SNAP Benefits Calculator
Your household, its income and its costs
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- General mathematical model
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only. Confirm the assumptions, current rules, fees, and rounding that apply to your situation before making a decision.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the number of people who buy and prepare food together, and 1 in the next field if anyone is 60 or older or disabled.
- 02
Enter the household's earned income before taxes and its other income, such as Social Security, unemployment or child support received, all as monthly amounts.
- 03
Enter what you pay each month for dependent care, legally owed child support and, for members 60 or older or disabled, medical costs not covered by insurance.
- 04
Enter your rent or mortgage with property tax and homeowners insurance, then your state's standard utility allowance and, if your state uses broad-based categorical eligibility, its gross income limit as a percentage of the poverty guideline.
- 05
Read the estimated benefit and follow the table line by line from gross income to the benefit. Then apply to your state SNAP agency, which makes the actual decision.
Formula
Gross income = earned income + other income. Gross test: gross income no more than 130% of the poverty guideline for the household size (monthly limit = annual guideline × percentage ÷ 12, rounded up), skipped for a household with a member 60 or older or disabled. Adjusted income = gross income − 20% of earned income − the standard deduction − dependent care − child support paid − medical costs above $35 for elderly or disabled members, never below zero. Excess shelter deduction = rent or mortgage, property tax and insurance plus the utility allowance, minus half of adjusted income, capped at $769 unless a member is elderly or disabled. Net income = adjusted income − excess shelter deduction. Net test: net income no more than 100% of the guideline. A household categorically eligible through its state's broad-based categorical eligibility skips both tests. Benefit = maximum allotment − 30% of net income rounded up to the dollar. An eligible one- or two-person household receives at least the $25 minimum; a larger household with nothing due receives no benefit. Figures are those in effect from October 1, 2026, for the 48 states and DC.
Example
A household of three in a state with a 200% categorical eligibility limit has $2,100 a month of earnings and $300 of child support received. Its gross income of $2,400 is under both the federal $2,960 limit and the state's $4,554. A $420 earned income deduction, the $217 standard deduction and $200 of child care leave adjusted income of $1,563. Rent of $1,200 plus a $430 utility allowance is $1,630, which is $848.50 more than half of adjusted income, $781.50; the excess shelter deduction is capped at $769, so $79.50 goes uncounted. Net income is $794, under the $2,277 net limit. Thirty percent of $794 is $238.20, rounded up to $239, and the benefit is the $808 maximum for three people less $239: $569 a month, or $6,828 a year, from October 1, 2026. Under federal rules alone, without categorical eligibility, the result is the same $569.
Definitions
- Maximum allotment
- The largest monthly SNAP benefit for a household of a given size, set each October from the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan. A household with no net income receives it.
- Net income
- Gross income less the SNAP deductions. Thirty percent of it is what the household is expected to spend on food, and that amount comes off the maximum allotment.
- Excess shelter deduction
- Housing and utility costs above half of income after the other deductions. It is capped at $769 a month from October 1, 2026, unless a member is 60 or older or disabled.
- Standard utility allowance
- A fixed monthly utility figure set by each state and used in place of actual utility bills in the shelter deduction. It differs widely from state to state.
- Broad-based categorical eligibility
- A state option that makes households eligible for SNAP through a TANF-funded benefit. Households it covers do not have to meet the federal gross or net income tests.
