SNAP income limits by state for October 2026 to September 2027

From October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (federal fiscal year 2027), the federal SNAP gross income limit is $1,729 a month for one person, $2,960 for three and $3,575 for four in the 48 contiguous states, D.C., Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. That is 130% of the poverty line. Most households must also pass a net income test at 100% of poverty ($1,330 for one person). But 46 states and territories use a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE). In most of them it raises or replaces the gross test, often at 200% of poverty ($2,660 for one person); in seven it leaves the 130% limit in place. So the limit that applies to you depends on your state, your household size, and whether anyone in your home is 60 or older or disabled. The figures come from USDA’s FY2027 cost-of-living memo of August 21, 2026.

The federal limits for FY2027

USDA sets three monthly income standards each October 1, based on the poverty guidelines that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published for 2026 (HHS poverty guidelines). The 2026 guideline for one person in the 48 states is $15,960 a year. The monthly limits are percentages of that figure, divided by 12 and rounded up to the next dollar, as 7 CFR 273.9(a) requires:

• Gross income limit, 130% of poverty. $15,960 x 1.3 / 12 = $1,729 for one person.
• Net income limit, 100% of poverty. $15,960 / 12 = $1,330 for one person.
• 165% of poverty. $2,195 for one person. This one is used only for a person 60 or older who cannot buy and cook food separately because of a permanent disability (explained below).

USDA’s SNAP eligibility page, updated October 1, 2026, shows the same 130% and 100% figures for applications made between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027.

Gross income vs net income

Gross income is all the money your household receives in a month before taxes or deductions, minus only the types of income federal rules exclude (listed further down). USDA defines it as income “before any deductions have been made”, so wages count at the gross amount on your pay stub, not your take-home pay.

Net income is what is left after SNAP’s own deductions: 20% of earned income, a standard deduction ($217 a month for 1 to 3 people in FY2027), dependent care, child support you pay (as an exclusion or a deduction, by state choice), medical costs over $35 for elderly or disabled members, and housing costs above half of your remaining income (USDA eligibility page). The step-by-step math is in how SNAP benefits are calculated.

Under the federal rules in 7 CFR 273.9(a):

The last row is why state limits differ so much.

Why your state’s limit may be higher: BBCE

Categorical eligibility means a household that qualifies for certain other programs is treated as meeting SNAP’s income and asset limits. Households where everyone receives TANF cash assistance or SSI have long been categorically eligible (7 CFR 273.2(j)(2)). Broad-based categorical eligibility extends this to households that qualify for a non-cash benefit funded by TANF or state maintenance-of-effort money, often a brochure, referral line or information service. The state sets that program’s income limit, which can be up to 200% of poverty, and often drops the asset test (USDA BBCE page).

BBCE cannot make anyone ineligible. If you are over your state’s BBCE limit, the state still checks you under the regular federal rules. That matters most for households with an elderly or disabled member, who can still qualify through the net test alone (USDA BBCE page).

Which states use which gross limit

From USDA’s BBCE chart (page updated June 29, 2026), which lists 46 states and territories (USDA BBCE page):

In New York, the chart lists only those two BBCE groups, so other New York households fall under the federal 130% test. The asset side of BBCE varies too: most of these states have no asset limit, but USDA lists $5,000 in Idaho, Indiana and Texas, $5,500 in Arkansas (for one 12-month period every five years) and $25,000 in liquid assets in Nebraska. See SNAP asset limits for the full picture.

Gross limits for 1-4 people in every state

This table is built from each state page, which uses the state’s own FY2027 chart where one is published.

A state’s published chart can differ by a dollar from a straight calculation. Florida’s chart effective October 1, 2026, for example, lists $3,608 for two people at 200%, where 200% of the HHS guideline works out to $3,607 (Florida DCF Appendix A-1). Use your state’s figure.

Passing the gross test is not the whole story

Even in a 200% state, you need income low enough to produce a benefit. USDA says this directly on its eligibility page. Two federal rules decide what that means (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)):

• One- and two-person households that are eligible get at least the minimum benefit, $25 a month in the 48 states and D.C. for FY2027, after the first month.
• Households of three or more whose net income is so high that the benefit works out to zero are denied, or certified with benefits suspended, at the state’s choice.

The benefit itself is the maximum allotment for your household size minus 30% of net income. FY2027 maximums are on the FY2027 benefit amounts page.

Worked examples with FY2027 figures

Same family, different states

A parent and two children. The parent earns $3,400 a month before taxes. Rent is $1,300. No one is elderly or disabled.

• In Ohio (130% on USDA’s BBCE chart), the gross limit for three people is $2,960. $3,400 is over it. Not eligible.
• In Missouri (no BBCE on the chart), the federal $2,960 limit applies. Not eligible.
• In Florida (200%), the three-person limit is $4,554 (Florida DCF Appendix A-1). The household passes. Then the benefit:

The $445 utility allowance and $217 deduction are from Florida’s October 1, 2026 chart (Florida DCF Appendix A-1). Some states round the final benefit down instead of rounding the 30% up, which can change the result by a dollar.

Weekly pay is converted with 4.3, not 4

The same parent is paid $700 a week. Four paychecks look like $2,800, under the $2,960 limit. But federal rules convert weekly pay by multiplying by 4.3, and every-two-weeks pay by 2.15 (7 CFR 273.10(c)(2)): $700 x 4.3 = $3,010. In a 130% state that is $50 over the three-person limit. States may instead use their own conversion standard or the exact monthly amount, so check how your state’s notice shows your income.

