To see if you might be eligible for
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, formerly food stamp) benefits, visit our
pre-screening tool.
For Households in the 48 Contiguous
States and the District of Columbia
Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 20, 2009. To get
SNAP benefits, households must meet certain
tests, including resource and income
tests:
Households may
have $2,000 in countable resources, such
as a bank account. Households may have
$3,000 if at least one person is age 60
or older, or is disabled. Certain
resources are not counted, such as a
home and lot and the resources of people
who receive Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) or benefits under the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program.
For the
following vehicles, the amount of the
fair market value over $4,650 is
counted:
For all other
vehicles, SNAP rules count either
the fair market value over $4,650, or
the equity value (fair market value
minus any loans), whichever is greater.
Many States have elected to use their TANF vehicle rules rather than their
SNAP vehicle rules, when doing so
helps a household meet the resource
test. Check with your local
office to learn which rules it is using
for counting vehicles.
Households have
to meet income tests unless all members
are receiving TANF, SSI, or in some
places general assistance. Most
households must meet both the gross and
net income tests, but a household with
an elderly person or a person who is
receiving certain types of disability
payments only has to meet the net income
test. Households, except those noted,
that have income over the amounts listed
below cannot get SNAP benefits.
(Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009)
Gross income
means a household's total, nonexcluded
income, before any deductions have been
made. Net income means gross income
minus allowable deductions.
* SNAP gross
and net income limits are
higher in Alaska and Hawaii.
The amount of
benefits the household gets is called an
allotment. The net monthly income of the
household is multiplied by .3, and the
result is subtracted from the maximum
allotment for the household size to find
the household's allotment. This is
because SNAP households are
expected to spend about 30 percent of
their resources on food.
(Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009)
If a household
applies after the first day of the
month, benefits will be provided from
the day the household applies.
SNAP benefits
are available to all eligible
households regardless of race, sex,
religious creed, national origin, or
political beliefs.
With some
exceptions, able-bodied adults between
16 and 60 must register for work, accept
suitable employment, and take part in an
employment and training program to which
they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these
requirements can result in
disqualification from the Program. In
addition, able-bodied adults between 18
and 50 who do not have any dependent
children can get SNAP benefits only for 3
months in a 36-month period if they do
not work or participate in a workfare or
employment and training program other
than job search. This requirement is
waived in some locations.
Special
Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
Most SNAP rules apply to all households, but there
are a few special rules for households
that contain an elderly or disabled
member.
Who is Elderly?
A person is
elderly if he or she is 60 years of
age or older.
Who is Disabled?
Generally, a
person is considered to be disabled for
SNAP purposes if he or she:
|
Receives Federal disability
or blindness payments under
the Social Security Act,
including Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) or
Social Security disability
or blindness payments; or
|
|
Receives State disability or
blindness payments based on
SSI rules; or |
|
Receives a disability
retirement benefit from a
governmental agency because
of a disability considered
permanent under the Social
Security Act; or |
|
Receives an annuity under
the Railroad Retirement Act
and is eligible for Medicare
or is considered to be
disabled based on the SSI
rules; or |
|
Is a veteran who is totally
disabled, permanently
housebound, or in need of
regular aid and attendance;
or |
|
Is
a surviving spouse or child
of a veteran who is
receiving VA benefits and is
considered to be permanently
disabled. |
How do I Get SNAP benefits?
A member of
your household has to apply at the local
office. It should be listed
in the government section of the local
telephone book. This is generally the
quickest way to find the local office.
If that doesn't work, try calling the
SNAP
Hotline for your State. Most of them
are toll free numbers.
If you are
unable to go to the local office,
you may have another person, called an
authorized representative, apply and be
interviewed on your behalf. You must
designate the authorized representative
in writing.
Normally a
household must file an application form,
have a face-to-face interview, and
provide proof (verification) of certain
information, such as income and
expenses. The office interview may be
waived if the household is unable to
appoint an authorized representative and
no household member is able to go to the
office because of age or
disability. If the office interview is
waived, the local office will
interview you by telephone or do a home
visit. A home visit must be scheduled
beforehand with the household.
What is a Household?
Everyone who
lives together and purchases and
prepares meals together is grouped
together as one household. However, if a
person is 60 years of age or older and
he or she is unable to purchase and
prepare meals separately because of a
permanent disability, the person and the
person's spouse may be a separate
household if the others they live with
do not have very much income. (More
than 165 percent of the
poverty level.)
Some people who
live together, such as husbands and
wives and most children under age 22,
are included in the same household, even
if they purchase and prepare meals
separately.
Normally people
are not eligible for SNAP benefits if an
institution gives them their meals.
However, there is one exception for
elderly persons and one for disabled
persons:
|
Residents of federally
subsidized housing for the
elderly may be eligible for
SNAP benefits, even though
they receive their meals at
the facility. |
|
Disabled persons who live in
certain nonprofit group
living arrangements (small
group homes with no more
than 16 residents) may be
eligible for SNAP benefits,
even though the group home
prepares their meals for
them. |
What Resources Can I Have (and Still
Get SNAP Benefits)?
