The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is for people who can’t afford to pay for food. When you apply for SNAP, you’ll need to provide details about how much income everyone in your house has. If you have more income than the program allows, you won't qualify for SNAP.

Income Limits for Households that Do Not Automatically Qualify

If you do not qualify automatically based on one of the benefits listed above, to qualify for SNAP, your household income will have to be below an income limit. The exact income limit depends on whether there is a member of the household who has a disability and how many people live in the household.

Income Limits for Households that Include People with Disabilities

Households that include at least one person with a disability can have more income than households without disabilities and still get SNAP. If your household includes a member who is elderly or has a disability, you have to meet meet a net income limit. That means that to see if you qualify, you take your gross income and subtract various deductions.

The most common deductions for households that include a disabled person or elderly person are:

• A standard $177 deduction
• 20% of gross earned income
• Dependent care costs
• Court-ordered child support for someone outside the household
• Unreimbursed medical expenses above $35 per month, and
• Deductions for rent, mortgage expenses, property taxes, home insurance, and utility costs. The eligibility worker calculates the amount of this deduction.

To figure out if you'll qualify, you can subtract these deductions from your household's gross income and compare the resulting number to the chart below. Make sure to compare it to the net income limit for a household your size. If you qualify, your net income amount will also impact how much you get in benefits.

There are some additional deductions, so if you aren't sure about how to figure out your net income, Chat with a Hub expert.

Note: Some people with disabilities have people who help them with buying and preparing food. You do not have to include them in your household when you apply for SNAP.

Income Limits for Households without Disabilities

If nobody in your household has a disability or is elderly, SNAP looks at your household's gross income to determine whether or not you qualify. Your gross income is your earned income plus your unearned income before taxes or other deductions are made.

Compare your family's gross income to the table below to see if you qualify. Make sure to compare it to the gross income limit for a household your size.

The Benefit Amount

SNAP has a chart of how much money is spent by households with low income on food each month. This amount is the maximum possible benefit you can get and depends on how many people are in your household:

If you have no monthly net income (gross income minus allowed deductions), the amounts shown above are what you’ll receive each month from SNAP.

The Benefit Amount If You Have Income

If your household has income after all deductions have been applied, the SNAP program estimates that you can afford to spend 30% of your income on food and your SNAP benefit will be reduced by that amount.

The minimum SNAP benefit for households of one or two people is $23 per month.

If you have any questions, Chat with a Hub expert.

You can apply for SNAP online using MNbenefits or by filing a paper application at your local county or tribal human services office. They will contact you to set up an interview. The interview can be at the county agency or you can ask for an interview over the phone.

For more information, call one of Minnesota's SNAP hotlines:

• Twin Cities: 1-651-431-4050
• Outside Twin Cities: 1-800-657-3698
• Minnesota Relay (TTY): 1-800-627-3529

Reporting

In order to avoid problems with your benefits, it’s important to tell your county worker when your income, assets, or living situation changes. You will get instructions from your county worker on how to report changes. If you aren't sure about reporting changes, contact your county or tribal human services office.

Appeals

If your application is denied, and you don’t agree with a decision that the county made, you can file an appeal. You can find information on appeals on Department of Human Services (DHS) materials at your local county or tribal human services office or on the notice that is mailed to you.

SNAP and Working

SNAP has rules about working. The person who financially supports the house is called the "principal wage earner". The principal wage earners can’t leave their job without a good reason and still get SNAP.

Minnesota also has a SNAP Employment & Training Program (SNAP E&T) to help people on SNAP prepare for and find a job. Depending on your needs, the program may be able to provide you with job placement assistance, job training, English language training, and other services. To learn more, contact your county or tribal human services office or Chat with a Hub expert.

Note: If you are between the ages of 18 and 50, on SNAP, and don't receive support from any other cash assistance programs (SSI, SSDI, or Minnesota Supplemental Aid, for example), you may be required to take part in the SNAP E&T program. To learn more about SNAP E&T, click here.

Emergency SNAP

People who need help quickly might be able to get help within a day of applying.

Other Minnesota Food Programs

The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) helps families with low incomes by giving them money while helping them find employment. Families on MFIP get help paying for food through the MFIP program. When you get off of MFIP, you might be eligible for SNAP. See DB101's MFIP article for more details.

There are citizenship rules for SNAP. These rules are set by the federal government. Some people meet all of the SNAP requirements except for these citizenship rules. When this happens, and you are over 50 years old, the state might help pay for food through the Minnesota Food Assistance Program (MFAP).

Marcela's Story

Marcela lives with her husband, brother, and two children. She works part time for a local community center. Her brother was in a car accident a number of years back, and has only been able to work on and off because of his disability.

They never had trouble making ends meet until Marcela’s husband was laid off. They could still afford to pay for rent, but after that, money was tight. Marcela decided that they needed help paying for food.

Her first step was to call the SNAP hotline at 1-651-431-3600. She was happy to find out that if there was an emergency, she could get SNAP benefits within 24 hours. Luckily, things weren’t that bad.

Applying for SNAP

She applied online using MNbenefits. The application asked questions about her family’s income and living situation.

She learned that SNAP has rules to help households that have people with disabilities.When she went in for an interview, she brought along pay stubs and other proof of her family’s income. During the interview, she learned that SNAP has rules to help households that have people with disabilities, so that less of the family's earned income would be counted by the program and the family would be able to deduct most of the money that they spent on his medical expenses. These rules made it easier for the family to qualify and also meant they'd get more in SNAP each month.

Using SNAP

About three weeks after applying, Marcela got a letter saying that her family had been approved for SNAP at $700 a month. This was the maximum benefit for households of five minus the net income that Marcela had from her job. She also got her Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card and instructions on how to use it.

The first time she went to the store, she was worried that people would know that she was on SNAP. She had heard stories from her clients about the dirty looks people gave them when they handed over food stamps. But the EBT card looked just like any other debit card. The other people in line had no idea that she was on SNAP.