUA. All figures are FY2027, from October 1, 2026.

Example 2: a family of four with rent and child care in Wisconsin

Two parents and two children, ages 3 and 7, live in Wisconsin. One parent earns $3,200 a month. The family pays $250 a month for child care so that parent can work. Rent is $1,350, and they pay their own gas bill for heat, so FoodShare budgets the $930 heating SUA.

The cap matters here. The family’s real excess shelter cost is $1,239.50, but only $769 counts. The $470.50 that does not count costs them about $141 a month in benefits (30% of $470.50).

Example 3: a 72-year-old with medical bills in Texas

James is 72, lives alone in Texas and gets $1,600 a month from Social Security. His rent is $1,000 and he pays his own electric bill for heat and air conditioning (SUA $464). He pays about $90 a month for prescriptions and a supplemental insurance premium and brings proof. Because his costs are over $35 and not over $170, Texas budgets the $170 standard medical expense.

Two rules for older and disabled people raise his benefit:

• No shelter cap. If he were under 60 and not disabled, his shelter deduction would stop at $769. His net income would be $479, 30% would be $144, and the benefit would be $162, or $21 less.
• The medical deduction. Without it, his income after deductions would be $1,383, the excess shelter cost $772.50, net income $610.50, and the benefit $122. Reporting $90 of medical costs raises his benefit by $61 a month. Older and disabled applicants who do not report medical costs often get a smaller benefit than the rules allow.

How a raise or a new bill changes your benefit

The formula makes some changes predictable:

• When your shelter deduction is under the cap (or uncapped), each extra $100 of earnings raises net income by $120. That is $80 after the 20% deduction, plus $40 because the shelter deduction shrinks. Your benefit drops by about $36. In Example 1, a $100 raise takes Maria’s benefit from $248 to $212.
• When your shelter deduction is at the cap, each extra $100 of earnings raises net income by $80 and lowers the benefit by about $24. In Example 2, the family loses about $24.
• Unearned income (Social Security, unemployment, child support received) has no 20% deduction. Each extra $100 lowers the benefit by about $30 at the cap, or about $45 below the cap.
• Higher rent helps only below the cap. Once the shelter deduction hits $769, more rent does not change the benefit, unless someone in the home is 60 or older or disabled.

Which changes you must report during your certification period depends on your state’s reporting rules. See SNAP recertification.

Your first month is prorated

The first month is paid from the date you applied, not from the first of the month. States either treat every month as 30 days or use the actual length of the month, and round the result down to the dollar (7 CFR 273.10(a)(1)). If the first month works out to less than $10, nothing is issued for that month. The $25 minimum does not apply in the first month.

Texas uses (31 − application date) × full benefit ÷ 30 for every month, whatever its length (Texas Works Handbook C-123). If Maria in Example 1 applied on the 17th: (31 − 17) = 14; 14 × $248 = $3,472; ÷ 30 = $115.73, rounded down to $115 for the first month, then $248 a month after that.

Why your approval notice may not match your own math

• Your state’s utility allowance. It is the biggest state-by-state difference in the formula. Check which allowance you got (heating and cooling, limited or phone only).
• Rounding. States round income figures either to the nearest dollar or the way their cash assistance program does (7 CFR 273.10(e)(1)(ii)). That can move the result by a dollar.
• Income the office counted. Pay that varies is averaged or projected. Weekly pay is multiplied by 4.3 to get a monthly amount, and pay every two weeks by 2.15 (7 CFR 273.10(c)(2)). Your notice lists the income figure used.
• Costs the office did not count. A deduction you did not report, or could not verify, is left out. Rent, child care and medical costs are the usual ones.
• Household members. People who live with you but buy and cook separately may be a separate household. Some people are excluded from the household (for example, some students and some noncitizens), but part of their income may still count.

If you think the numbers are wrong, ask the office to show you the budget. You can also ask for a fair hearing within the deadline on your notice; see SNAP denied, reduced or stopped. To try different numbers, use the benefit estimator.

Sources

• SNAP – Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments, memo dated August 21, 2026, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 2026-10-16.
• SNAP Eligibility, USDA, page updated October 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16.
• 7 CFR 271.2, Definitions, eCFR. Checked 2026-10-16.
• 7 CFR 273.2, Office operations and application processing, eCFR. Checked 2026-10-16.
• 7 CFR 273.9, Income and deductions, eCFR. Checked 2026-10-16.
• 7 CFR 273.10, Determining household eligibility and benefit levels, eCFR. Checked 2026-10-16.
• Public Law 119-21 (July 4, 2025), sections 10103 and 10104, U.S. Government Publishing Office. Checked 2026-10-16.
• Texas Works Handbook C-120, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Revision 26-4, effective October 1, 2026, Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Checked 2026-10-16.
• Texas Works Handbook A-1420, Types of Deductions, Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Checked 2026-10-16.
• DMS Operations Memo 26-32, FoodShare Cost of Living Adjustments, September 16, 2026, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 2026-10-16.