Financial Eligibility

What is financial eligibility?

You must be financially eligible to get SNAP/food stamp benefits. That means your countable gross income must be within the program limits for your family size. After certain allowable deductions, a portion of your countable net income is compared to the maximum SNAP/food stamp allotment for your household. Your monthly benefits are determined based on subtracting a portion of your net countable income (30%) from the maximum monthly allotment. Note that as of June 2008, there is no asset test in Massachusetts for most households.

The financial eligibility rules are confusing, but the overarching goal is to determine how much money your household has for food compared with how much the federal government feels you need to eat. SNAP/Food Stamp benefits are designed to make up the difference between your "net income" and what you need to buy food. It's important to understand these rules if you need to advocate for yourself or help others to get the nutrition benefits they are entitled to receive.

Here is the basic match concept: If you meet the SNAP/food stamp program financial tests, the amount of your monthly benefits is figured by subtracting 30 percent of your net countable income— after allowable deductions— from the maximum SNAP/food stamp benefits amount for your household size. The following questions walk you though the financial rules step-by-step.