How SNAP Benefits Are Calculated
SNAP uses one federal formula everywhere. States only change a few inputs — the gross limit, the asset test and the utility allowance. Here is the formula for October 2026 – September 2027, with a real example run through it.
Food Stamp Calc Editorial Team · published · verified
The formula in one line
Benefit = maximum for your household size − 30% of net income. Net income is gross income after up to six deductions. Because 30% of net income is subtracted, every extra dollar of counted income lowers the benefit by about 30 cents, and every extra dollar of deductions raises it by about 30 cents.
Step 1: Add up gross income
Gross income is all earned income (wages, tips, self-employment profit) plus unearned income (Social Security, SSI, unemployment, child support received, pensions) for everyone who buys and prepares food together. Some money is excluded entirely, such as most student aid, loans and the earnings of children under 18 who are in school.
Step 2: Subtract the deductions
- Earned income deduction: 20% of earnings (7 CFR 273.9(d)(2)). Unearned income gets no such deduction.
- Standard deduction: $217 for 1–3 people, $229 for 4, $268 for 5 and $308 for 6 or more (48 states and DC). Alaska uses $371–$385 and Hawaii $306–$354.
- Excess medical deduction: only for a member who is 60+ or disabled, out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 a month.
- Dependent care: what you pay so an adult can work, look for work or train — no maximum.
- Child support paid: legally owed payments to someone outside the household (a deduction in most states, an income exclusion in a few; the result is the same).
- Excess shelter deduction: next section.
Step 3: The shelter deduction
Add rent or mortgage, property tax, home insurance and a standard utility allowance set by your state. Subtract half of your income after the deductions above. What remains is deductible, up to $769 a month ($1,229 in Alaska, $1,036 in Hawaii). Households with someone 60+ or disabled have no cap. Homeless households can take a flat $206 instead.
Step 4: Apply the 30% rule
Multiply net income by 30% and round up to the next dollar (7 CFR 273.10(e)(2)(ii)(A)), then subtract from the maximum. Households of one or two who are eligible always get at least $25. Larger households whose result is zero or less get nothing.
| People | 48 states + DC | Hawaii | Alaska urban |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $306 | $496 | $392 |
| 2 | $562 | $910 | $718 |
| 3 | $808 | $1,307 | $1,032 |
| 4 | $1,023 | $1,655 | $1,306 |
| 5 | $1,217 | $1,969 | $1,555 |
| 6 | $1,463 | $2,367 | $1,868 |
| 7 | $1,616 | $2,615 | $2,064 |
| 8 | $1,841 | $2,979 | $2,352 |
| Each extra | +$225 | +$364 | +$287 |
Worked example: a family of three in Pennsylvania
A parent earns $2,400 a month, receives $300 in child support for two children, pays $1,100 rent plus the heating bill, and spends $200 on after-school care.
| Gross income | $2,700 |
|---|---|
| − 20% of earnings | $480 |
| − standard deduction | $217 |
| − dependent care | $200 |
| = income after deductions | $1,803 |
| Rent + Pennsylvania heating allowance ($887) | $1,987 |
| − half of income after deductions | $902 |
| = shelter deduction (capped) | $769 |
| Net income | $1,034 |
| 30% of net income, rounded up | $311 |
| $808 − $311 | $497 a month |
The gross income of $2,700 is under Pennsylvania’s 200% limit of $4,554 for three, so the household is categorically eligible and no net income test applies.
Second example: a senior living alone
A 68-year-old in Pennsylvania gets $1,450 a month from Social Security, pays $900 rent plus heat, and has $160 in Medicare premiums and prescriptions. Medical costs over $35 are deducted ($125), and the shelter deduction of $1,233 is not capped because of age. Net income comes to $0, so the benefit is $306 a month.
Rules that are decided before the formula
- Income tests: federal gross 130% and net 100% of poverty, replaced in most states by a higher gross limit — see income limits.
- Assets: $3,000, or $4,750 with someone 60+ or disabled, in the states that still test assets.
- Work rules: not part of the math, but they can end benefits — see work requirements.
How the state-page tables are worked out
Every state page has two small tables run through this same engine. The “Senior” column assumes a household with someone 60 or older or disabled whose only income is Social Security equal to the poverty line for its size, paying $700 rent plus the state’s best-fitting utility allowance and no medical costs. The “Pay” row assumes a family of three with one paycheck, $900 rent and utilities. They are illustrations to compare states, not predictions for your household — use the calculator for that.
What estimates leave out
- First month: benefits are prorated from the day you apply, so the first payment is usually smaller.
- Who is in the household: some students, some non-citizens and people disqualified for work-rule or program violations are left out of the household size, while part or all of their income may still count.
- State options: some states give a flat standard medical deduction, keep cents in income, or round the final allotment down instead of rounding 30% of income up — differences of a dollar or so.
- Special income rules: self-employment costs, irregular income averaging, vehicle valuation and lump sums are not modeled.
- Utility allowances: where a state had not published its October 2026 amounts, the estimate uses last year’s and says so; type the amount from your notice to replace it.
Sources: USDA FNA FY2027 cost-of-living memo (August 21, 2026); 7 CFR 273.9 and 273.10. Full list on sources.