Food stamps, formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, follow a different set of income rules when someone in the household is 60 or older or disabled. Those households only have to pass the net income test, and medical costs above $35 a month come off the income the state counts.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service released new numbers for the 2027 federal fiscal year, and they took effect on October 1, 2026. In the 48 states and Washington, D.C., the net limit is $1,330 a month for one person and $2,750 for a family of four.
Why a senior or disabled household is tested differently
Most households must clear two income hurdles, a gross test and a net test. Under the federal rule in 7 CFR 273.9, a household with an elderly or disabled member “shall meet the net income eligibility standards” and nothing more. A household with no such member has to meet both.
The gross limit that other households face is $1,729 a month for one person and $3,575 for four. That matters for anyone who has looked at a monthly check, seen a number above the gross limit and assumed SNAP was out of reach. In a household with a person who is 60 or older, or who is disabled, that first number is not the one that decides. The net figure, after deductions, is. A senior household can sit well above the gross line and still land under the net one once medical and housing costs come off.
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Federal rules define who counts. The definition in 7 CFR 271.2 starts with anyone 60 years of age or older. It also covers people who receive Supplemental Security Income or certain Social Security disability payments, and some veterans who are rated totally disabled.
How medical bills above $35 a month lower the countable income
The medical deduction is the piece many older households miss. The same rule allows the portion of medical expenses “in excess of $35 per month, excluding special diets,” to be subtracted from income. Only the costs of the elderly or disabled member count, not those of every person in the home.
A person with $135 in medical costs in a month, for example, has $100 deducted. The allowed costs include prescription drugs, dental care, hospital and nursing care, Medicare premiums, dentures, hearing aids and attendant care, so a retiree on several medications can pass $35 quickly. A lower countable income generally means a larger monthly benefit.
The deduction only works on costs that actually occurred, and USDA says proof of medical expenses and insurance payments is required. Costs that insurance or someone outside the household pays do not count. Receipts, pharmacy printouts and Medicare statements are the usual paper trail.
The shelter cap that does not apply to seniors
Housing costs get a second deduction. Shelter expenses above half of the household’s income after other deductions are subtracted, which is why rent, property taxes and utilities can move a SNAP amount. For most households, that deduction stops at a ceiling. The federal rule says the cap applies only to households without an elderly or disabled member.
USDA says in its fiscal 2027 memo that the shelter cap is rising to $769 for the 48 states and D.C. A household with someone 60 or older or disabled is not held to that figure, so a high rent or mortgage bill can be counted in full once the 50 percent threshold is passed.
The other October 1 numbers, and what to have ready
The same USDA memo sets the maximum monthly benefit for the 48 states and D.C. at $306 for one person and $1,023 for a family of four. The minimum benefit is $25. The standard deduction every household gets is $217 for households of one to three people and $229 for four.
Assets are tested too, and here the senior rule helps again. Households with at least one member who is 60 or older, or disabled, can hold up to $4,750 in countable resources. All other households are limited to $3,000.
The figures differ in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands, which have their own tables in the same memo. The federal list of deductions and tests is the same everywhere, but the dollar amounts above are for the 48 states and D.C.
The practical step is to put the numbers side by side. Add up the medical bills of the person who is 60 or older or disabled, subtract $35, and see how much of the remainder is documented. Then check whether the shelter cost is large enough to matter, since the cap does not limit it.
The full list of this year’s figures sits on the USDA SNAP cost-of-living page, and the state SNAP office decides each case. USDA says the figures reset at the start of every federal fiscal year, which begins October 1, so a household’s amount can change every autumn even when nothing in its life has changed.
Does a household with a 60-plus or disabled member get more SNAP?
The rules lean toward households with a senior or disabled member, but only on costs that are documented and reported. Medical bills below $35 a month count for nothing, the figures reset every October 1, and a benefit can slip when a date is missed.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer turns that into a routine, with a renewal and reporting calendar and 51 state packs so the dates and forms match the state that issues the benefit. Part 3, “The Senior Rules Most People Miss,” covers the deductions in this story.
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Steps to Stop the Scams That Took $7.7 Billion From Seniors
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
