Food · every state
SNAP calculator: how much you will get in food stamps
The amounts changed on October 1, 2026. Enter your household and see the benefit line by line, with the rules of your state.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
SNAP pays the maximum allotment for your household size minus 30% of your net income. For fiscal year 2027, which runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the maximum is $306 for one person, $808 for three and $1,023 for four in the 48 states and DC. Net income is what is left after a 20% cut on earnings, the standard deduction of $217, child care, child support you pay, some medical costs and the shelter deduction. In Ohio, a family of three earning $2,000 a month and paying $950 in rent with heating bills ends up with $614 of net income and an estimated $623 a month. The same family gets $470 if it pays no utilities, which shows how much the state's utility allowance weighs. The calculator applies your state's gross income test and allowance, and shows each step so you can check it against your notice.
More deductions: dependent care, child support paid, medical costs
Care needed to work, look for work or study.
Estimated SNAP benefit in Ohio, per month
$623
$7,476 a year on the EBT card · FY 2027 amounts, October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027
| Gross monthly income | $2,000 |
| Gross income test (Ohio, 130% of poverty) | pass · limit $2,960 |
| 20% earned income deduction | −$400 |
| Standard deduction (3 people) | −$217 |
| Shelter deduction (capped) | −$769 |
| Net monthly income | $614 |
| Net income test (100% of poverty) | not applied (BBCE) |
| Maximum for 3 people | $808 |
| Minus 30% of net income | −$185 |
Ohio uses broad-based categorical eligibility: gross income up to 130% of the poverty guideline, no asset test, and no separate net income test.
Estimate under USDA's FY 2027 figures and Ohio's published options. The state agency checks your income, expenses and household before deciding. How this is calculated.
What the calculator does with your figures
It follows the order a caseworker uses. First the tests: in most states gross income must be under the state income limit, between 130% and 200% of the poverty guideline depending on the state, and in the 7 states without broad-based categorical eligibility net income must also stay under 100% and assets under $3,000. Then the deductions, then the benefit. A household with someone 60 or older or disabled skips the gross income test and keeps its whole shelter deduction; the calculator asks that question because it changes both steps.
For the Ohio family of the answer above, the steps are: $2,000 of gross income, minus $400 for the earned income deduction and $217 of standard deduction, leaves $1,383. Rent of $950 plus the $766 utility allowance makes $1,716 of shelter costs, of which $769 exceeds half the adjusted income. Net income: $614. Thirty percent of it is $185, and $808 minus $185 gives $623.
The inputs that move the result most
Utilities. Paying a heating or cooling bill, even part of it, usually entitles you to the full heating and cooling allowance, which is the largest. Paying only water, trash or a phone gives a smaller one. Since the 2025 budget law, a small energy assistance payment no longer unlocks the large allowance unless someone in the household is 60+ or disabled (USDA memo of September 4, 2025), and internet costs can no longer be counted at all.
Earnings against other income. A dollar of wages counts as 80 cents because of the 20% deduction; a dollar of Social Security or unemployment counts in full. Two households with the same total income can therefore get different amounts.
Age and disability. For a woman of 70 living alone in Florida on $1,100 of Social Security with $800 in rent, the uncapped shelter deduction brings net income down to $95 and the estimate to $277. Out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 a month would raise it further; see SNAP for seniors.
When the estimate and your notice disagree
Agencies average irregular pay, count income you expect in the coming months, and sometimes do not give the utility allowance unless you show a bill. Ask for the budget sheet that shows how your benefit was computed: it lists the same lines as this calculator, so the difference is usually easy to find. You can ask for a fair hearing if you think the agency made a mistake; the deadline is printed on the notice.
Your state may use its own name for SNAP, such as CalFresh in California or Basic Food in Washington. Each state page gives the name, the agency, the online application and the full tables.