Good to know
How the SNAP benefit formula works
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, pays a monthly benefit on an electronic card that works like a debit card at authorized food stores. The amount rests on a simple idea written into federal law: a household is expected to spend 30% of its net income on food, and SNAP makes up the difference between that and the cost of a low-cost, nutritious diet. The cost of that diet is the Thrifty Food Plan, which USDA prices for a reference family of four and updates each October for inflation. Public Law 119-21 now fixes how the four-person figure scales to other household sizes: 30% of it for one person, 55% for two, 79% for three, 119% for five, 143% for six, 158% for seven and 180% for eight, with 22% more for each additional person, up to an extra 200% in all. The results are the maximum allotments. From October 1, 2026, in the 48 states and DC, they are $306 for one person, $562 for two, $808 for three and $1,023 for four, rising to $1,841 for eight and $3,887 for 18 or more. The formula is then the maximum allotment minus 30% of net income, with the 30% rounded up to the next dollar. In the example, a household of three has net income of $794. Thirty percent of that is $238.20, rounded to $239, and the benefit is $808 less $239: $569 a month, or $6,828 a year. A household with no net income receives the full maximum. Eligible one- and two-person households receive at least a minimum benefit, $25 from October 1, 2026, even when the formula gives less. A household of three or more whose formula comes to zero receives nothing, but any positive amount is paid. The rest of the calculation, the income tests and the deductions, exists to arrive at the net income figure fairly.
The two income tests, and who skips them
Before a benefit is figured, a household must pass income tests set as percentages of the federal poverty guidelines. The gross income test looks at total countable income before deductions and requires it to be no more than 130% of the poverty guideline for the household's size. The net income test looks at income after deductions and requires it to be no more than 100%. From October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, built from the 2026 guidelines, the gross limits in the 48 states and DC are $1,729 a month for one person, $2,345 for two, $2,960 for three and $3,575 for four, and the net limits are $1,330, $1,804, $2,277 and $2,750. Alaska and Hawaii have higher limits. Two groups do not face both tests. A household with a member who is 60 or older or disabled does not have to meet the gross limit, only the net limit, which matters for older people with modest pensions but high housing or medical costs. And a household that is categorically eligible does not have to meet either test. Most states use an option called broad-based categorical eligibility, under which households that qualify for a benefit funded through the state's TANF program become eligible for SNAP. The Food and Nutrition Administration's chart for June 2026 lists 46 states and territories using it, with gross income limits from 130% to 200% of the poverty guideline, and many with no asset limit. Categorical eligibility changes who qualifies, not the size of the benefit: the same formula applies, so a household with high net income may still be due little or nothing, although an eligible one- or two-person household receives the minimum. Without categorical eligibility, federal rules also limit countable resources, such as cash and bank balances, to $3,000, or $4,750 for a household with a member 60 or older or disabled, from October 1, 2026.
Deductions, and why shelter costs matter most
Net income is gross income minus a set of deductions defined in the Food and Nutrition Act. Twenty percent of earned income is deducted to allow for taxes and work expenses. Every household takes a standard deduction, which from October 1, 2026 is $217 a month for one to three people, $229 for four, $268 for five and $308 for six or more. Dependent care costs that allow someone to work, train or study are deducted in full, as is legally owed child support paid to someone outside the household. Medical costs above $35 a month are deducted, but only for members who are 60 or older or disabled. Last comes the excess shelter deduction, which is often the largest. It counts rent or mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance on the building, and utility costs, usually through a standard utility allowance the state sets, and deducts whatever exceeds half of income after all the other deductions. For a household with no elderly or disabled member it is capped at $769 a month from October 1, 2026; for one with such a member there is no cap. In the example, rent of $1,200 plus a $430 utility allowance comes to $1,630, which is $848.50 more than half of the household's adjusted income. The cap limits the deduction to $769, so $79.50 of real housing costs goes uncounted. Standard utility allowances differ widely: in the FY2026 table, updated August 2026, heating and cooling allowances ran from $308 a month in Mississippi to $1,107 in northwest Alaska. Two changes in Public Law 119-21 affect this deduction. Internet service fees can no longer be counted, and a household can qualify for the standard utility allowance through receipt of energy assistance only if it has an elderly or disabled member.