A senior over the gross limit who still qualifies

One person, age 67, in a state with no BBCE. Social Security pays $1,900 a month, which is over the $1,729 gross limit. But there is no gross test, because the person is 60 or older (USDA elderly and disabled rules). Medical costs not covered by insurance are $150 a month, and shelter costs are $1,100 (rent plus the state’s utility allowance).

$1,252 is under the $1,330 net limit, so the household passes. 30% of $1,252 is $376, more than the $306 one-person maximum, so the formula gives nothing. As an eligible one-person household, this person gets the $25 minimum each month after the first. Without BBCE, countable assets must also be $4,750 or less in FY2027.

Households with someone 60 or older or disabled

In SNAP, elderly means 60 or older. Disabled includes people receiving SSI or Social Security disability or blindness payments, some government disability retirement, certain Railroad Retirement annuitants, some veterans who are totally disabled, homebound or need regular aid and attendance, and certain surviving spouses and children of veterans (USDA elderly and disabled rules). If any member qualifies, the whole household:

• skips the gross income test and needs to pass only the 100% net test;
• can deduct medical costs over $35 a month that insurance or someone else does not pay;
• has no cap on the excess shelter deduction;
• faces a $4,750 asset limit instead of $3,000 where an asset test applies (FY2027 COLA memo).

The 165% rule. People who live together and buy and cook food together are normally one SNAP household. A person 60 or older who cannot buy and prepare meals separately because of a permanent disability can apply as a separate household with their spouse, if the others they live with have income no higher than 165% of poverty (USDA eligibility page). In FY2027 that is $2,976 a month for two people, $3,757 for three and $4,538 for four, as in the 165% column of the table above. More is in SNAP for seniors and people with disabilities.

Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands

Alaska and Hawaii have their own, higher poverty guidelines, so their SNAP limits are higher. For FY2027 the 130% gross limit for one person is $2,162 in Alaska and $1,989 in Hawaii, and the 100% net limit is $1,663 and $1,530 (FY2027 COLA memo). Both states use BBCE at 200% of poverty (USDA BBCE page); see the Alaska and Hawaii pages.

Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands use the same federal income standards as the 48 states, but higher benefit amounts (FY2027 COLA memo). Their BBCE gross limits are 165% (Guam) and 175% (Virgin Islands).

What counts as income

Federal rules count all income from any source unless a rule excludes it (7 CFR 273.9(b) and (c)).

Counted:

• Wages and salaries, before taxes; self-employment income after the costs of doing business.
• Social Security, SSI, pensions, annuities, and veterans’ and disability benefits. USDA notes that veterans’ and disability benefits count because no law excludes them (USDA elderly and disabled rules).
• Unemployment and workers’ compensation, strike benefits.
• TANF and other cash assistance.
• Child support and alimony paid to your household.
• Interest, dividends, royalties, and rental income.
• Work-study and other student aid with a work requirement, beyond the excluded amount.

Not counted (the main exclusions):

• Loans, including deferred student loans.
• Student grants and scholarships used for tuition, mandatory fees, books, supplies, transportation and similar school costs (not room and board).
• Earnings of a household member under 18 who is in elementary or high school and lives with a parent or under an adult’s parental control.
• One-time lump sums such as tax refunds and retroactive Social Security or SSI payments. They count as a resource, not income.
• Earned income tax credit payments.
• Irregular income of no more than $30 in a quarter, and cash gifts from charities based on need up to $300 a quarter.
• In-kind help, such as a relative paying your landlord directly from their own money.
• Reimbursements for actual expenses, energy assistance as defined in the rules, and income excluded by another federal law.

Child support you pay to someone outside your household is either excluded from your income or deducted, depending on your state.

How to read your state’s income chart

1. Check the effective date. FY2027 charts say “effective October 1, 2026”. FY2027 federal figures start at $1,729 for one person at 130%; a chart without a date may be from an earlier year.
2. Count your household correctly. People who live together and buy and prepare food together are one household. Spouses and most children under 22 are counted together even if they eat separately (USDA eligibility page).
3. Find the right column. Florida’s FY2027 chart, for example, has columns for the 165%, 200%, 130% and 100% standards plus maximum benefits (Florida DCF Appendix A-1). In a BBCE state, the BBCE column (200% in Florida) is the one most households must be under.
4. Use monthly gross pay. Convert weekly or every-two-weeks pay as shown above.
5. If you are over the line, check whether anyone is 60 or older or disabled. If so, the net test may still let you in.

After approval, the 130% figure matters again. Households on simplified reporting must tell the agency when monthly gross income goes over the 130% limit for their size, even in a 200% state (7 CFR 273.12(a)(5)(v)). For a three-person household in FY2027 that is $2,960.

Income is only one test. Work rules, student rules, immigration status and assets also apply; see SNAP for college students, SNAP eligibility for immigrants and SNAP asset limits. You can file an application with only your name, address and signature, and the state must decide within 30 days, so you do not need to settle every question first (how to apply for SNAP). For a rough estimate before you apply, try the SNAP calculator.

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.
• SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled, USDA. Checked 2026-10-16.
• Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE), USDA, page updated June 29, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16.
• HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2026, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE. Checked 2026-10-16.
• 7 CFR 273.2, Office operations and application processing, eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-14.
• 7 CFR 273.9, Income and deductions, eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-14.
• 7 CFR 273.10, Determining household eligibility and benefit levels, eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-14.
• 7 CFR 273.12, Reporting requirements, eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-14.
• ESS Program Policy Manual, Appendix A-1: Food Assistance Income Eligibility Standards and Deductions, effective October 1, 2026, Florida Department of Children and Families. Checked 2026-10-16.