"Do I make too much for food stamps?" It is the first question almost everyone asks, and the honest answer is annoying: it depends on which test you mean, because there are two of them. Most households have to pass both a gross income test and a net income test, and I have watched people disqualify themselves in their heads on the gross test when the net test would have saved them. Let me untangle the two.
The two tests, plainly stated
Net income test: your income after allowable deductions must be at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.
Both limits are set from the federal poverty guidelines and updated every October 1. The table below shows the FY 2025-26 limits (effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) for the 48 contiguous states, DC, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands, published by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Alaska and Hawaii use higher limits; FY 2026-27 figures will be published by USDA and your state office applies them automatically.
The full table
| Household size | Gross limit (130% FPL) | Net limit (100% FPL) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,696 | $1,305 |
| 2 | $2,292 | $1,763 |
| 3 | $2,888 | $2,221 |
| 4 | $3,483 | $2,680 |
| 5 | $4,079 | $3,138 |
| 6 | $4,675 | $3,596 |
| 7 | $5,271 | $4,055 |
| 8 | $5,867 | $4,513 |
| Each additional | +$596 | +$459 |
The net test is the one that actually matters
Here is the thing most guides bury: the gross test is a coarse screen, but the net test is where cases are won and lost. Net income is gross minus the standard deduction, 20 percent of earnings, dependent care, child support paid, excess shelter costs, and medical expenses over $35 a month for elderly or disabled members. A household that looks over-income on paper routinely slides under the net limit once rent and utilities are subtracted.
Consider a family of four earning $3,400 a month gross. They clear the gross test ($3,483 limit) with $83 to spare, uncomfortably close. But subtract the $223 standard deduction for a four-person household (FY 2025-26), 20 percent of earnings ($680), and $900 in rent and utilities run through the excess shelter formula, and their net income lands far below the $2,680 net limit. They do not just qualify; they qualify with room to spare, and the lower their net income, the bigger their benefit, because the benefit formula subtracts only 30 percent of net from the maximum.
Three exceptions worth knowing
Households with someone 60 or older, or receiving disability benefits, skip the gross income test entirely. They only have to pass the net test and the asset test. This is a big deal and widely misunderstood: a senior with $2,000 in monthly Social Security can still qualify if deductions pull net income under the limit.
Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) lets many states raise or waive the gross test, in some states up to 200 percent of poverty, and drop the asset test. If you are near the gross limit, your state's BBCE rules are the first thing to check, because federal table numbers may not be the numbers your caseworker uses.
One dollar over is over. In states without BBCE, a family of four at $3,484 gross, one dollar above the limit, fails the federal gross test. The margins really are that thin, which is another reason to get the deductions right rather than guessing.
What income counts, and what does not
Counted: wages, self-employment income, Social Security, SSI, unemployment, child support received, pensions. Not counted: the SNAP benefits themselves, most energy assistance, loans, and income earned by children under 18 who are in school. When in doubt, report it and let the caseworker exclude it; unreported income causes overpayment claims, which are far worse than a slightly lower benefit.
Income limits are the gate; the formula is the amount
Passing the income tests gets you in the door. What lands on your EBT card is a separate calculation: maximum allotment minus 30 percent of net income. I walk through that formula with worked examples in the companion guide, and the main tool page has a free estimator plus the current maximum allotments by household size.
See current SNAP amounts and estimate your benefit
Sources: USDA Food and Nutrition Service FY 2025-26 SNAP income eligibility standards, via state SNAP manuals (Texas Works Handbook, Georgia SNAP Policy Manual); MassLegalServices.org on the gross income test and BBCE. Figures verified October 2026; FY 2026-27 limits to be published by USDA.