Your situation
What is the income limit for SNAP (food stamps)?
The gross and net lines for food help, and how states change them.
The short answer
SNAP has two tests: gross income up to 130 percent of the poverty line, and net income up to 100 percent after deductions. Most states raise the gross limit to between 165 and 200 percent, so the net test usually binds first. In Ohio, food help falling away is part of a raise that costs a family $19,076 a year.
SNAP, still widely called food stamps, checks income two ways. The gross test is your income before deductions, set federally at 130 percent of the poverty line. The net test is your income after allowed deductions for things like housing and childcare, set at 100 percent of the poverty line. A household generally has to pass both.
Most states use an option called broad-based categorical eligibility to lift the gross limit higher, commonly to between 165 and 200 percent of the poverty line. That widens the door, but the net test at 100 percent still applies, so the benefit shrinks as income rises and reaches zero before the gross limit does. Because SNAP tapers rather than stopping dead, it is a gentler part of most cliffs, but it still adds to the drop when several benefits fall away together.
A worked example
SNAP as one layer of a real cliff, for a family of 4 in Ohio:
Calculated live from published government rules for a family of 4 in Ohio, the same engine behind the calculator.
Because SNAP phases out gradually, it is rarely the sharpest edge of a cliff on its own. The steep drops usually come from Medicaid or childcare help ending all at once. But SNAP still counts: the food help you lose as your pay rises is real money, and it stacks on top of the sharper losses in the same income band.
The free tool models SNAP with your state's actual gross limit alongside every other benefit, so you see the full picture rather than one program at a time. It shows where your food help reaches zero and how that fits into the wider cliff.
See the cliff where you live
The band where benefits fall away is different in every state. Pick yours to see the real number for a family like yours.
Questions people ask
- What is the maximum income to qualify for SNAP?
- Federally, gross income up to 130 percent of the poverty line and net income up to 100 percent after deductions. Most states raise the gross limit to between 165 and 200 percent through a policy option, but the net test at 100 percent still applies, so the benefit reaches zero before the higher gross limit. The exact dollars depend on your family size and state.
- Does SNAP stop all at once when I earn more?
- No. SNAP tapers: the benefit shrinks as income rises and reaches zero gradually, rather than cutting off in one step. That makes it a gentler part of a cliff than Medicaid or childcare help, which can stop abruptly, though the food help you lose still adds to the overall drop.
- How do I check my SNAP cutoff and cliff?
- Enter your state, family size, and income into the free CliffCheck tool. It uses your state's actual SNAP limit with every other benefit and shows where your food help ends and how it fits the wider cliff. For a family of 4 in Ohio, that band is part of a $19,076 drop. Your numbers stay on your phone.