A household
with an elderly or disabled member may
have up to $3,000 in resources. A
household without an elderly or disabled
person may have up to $2000 in
resources. Some resources are not
counted, such as your home and lot and
up to $4,650 of the fair market value of
one car per adult household member (and
one car per teen-aged household member
if the teenager is using it to go to
work, look for work, or prepare for
work). If a vehicle is needed to
transport a physically disabled
household member, its value is not
counted. The resources of people who get
SSI and Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) are not counted at all.
An important exception to this is
that in the State of California SSI
recipients are not eligible for SNAP
benefits, because they receive a State
supplement to their SSI benefits in lieu
of SNAP benefits.
What Are the Income Limits?
Most households
have to meet both a monthly gross income
test and a monthly net income test to be
eligible for SNAP benefits. However,
households in which all members are
receiving SSI or TANF are considered to
be eligible based on income. Other
households with one or more elderly
members only have to meet the net
income test. Net income is gross
income minus certain deductions.
What Deductions Are Allowed?
The allowable
deductions are: a standard deduction for
all households; a 20% earned income
deduction; a deduction for dependent
care costs when necessary for work,
training, or education; a deduction for
legally owed child support payments; a
deduction for medical costs for elderly
and disabled people; and an excess
shelter cost deduction.
Medical
deduction. For elderly members
and disabled members, allowable medical
costs that are more than $35 a month may
be deducted unless an insurance company
or someone who is not a household member
pays for them. Only the amount over $35
each month may be deducted. Allowable
costs include most medical and dental
expenses, such as doctor bills,
prescription drugs and other
over-the-counter medication when
approved by a doctor, dentures,
inpatient and outpatient hospital
expenses, and nursing care. They also
include other medically related
expenses, such as certain transportation
costs, attendant care, and health
insurance premiums. The costs of special
diets are not allowable medical costs.
Proof of medical expenses and insurance
payments is required before a deduction
for these expenses may be allowed.
Shelter
deduction. The shelter deduction
is for shelter costs that are more than
half of the household's income after
other deductions. Allowable shelter
costs include the costs of rent or
mortgage, taxes, interest, and utilities
such as gas, electricity, and water. For
most households, there is a limit on the
amount of the deduction that can be
allowed, but for a household with an
elderly or disabled member all shelter
costs over half of the household's
income may be deducted.
Receiving SNAP benefits:
States issue
SNAP benefits through local State or
county offices to households that are
eligible to receive them. Traditionally,
they issued paper food stamps, but
increasingly, States issue the benefits
through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). The
local office gives the household a plastic
electronic card. The household pays for
its groceries at authorized food stores
(almost all food stores are authorized)
by using the card at the checkout
counter. It works like the bank debit
card that other people use to pay for
their groceries in increasing numbers of
stores. The cost of the groceries bought
is deducted from the household's account
automatically. A major advantage of this
method is that the use of food coupons
is not conspicuous. Most other people in
line will not notice that the person
checking out is paying with food
coupons. We have found that SNAP
households like this feature, because it
reduces the stigma many people feel in
using SNAP benefits.
A second
advantage is that the household no
longer needs to go anywhere to pick up
benefits each month. Benefits are
automatically loaded into the
household's account each month on the
designated date. We have found that
households especially enjoy this
feature.
Nondiscrimination:
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
prohibits discrimination in all its
programs and activities on the basis of
race, color, national origin, gender,
religion, age, disability, political
beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital
and family status. (Not all prohibited
bases apply to all programs.) Persons
with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of
program information (Braille, large
print, audiotape, etc.) should contact
USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a
complaint of discrimination, write USDA,
Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room
326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington,
D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964
(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.
Further Information:
Contact your
local office for further
information or to file an application
for SNAP benefits. For more information on
the treatment of income, and a sample
calculation of eligibility and benefits,
see
Eligibility and Benefits.
Immigrant
Eligibility Requirements
The 2002 Farm
Bill restores SNAP eligibility to
most legal immigrants that:
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Have lived in the country
for 5 years; or |
|
Are receiving
disability-related
assistance or benefits,
regardless of entry date; or
|
|
Starting 10-1-03, are
children regardless of entry
date. |
Certain
non-citizens such as those admitted for
humanitarian reasons and those admitted
for permanent residence are also
eligible for the program. Eligible
household members can get SNAP benefits
even if there are other members of the
household that are not eligible.
(See
Policy on Immigrants for information on qualified alien
categories and eligibility)
Non-citizens
that are in the U.S. temporarily, such
as students, are not eligible.
A number of States have their own
programs to provide benefits to
immigrants who do not meet the regular
SNAP eligibility
requirements. For a table of those
programs, see State
Programs.
Last
modified:
11/21/2008