Quick answer
USDA’s SNAP Rule Would Cut 6.3 Million People: Who Could Lose Benefits, the Income Limits, and How to Comment by Dec. 10
The proposal would end the “broad-based” eligibility 46 states use to raise SNAP’s income and asset limits. Here are the federal limits it would bring back, who USDA expects to lose benefits and when, and how to weigh in.
CheckedNov. 112026
The short answer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed on Nov. 10, 2026, to end what’s called broad-based categorical eligibility. 46 states use it today to let in households with incomes up to 200% of the poverty line, and 41 of them have no asset limit.
Under the rule, most households would have to meet the federal limits instead. For fiscal 2027, that’s a gross monthly income of $2,960 for a family of three and savings of no more than $3,000 ($4,750 if someone is 60 or older or disabled).
USDA estimates 6.3 million people in 3.2 million households would lose SNAP in fiscal 2029, the first year of full effect. Nothing changes yet: it’s a proposal, and comments are due Dec. 10, 2026.
At a glance
- What
- Proposed rule, “Reforming Categorical Eligibility,” published Nov. 10, 2026
- Who’s at risk
- Households in the 46 broad-based states whose income or savings are above the federal limits
- Federal income limit
- Gross 130% of poverty ($2,960 a month for 3, Oct. 2026–Sept. 2027); households with someone elderly or disabled face only the net test
- Federal asset limit
- $3,000; $4,750 with someone 60+ or disabled
- USDA’s estimate
- 6.3 million people lose SNAP in fiscal 2029; $44.6 billion less in benefits over 2027–2031
- Comment by
- Dec. 10, 2026, docket FNA-2026-0661, at regulations.gov
- Right now
- No change to anyone’s benefits until a final rule takes effect
- Last checked
- Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, against the sources at the end of this page
What would change
SNAP has federal limits on income and savings. But a household that gets a benefit from a state’s TANF program (cash welfare, or services paid for with TANF money) is “categorically eligible”: it skips SNAP’s own tests.
Most states now use that rule broadly. They give applicants a non-cash TANF benefit of nominal value and set their own, higher income and asset limits for it. USDA’s notice counts it this way, as of December 2025:
- 46 states use broad-based categorical eligibility.
- 37 of them have a gross income limit higher than SNAP’s.
- 41 have no asset limit at all.
The rule would let only households that receive TANF “assistance” (cash, vouchers and ongoing supports such as child care for unemployed parents) skip the tests. Everyone else would have to meet SNAP’s federal limits.
The federal limits it would bring back
These are USDA’s limits for Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. The 200% column is the top limit states can use today, our math (twice the net limit).
| Household size | Gross monthly limit (130%) | Net monthly limit (100%) | Up to 200% today (about) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,729 | $1,330 | $2,660 |
| 2 | $2,345 | $1,804 | $3,608 |
| 3 | $2,960 | $2,277 | $4,554 |
| 4 | $3,575 | $2,750 | $5,500 |
| 5 | $4,191 | $3,224 | $6,448 |
| 6 | $4,806 | $3,697 | $7,394 |
Each extra person adds $616 to the gross limit and $474 to the net limit. Alaska and Hawaii have higher limits.
- Gross income is before deductions. Households with a member who is elderly or disabled don’t face the gross test, only the net one.
- Net income is what’s left after SNAP’s deductions, such as the standard deduction and part of your housing costs.
- Assets: $3,000, or $4,750 if at least one person is 60 or older or disabled.
Who would lose SNAP
The households USDA expects to drop out are the ones that qualify today only because of their state’s broader rules:
- Income above 130% of poverty but under their state’s higher limit, with no elderly or disabled member. For a family of three, that’s gross income between $2,960 and roughly $4,554 a month in a state that goes to 200%.
- Savings above $3,000 (or $4,750) in a state with no asset test today.
By USDA’s count, that’s 16.9% of SNAP households and 17.6% of participants: about 3.2 million households and 6.3 million people in fiscal 2029. It puts the drop in federal benefits at $44.6 billion over fiscal 2027 to 2031.
Small households are a big part of it. USDA says more than 840,000 one- and two-person households got only the minimum benefit in 2024 because of broad-based eligibility; almost all of them, 94%, would not qualify under the federal limits. The minimum benefit is $25 a month starting Oct. 1, 2026.
School meals, summer EBT and WIC
A SNAP card also opens other programs automatically. USDA’s estimates for the rule:
- Free school meals: about 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility. About 97% would still qualify by income through a school meals application: 1.66 million would still eat free, 93,000 would move to reduced price and 28,000 would pay full price.
- Summer EBT: about 42,000 children could lose it starting in summer 2029, including 13,000 USDA expects not to apply even though they’d still qualify.
- WIC: of 22,000 participants who qualify through broad-based eligibility, 5,500 would no longer be eligible.
When it could happen
- Nov. 10, 2026: proposed rule published.
- Dec. 10, 2026: comments close.
- Final rule: no date yet. The notice says the effective date will be set in the final rule.
- Fiscal 2029 (Oct. 2028 to Sept. 2029): the first year USDA expects the rule to reach its full effect.
Until a final rule takes effect, your state keeps using its current rules.
How to comment
Anyone can comment. USDA says comments received by Dec. 10, 2026, are assured of consideration.
- Online: regulations.gov, docket FNA-2026-0661, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility.”
- By mail: SNAP Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Administration, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705.
Comments are public, and so is the name of whoever sends them. USDA specifically asks whether there are other ways to limit categorical eligibility that meet the same goals.
What we don't know yet
- Which states use broad-based eligibility and each one’s limits. USDA’s state chart didn’t open for us; the notice gives only the totals (46 states as of December 2025).
- When a final rule would be published and take effect.
- Whether states will change their own TANF programs in response. The notice doesn’t say.
When any of this is confirmed, it goes into the page and the update history below.
Questions people ask
What is the new SNAP rule?
A USDA proposal, published Nov. 10, 2026, to end broad-based categorical eligibility. Only households receiving TANF assistance would skip SNAP’s federal income and asset tests; everyone else would have to meet them.
Who will lose SNAP benefits under the proposed rule?
Households that qualify today only because their state uses higher limits: gross income above 130% of the poverty line with no elderly or disabled member, or savings above $3,000 ($4,750 with someone 60+ or disabled) in states with no asset test. USDA estimates 6.3 million people in fiscal 2029.
When would the SNAP changes take effect?
Not before a final rule. The comment period ends Dec. 10, 2026, the final rule will set the effective date, and USDA expects full effects in fiscal 2029, which starts Oct. 1, 2028.
What is the SNAP income limit for 2026-27?
From Oct. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2027, the federal gross monthly limit is $1,729 for one person, $2,960 for three and $3,575 for four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. The net limits are $1,330, $2,277 and $2,750.
What is the SNAP asset limit?
$3,000, or $4,750 if at least one person is 60 or older or disabled, from Oct. 1, 2026. Many states don’t apply it today because of broad-based eligibility.
How do I comment on the SNAP rule?
At regulations.gov under docket FNA-2026-0661, or by mail to SNAP Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Administration, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705, by Dec. 10, 2026. Comments and names are public.
