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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Facts
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) Facts
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
formerly known as food stamps, helps low-income people
buy nutritious food. Although SNAP is a federal program,
state agencies run the program through local ofces.
You may be eligible to receive SNAP benets if you meet
certain income and resource requirements.
Can you get SNAP?
To get SNAP benets, your household must meet certain
conditions and requirements. A household includes
everyone who lives with you and who buys and prepares
food with you.
If you are homeless, you can still get SNAP benets even
if you do not have an address, a place to stay, or a place
to cook meals. You are considered homeless if you do not
have a xed regular nighttime residence or your primary
nighttime residence is a temporary accommodation in a:
• Supervised shelter.
• Halfway house.
• Residence of another person.
• Place not designated for regular sleeping, such as a
hallway, bus station, or lobby.
Income Requirements
Most households must meet both gross and net income
limits to qualify for SNAP benets.
“Gross income” is your total income before taxes or
any other deductions. There are certain things you can
deduct from your gross income such as housing costs,
child-support payments, and child or dependent care
payments. You or other household members who are
age 60 or older, or receiving certain disability payments,
can also deduct monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses
over $35 from the household income. Expenses cannot
be deducted if an insurance company or someone who is
not a household member pays for them. The amount left
over after deductions are taken out of your gross income
is called your “net income.”
A household with an elderly person or a person receiving
disability payments only has to meet the net income test.
Households are considered income-eligible if everyone
in the household receives Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF). Income limits vary by household size and
may change each year. You can nd more information
about SNAP income limits and benet amounts at
www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility.
Resource Requirements
Households must also meet the resource limit. Resources
are things you own, such as cash or money in a bank
account. Currently, households may have $2,750 in
resources, or $4,250 if at least one person is age 60 or
older, or has a disability.
Certain things are not considered a resource. For
example, your home and lot are not considered a
resource. Also, in some states, you may own at least 1
car. The resources of people who receive SSI or TANF
are not counted either.
Work Requirements
You may need to meet work requirements to be eligible
for SNAP. These work requirements include:
• Registering for work.
• Not voluntarily quitting a job or reducing hours.
• Taking a job if offered.
• Participating in employment and training programs, if
assigned by the state.
In addition, some people are required to work or
participate in a work program for at least 80 hours per
month to receive SNAP benets for more than 3 months
within a 3-year period. This is called the “time limit.”
Some special groups may not be subject to these
requirements, including:
• Children.
• Seniors.
• People who are caring for a child or incapacitated
family member.
• People who are pregnant.
• People who are exempt for physical or mental health
reasons.
SSA.gov
Other Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for SNAP benets, households must also
meet other conditions in addition to the income and
resource requirements. For example, everyone in your
household must have, or have applied for, a Social
Security number.
You may also be eligible for SNAP benets if you are a
lawfully present noncitizen and meet other SNAP eligibility
requirements, including income and resource limits. Most
eligible noncitizens must wait 5 years before getting
SNAP benets. However, certain noncitizens do not have
to wait 5 years before getting benets. These include
some lawfully present children under age 18, people with
disabilities, refugees, and people seeking asylum. You
may also be immediately eligible for benets if you are
lawfully present and have enough work history or a military
connection. You can nd more information about whether
you can get SNAP as a noncitizen at www.fns.usda.gov/
snap/eligibility/citizen/non-citizen-policy.
If your children are lawfully present or are U.S. citizens,
they may still qualify for SNAP benets even if you are not
eligible. You can apply for your children without providing
information about your immigration status.
Applying for or receiving SNAP for yourself or on behalf of
eligible family members does not affect your immigration
status or ability to become a citizen.
How can you apply for SNAP?
Applications for SNAP benets are available at any Social
Security ofce. If you and everyone in your household are
applying for or already getting SSI payments, any Social
Security ofce will help you ll out the SNAP application
and send it to the SNAP ofce for you.
All other applicants, including those applying for or
getting only Social Security benets, must take or
send their applications to the local SNAP ofce. To
nd your local SNAP ofce or to apply online, visit:
www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory. You can also
call the SNAP information line toll-free at 1-800-221-5689.
You will be required to complete an interview after you
complete your SNAP application. In most cases, you may
be interviewed by telephone. In addition to the application
and interview, you will also need to provide verication of
certain information. Some documents you can provide to
verify the information on your SNAP application include:
• Identication such as a driver’s license, state ID card,
birth certicate, work or school ID card, health insurance
card, voter registration card, or proof of alien status.
• Proof of income for each member of your household,
such as pay stubs, a statement from an employer,
current benet verication letter for payments received
from Social Security, veteran’s benets, unemployment
insurance benets, and documentation of child support
or alimony.
• Proof of how much you spend for dependent care.
• Rent receipts or proof of your mortgage payments.
• Records of your utility costs.
• Medical bills for those members of your household
who are age 60 or older, and for those who receive
disability benets, such as Social Security disability
or SSI.
After you apply, the SNAP ofce processing your
application will decide if your household qualies for
benets. You should nd out if you are eligible within
30 days. Households eligible for expedited service get
benets within 7 days. If you do not hear within 30 days
after you apply for benets, call or visit the SNAP ofce.
How much can you get?
If your household is eligible, the amount of SNAP benets
you get depends on your household size, monthly household
income, and expenses for such thing as mortgage or
rent, utilities, and childcare or elder care needed to allow
someone to work. To nd your local SNAP ofce or to apply
online, visit www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory.
You can also call the SNAP information line toll-free at
1-800-221-5689. For information about other nutrition
assistance programs that may be available to you, read
Nutrition Assistance Programs (Publication No. 05-10100)
or visit www.fns.usda.gov.
Contacting Us
There are several ways to contact us including online,
by mail, by phone, and in person. If you cannot use our
online services, we can help you by phone when you call
our National toll-free 800 Number.
If you don’t have access to the internet, we offer many
automated services by telephone, 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, so you may not need to speak with a
representative. Call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or at
our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, if you’re deaf or hard
of hearing. We provide free interpreter services upon
request. For quicker access to a representative, try calling
early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time)
or later in the day. We are less busy later in the week
(Wednesday to Friday) and later in the month.
Social Security Administration
Publication No. 05-10101
December 2022 (Recycle prior editions)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Facts
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense
