For a family of four in the 48 contiguous states, two numbers decide most of the SNAP question this year: $3,483 and $2,680. The first is the gross monthly income limit, the second is the net limit after deductions, and a household generally has to come in under both to qualify for food benefits. Those figures come straight from the USDA’s fiscal year 2026 cost-of-living adjustment tables, which run from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps tens of millions of Americans buy groceries, yet the rules that decide who qualifies and for how much are scattered across tables that most people never see. Here is how the 2026 limits work, what the deductions do, and where the benefit amounts actually come from.
The two income tests
Federal law sets SNAP eligibility around the poverty line. The gross income limit is 130 percent of the federal poverty level for the household’s size, counting most income before any deductions. The net income limit is 100 percent of poverty, measured after the program’s allowable deductions are subtracted. Most households must pass both tests, according to USDA’s SNAP eligibility rules.
There is an important carve-out. A household with a member who is age 60 or older, or who receives disability payments, does not have to meet the gross test at all. It only has to meet the net income limit. Many states have also adopted broader eligibility policies that raise or waive these thresholds for some households, which is why the federal tables are a starting point rather than the final word in every state.
The 2026 limits by household size
In the 48 states and the District of Columbia, the FY 2026 gross monthly limit is $1,696 for one person, $2,292 for two, $2,888 for three and $3,483 for four, rising by $596 for each additional member. The net limits are $1,305 for one person, $1,763 for two, $2,221 for three and $2,680 for four. Alaska and Hawaii use higher figures to reflect their food costs.
For older or disabled people who buy and prepare food separately from a larger household, a separate table applies at 165 percent of poverty: $2,152 a month for one person and $2,909 for two in the lower 48. SNAP also carries asset limits in the standard federal rules: $3,000 in countable resources for most households, or $4,500 when at least one member is 60 or older or disabled.
Deductions decide the net number
The gap between gross and net income is where many working households qualify. SNAP subtracts a standard deduction of $209 a month for households of one to three people in the lower 48 ($223 for a household of four), plus 20 percent of earned income. Households can also deduct dependent care needed for work or school, legally owed child support, and, for elderly or disabled members, out-of-pocket medical expenses above $35 a month.
The biggest one for renters is the excess shelter deduction. Housing costs that exceed half of the household’s income after the other deductions can be deducted, up to a cap of $744 a month in FY 2026. Households with an elderly or disabled member face no cap on that shelter deduction.
Where the benefit amounts come from
Benefit levels are pegged to the Thrifty Food Plan, USDA’s estimate of the cost of a nutritious, budget-priced market basket for a family of four. Each June, USDA prices that basket; the result sets the maximum allotments that take effect October 1. The department explains the method on its Thrifty Food Plan page. Smaller households get slightly more per person than the four-person benchmark, and larger households slightly less, to account for economies of scale.
For FY 2026, the maximum monthly allotment in the 48 states and D.C. is $298 for one person, $546 for two, $785 for three and $994 for a family of four, with $218 for each additional member. The minimum benefit for one- and two-person households is $24.
How your actual benefit is calculated
Few households receive the maximum. The program assumes a household will spend about 30 percent of its own net income on food, so the benefit equals the maximum allotment for the household size minus 30 percent of net monthly income. A four-person household with $1,000 in net monthly income, for example, would see $300 subtracted from the $994 maximum, leaving a benefit of $694. A household with no net income receives the full allotment.
That formula is why a raise at work rarely wipes out benefits all at once. Each additional dollar of net income trims roughly 30 cents from the monthly benefit rather than ending eligibility outright, until the household crosses an income limit.
Checking your own numbers
SNAP is federal money run through state agencies, and states handle every application, so the place to start is your own state’s program. USDA keeps a directory of state SNAP agencies with application links and local phone numbers. Most states offer online screening tools that walk through the gross test, the deductions and the net test in a few minutes.
Two cautions are worth keeping in mind. First, states vary: broad-based categorical eligibility, different vehicle rules and state supplements mean the federal tables above are the floor of the analysis, not the whole of it. Second, these figures reset every October, so numbers you confirmed last year may be a notch out of date. When in doubt, run the state screener or call the agency rather than assuming you fall on the wrong side of a line.
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