Applying, and the rules that changed under Public Law 119-21
This page produces an estimate, and only a state agency can make the decision. You apply to the SNAP agency in the state where you live, online, by phone or in person depending on the state, and the agency interviews you and asks for proof of the income and costs you reported. Most applications are decided within 30 days, and a household with very little money, less than $150 of monthly gross income and less than $100 in cash and bank accounts for example, may get benefits within 7 days. If you disagree with a decision you can request a fair hearing within 90 days. For help finding food in the meantime, the USDA National Hunger Hotline, operated by Hunger Free America, answers at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. The federal figures change every October 1. Until September 30, 2026 the fiscal year 2026 figures apply: maximum allotments of $298, $546, $785 and $994 for one to four people, a $209 standard deduction for one to three people, a $744 shelter cap and a $24 minimum benefit. Public Law 119-21 also changed rules no formula shows. Able-bodied adults without dependents may receive benefits for only three months in three years unless they work or take part in a work program 20 hours a week, and the law rewrote the exceptions, which now name people under 18 or over 65, parents or household members responsible for a child under 14, pregnant women, people medically certified as unable to work and American Indians, among others. Noncitizen eligibility is limited to citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and people living here under a Compact of Free Association. From fiscal year 2028, or later for states with very high error rates, states will pay between 0% and 15% of benefit costs depending on their payment error rates, and from fiscal year 2027 the federal government pays 25% of state administrative costs, down from 50%.
Frequently asked questions
How much SNAP will I get?
The benefit is the maximum allotment for your household size less 30% of your net income. The example household of three has $2,100 of earnings and $300 of other income a month. After $1,606 of deductions its net income is $794; 30% of that, rounded up, is $239; and the benefit is the $808 maximum less $239: $569 a month, or $6,828 a year, from October 1, 2026. Your state agency makes the actual determination.
What are the SNAP income limits from October 2026?
From October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, in the 48 states and DC, gross monthly income must be no more than 130% of the poverty guideline, $1,729 for one person, $2,345 for two, $2,960 for three and $3,575 for four, and net income no more than 100%: $1,330, $1,804, $2,277 and $2,750. A household with a member 60 or older or disabled has to meet only the net limit. In a state with broad-based categorical eligibility, a household it covers does not have to meet either federal limit.
What is the maximum SNAP benefit?
From October 1, 2026, in the 48 states and DC: $306 for one person, $562 for two, $808 for three, $1,023 for four, $1,217 for five, $1,463 for six, $1,616 for seven and $1,841 for eight, plus $225 for each additional person up to $3,887 for 18 or more. A household with no net income receives the maximum. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have higher maximums of their own.
What deductions does SNAP allow?
A 20% deduction from earned income; a standard deduction of $217 a month for one to three people, $229 for four, $268 for five and $308 for six or more from October 1, 2026; dependent care needed for work, training or education; legally owed child support paid; medical costs above $35 a month for members who are 60 or older or disabled; and an excess shelter deduction for housing and utility costs above half of income after the other deductions, capped at $769 unless a member is elderly or disabled.
Does a household with an elderly or disabled member get more?
Often, for three reasons: there is no gross income test, medical costs over $35 a month are deducted, and the shelter deduction has no cap. Take a person living alone who is 60 or older, with $1,400 a month of Social Security, $150 of medical costs, $900 of rent and a $430 utility allowance. The page gives a shelter deduction of $796, above the $769 cap a younger person would face, net income of $272 and a benefit of $224 a month.
What if the household has no income?
A household with no income is due the maximum allotment for its size, $306 a month for one person from October 1, 2026. A household with less than $150 of monthly gross income and less than $100 in cash and bank accounts may get benefits within 7 days of applying instead of the usual 30.
How did the One Big Beautiful Bill Act change SNAP?
Public Law 119-21 rewrote the exceptions to the work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents, which now name people under 18 or over 65 and parents of children under 14 among others. It limited noncitizen eligibility to citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and people living here under a Compact of Free Association. Internet fees no longer count toward the shelter deduction, the utility allowance route through energy assistance is limited to households with an elderly or disabled member, and from fiscal year 2028, or later for states with very high error rates, states pay up to 15% of benefit costs depending on their payment error rates.