Category: Cost of Living
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Food stamp households in Maryland with no one 60-plus or disabled must show a utility bill from the last 30 days to keep the $572 allowance under Trump’s 2025 law
Maryland’s Department of Human Services is warning food stamp households that one piece of paper can change a monthly benefit. Households with no one 60 or older and no one who is disabled have to provide a utility bill from the last 30 days to keep the full $572 standard utility allowance, the department says.…
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Washington gives seniors until December 31 and South Dakota’s disabled-veteran deadline is November 1 for next year’s property tax break
Two state revenue departments have posted property-tax deadlines that fall within weeks of each other this fall. South Dakota’s cutoff for the disabled-veteran exemption is November 1, 2026, which is 11 days from today. Washington gives seniors and disabled residents until December 31 to apply for the coming year’s reduction. Each date belongs only to…
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A judge vacated SNAP soda and candy bans in four states
A federal judge in Washington has vacated the approvals that let four states bar SNAP benefits from buying soda, candy and other items, and has ordered that the restrictions may not go forward. The states are Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service now lists all four…
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Kansas spreads an overdue heat bill over twelve months to stop a shutoff
Kansas customers who fall behind on a heating bill can keep their service on through cold weather by agreeing to a payment plan that stretches the overdue balance over twelve months. The Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates the state’s utilities, lays out the terms in its Cold Weather Rule. The plan is a condition of…
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Indiana blocks utility shutoffs from December 1 to March 15 for eligible households that applied for energy aid, open to a family of four earning up to $64,533
Indiana households that qualify for the state’s Energy Assistance Program cannot have their gas or electric service cut off between December 1 and March 15 once they have applied. The protection comes from Indiana Code 8-1-2-121, and it applies to regulated utilities. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is taking applications for the new…
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Heating aid opens November 1 in Utah as Missouri and Kansas start barring winter heat shutoffs the same day
Utah’s heating assistance program opens for the season on November 1, the same day cold-weather rules in Missouri and Kansas begin limiting utility shutoffs for the winter. All three dates are 11 days away. The protections are not automatic in every case. Each state ties its rule to a temperature forecast, and the payment terms…
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Food stamp households in Missouri applying or recertifying must hand over a lease or utility bill now, or the state cuts the deduction that sets the benefit
Missouri food stamp paperwork now needs proof, not just a signed statement. Since October 1, 2026, households that apply, recertify or add a person to a SNAP case have to document what they pay for rent, mortgage and utilities, along with child care costs and bank balances. A cost that cannot be documented does not…
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Indiana pays its energy assistance straight to the utility company in a single annual payment, with a direct-pay option that mails it to the household
Indiana’s Energy Assistance Program is open for the 2027 program year, and the money goes to the utility, not into a bank account. The state’s benefit is a one-time annual payment sent straight to the household’s utility vendor to cover heating and electric costs. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority runs the program. Its…
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Food stamp purchase limits have reached their USDA start dates in Utah, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas, with four more states on November 1
Eight states have now passed the start dates the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists for limits on what food stamps can buy: Utah, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas. Four more states are scheduled for November 1, and Nebraska follows on December 1. The limits mostly target soda and other soft drinks, and…
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USDA blocked more than 2,000 illegal card machines from the food stamp system
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has disabled or blocked over 2,000 illegal point-of-sale devices from the food stamp system. The figure is a national count that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration published on September 18, 2026, in release USDA 0120.26, “USDA’s Operation SNAP Back Hits the Five Boroughs.” The release announces a crackdown…