The FY2026 table stays in effect through September 30, and a separate change locked in by law will cut the federal share of state administrative costs to 25% on the very same day the new figures take over.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) updates its maximum allotments, deductions and income limits every October 1, the first day of the federal fiscal year. As of Friday, August 21, 2026, the FY2027 dollar amounts have not been published by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA), the agency that took over SNAP when the Food and Nutrition Service was reorganized and renamed on April 30, 2026. Until they appear, the numbers that govern every household are the FY2026 ones, and they remain in force through September 30.
What is actually in effect right now
For the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, the FY2026 maximum monthly allotments are:
- 1 person $298; 2 people $546; 3 people $785; 4 people $994.
- 5 people $1,183; 6 people $1,421; 7 people $1,571; 8 people $1,789.
- Each additional person adds $218.
The minimum benefit for one and two-person households is $24. The shelter cap sits at $744, and the standard deduction runs from $209 for households of one to three up to $299 for households of six or more. The gross income limit, set at 130% of the federal poverty level, is $1,696 a month for one person and $3,483 for a household of four; the net income limit, at 100% of poverty, is $1,305 and $2,680 respectively.
In March 2026, the most recent participation data, SNAP reached 37,298,271 people in 20,328,528 households, at an average of $189.18 per person a month.
What mechanically changes on October 1
The annual reset is arithmetic, not policy. Maximum allotments are tied to the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, and the deductions and income limits move with the poverty guidelines. That is to say, every figure listed above is replaced on October 1 by a new one derived from updated cost data, and the page to watch is the FNA’s SNAP cost-of-living adjustment page, last updated on April 27, 2026.
One structural constraint is already fixed. Under Public Law 119-21, the Thrifty Food Plan may not be re-evaluated upward beyond normal inflation, and it cannot be re-evaluated at all before October 1, 2027. Even so, no responsible figure for FY2027 exists publicly yet, and any specific dollar amount circulating for next fiscal year is not an official one.
The change that does not depend on the new table
Separately, and on the same date, the federal government’s share of state SNAP administrative costs drops from 50% to 25%, a change written into Public Law 119-21 and taking effect October 1, 2026. It does not touch any household’s benefit amount directly, but it shifts a substantial cost onto state agencies that run eligibility, casework and issuance.
The rule implementing that split was proposed on June 24, 2026, with the public comment period extended to Tuesday, September 8, 2026. A further change from the same law, a state cost share of between 0% and 15% of benefit costs tied to payment error rates, does not begin until FY2028.
What recipients should expect
Nothing in a household’s October benefit will be visible before FNA publishes the new table, and the date the money actually arrives is set by each state, not by USDA. Federal rule requires only a fixed monthly issuance date per household and no more than 40 days between issuances.
Two groups sit outside the income table anyway. Households with a member aged 60 or over or with a disability are exempt from the gross income test. Likewise, the resources of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are not counted for SNAP.
Until the FY2027 figures are released, the practical advice is narrow and firm: budget from the FY2026 numbers, which are the only official ones, and treat any FY2027 amount presented as fact before publication as speculation.
