A food stamp household with a senior or a person with a disability in it gets a different income test than everyone else. For those households, the federal gross income test does not apply at all, and only take-home income after deductions is measured. That rule changes who can apply, particularly for people whose Social Security, pension and other income looks too high on paper.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the program still widely called food stamps), spells out the rule on its eligibility page. A single paragraph of that page decides whether a household is screened out before an application is even looked at.

The question for many older and disabled households is whether a gross income that looks above the limit rules them out of SNAP. For a household with someone 60 or older or disabled, it does not.

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How the two income tests normally work

Most SNAP households have to pass two tests. USDA’s eligibility page defines gross income as a household’s total, non-excluded income before any deductions, and net income as gross income minus allowable deductions. Under the usual rules, “your household must meet both” limits.

For the 48 contiguous states, Washington, D.C., Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, USDA’s table for Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027 sets the gross monthly limit for one person at $1,729 and the net monthly limit at $1,330. A two-person household has limits of $2,345 gross and $1,804 net. Alaska and Hawaii have higher limits.

What changes with an elderly or disabled member

The same USDA page says that “a household with an elderly or disabled person only has to meet the net income limit.” The gross figure, $1,729 for one person, is not a cutoff for these households.

USDA’s elderly and disabled special rules page repeats it: such a household “only has to meet the net income test.” A person who is 60 or older counts as elderly. A person counts as disabled by meeting any one of six criteria, and the first is receiving federal disability or blindness payments under the Social Security Act. The others cover state disability payments based on SSI rules, certain disability retirement and Railroad Retirement benefits, and certain veterans’ benefits.

Only one person in the household has to qualify. A couple in which one spouse is 62 and the other is 55 and healthy still gets the net-income-only test.

Deductions that make the net test easier to pass

Because net income is what gets measured, deductions matter. USDA’s eligibility page lists medical expenses for elderly or disabled members that are more than $35 for the month, as long as insurance or someone else does not pay them. Proof of the expenses is required.

The excess shelter deduction works differently as well. For most households it is capped, but for a household with an elderly or disabled member, USDA says all shelter costs over half of the household’s income after other deductions may be deducted. That can lower countable income a good deal for older renters and homeowners with high rent, property taxes or utility bills.

The medical deduction means that a household with large out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions, premiums not covered elsewhere, or dental work can show much lower net income than its gross income suggests. The page does not set a dollar ceiling on the medical deduction.

Savings limits and state rules

The asset rule is also more generous. USDA’s page says households may have $3,000 in countable resources, or $4,750 if at least one member is 60 or older or is disabled.

States that use broad-based categorical eligibility set their own, often higher, gross income limits for other households. USDA’s broad-based categorical eligibility page says those limits range from 130% to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines depending on the state, and that “under regular program rules, SNAP households with elderly or disabled members do not need to meet the gross income limit.” Which state option applies, and how a state counts income and verifies medical costs, is decided by the state agency. USDA keeps a directory of state SNAP agencies and local offices for applications.

What the rule does not do

Skipping the gross test does not mean skipping the net test. A household with a senior or a person with a disability still has to come in at or under the net limit, $1,330 a month for one person in the Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027 table, and still has to meet the resource rule and the application and interview steps.

It also does not set the benefit amount. The benefit is worked out from net income, so the same deductions that help a household qualify also raise what it receives. Households that apply, are denied on gross income and are 60 or older or include a person with a disability can point the agency to the USDA rule on the SNAP eligibility page and ask for the net-income calculation.

Is gross pay keeping a household with someone 60 or older or disabled from applying?

A household with a member 60 or older or disabled that rules itself out over gross pay never gets tested on the figure that actually counts, and every month without an application is a month without benefits. Those who do apply then face recertification dates and reporting deadlines that are easy to miss.

The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer walks through SNAP and Medicaid renewal, shows the senior deductions that raise the benefit, and includes 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar. Part 3, The Senior Rules Most People Miss, covers the same deductions described above.

Get the renewal and reporting calendar and 51 state packs in one organizer →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.