Who Can Get SNAP

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people pay for their food if they meet income limits and other requirements. When you apply for SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), you need to give details about how much money everyone in your household makes. If you make more money than the program allows, you don't qualify for SNAP.

The most important factors to decide if you can get SNAP and how much you get are:

• The number of people who live and eat together (called a SNAP household)
• Household income (both gross income and net income after deductions for expenses like rent or mortgage payments, or medical costs for a household member who is disabled or 60 or older)

Whether you can get SNAP benefits may also depend on things like if you (or someone in your household) has a disability or is 60 years old or older. This article focuses on the rules for people with disabilities.

Your SNAP Household

When you apply, the first thing SNAP does is to decide who is in your household. A SNAP household is typically a family, but not always. A household can also be an individual living alone, or any group of people who live together and buy and make their food together.

The rules say that some people must be counted as part of your household:

• Your spouse who lives with you
• Your own child under age 22 who lives with you
• Any child under 18 who depends financially on you or on any adult member of your household (if you care for foster children, you can choose to include them in your household, but it's not required), or
• Someone who lives with you, and buys and prepares food with you.

Other people are typically not included as part of your SNAP household if they are:

• Someone who lives with you, but does not usually buy and prepare food with you.
• A roomer: someone who lives with you and pays you for lodging (a place to stay), but not for their meals.
• A boarder: a person who pays you a reasonable monthly amount for both their lodging (a place to stay) and their meals. If a boarder is not paying a reasonable amount, they must be included in your SNAP household.
• A live-in-attendant: someone who lives with you in order to provide personal services like medical, housekeeping, or child care. Your spouse, your child under 22, or a child under 18 (who is under your parental care and control) cannot be considered a live-in-attendant.
• A student attending college, vocational training, or other higher education who doesn't meet at least one of the requirements to be included in the SNAP household.

It is possible to have two SNAP households living in the same house, especially if a member of one of the households has a disability or is blind, or if you are not related and you buy and prepare your food separately. For example, if you and your spouse live with another couple who are not related to you and each couple buys and prepares their own separate meals, you can be counted as separate SNAP households.

Income Limits

Once SNAP decides who counts as part of your household, they look at your household income. There are two income limits, with amounts that depend on the size of your household: the gross income limit counts all of your income, while the net income limit doesn't count everything. If your household income is below both limits, you may qualify for benefits.

Note: If your SNAP household includes someone with a disability or someone age 60 or older, your household doesn't have to meet the gross income limit. If everyone in your SNAP household gets either SSI or TANF, your household doesn't have to meet either the gross or net monthly income limits.

The Gross Income Limit

The gross income limit is 160% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) ($2,087 per month for an individual; $2,820 for couples). Gross income includes all of your household income, before taxes and deductions.

View the gross income limits for larger household sizes:

SNAP: Monthly Gross Income Limits

People in your Household	Monthly Gross Income Limit
1	$2,087
2	$2,820
3	$3,554
4	$4,287
5	$5,020
6	$5,754
7	$6,487
8	$7,220
For each additional person over 8...	Add $734

The Net Income Limit

The net income limit is 100% of FPG ($1,305 per month for an individual; $1,763 for couples). Net income is your gross income minus the allowable deductions described below.

View the net income limits for larger household sizes:

SNAP: Monthly Net Income Limits for People with Disabilities

People in your Household	Monthly Net Income Limit
1	$1,305
2	$1,763
3	$2,221
4	$2,680
5	$3,138
6	$3,596
7	$4,055
8	$4,513
For each additional person over 8...	Add $458

Net Income Deductions

To figure out your net income for SNAP, take your gross household income and subtract the following deductions if they apply to your household:

• 20% of your earned income
• A standard deduction of $209 if three or fewer people live in your home, or $223 if four or more people live in your home
• A dependent care deduction, when you need dependent care to be able to work, or get training or education
• The cost of medical expenses for elderly or disabled members of the household, if the cost is more than $35 for the month and is not paid by insurance or someone else.
• Legally owed child support payments
• Depending on your income, you may also deduct a part of your utilities, rent, or mortgage payments and interest, and taxes on your home

See the full list of possible deductions.

Learn more about monthly benefit amounts and how they are paid.