Yes, food stamps do roll over in Texas. Any SNAP balance left on your Lone Star Card at the end of the month stays in the account and sits alongside your next deposit, with no cap on how much can accumulate. The catch is on the other end: if you stop using the card, Texas freezes the balance after about three months and permanently removes benefits that go untouched for nine.
How Rollover Works on Your Lone Star Card
When your new monthly SNAP deposit lands, it stacks on top of whatever you already have. You do not need to spend down to zero first. Federal EBT rules require this cumulative structure, and Texas applies no state-level ceiling on the running balance.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants So if your household receives $298 and only spends $250 in January, the remaining $48 is still there in February when the next deposit arrives.
Purchases pull from your oldest benefits first. Federal regulations require states to use a first-in, first-out system, so every time you swipe the card, the dollars that have been sitting in the account longest are the ones that come off. That ordering is what makes the nine-month clock meaningful: as long as you keep spending, your oldest deposits never age out.
Texas staggers deposit dates across the month based on the last two digits of your Eligibility Determination Group (EDG) number, with deposits landing anywhere from the 1st through the 28th.2Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook – B-250, EBT Benefit Issuance Your deposit date has no effect on rollover. Whatever is left from the prior month is already in the account when the new amount posts.
When Unused Benefits Disappear
Rollover is unlimited in theory, but Texas treats long periods of inactivity as a signal to pull the funds back. There are two stages.
Off-Line Storage After 91 Days
If your Lone Star Card sees no activity for 91 days, Texas may move your entire balance into off-line storage. While the balance is in off-line storage you cannot access any of it, including new deposits, until you contact the state and have the account reactivated.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants The benefits still belong to you at this stage. A phone call to the state or a resumed transaction can unlock them.
Permanent Expungement After Nine Months
If the account stays inactive for nine months (274 days), Texas permanently removes benefits at the monthly-allotment level. HHSC expunges a month’s worth when two things are both true: the household has not accessed the account for nine months, and that specific month’s deposit was issued more than nine months before the expungement file runs.3Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook – B-370, Expunged Benefits Federal regulations are explicit that expunged benefits cannot be reinstated.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants
The one narrow exception is expungement caused by a state error, such as a denial processed incorrectly. In that situation, HHSC must restore the benefits within one business day of discovering the mistake.3Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook – B-370, Expunged Benefits If the account simply went unused, the funds are gone.
How to Keep Your Rollover Balance Safe
Any purchase on the card counts as activity and resets the inactivity clock. If you plan to save benefits for a larger purchase or build a buffer, a small SNAP-eligible transaction every few months is enough to prevent the 91-day freeze from ever starting, which keeps the nine-month expungement window from being reached at all.
Checking the balance before you shop is straightforward. The Your Texas Benefits mobile app and YourTexasBenefits.com both show your current balance, recent transactions, and deposit history once you set up an account. Without internet, you can call the Lone Star Help Desk at 800-777-7328 with your card number in hand.4Texas Health and Human Services. Lone Star Card Your most recent receipt from a SNAP-eligible store will also print the remaining balance at the bottom.
Rollover Is Not the Same as Keeping Your Case Open
A healthy rollover balance does not protect you from losing your SNAP case. Every case has a certification period, and if you miss your recertification interview or fail to return your renewal paperwork by the end of that period, HHSC denies the case. You have 30 days after your last benefit month to complete the interview or submit missing information, but benefits restart prorated from the date you follow up rather than backdated to the start of the new period.5Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook – B-120, Redeterminations Rollover keeps your past deposits available; recertification keeps the next ones coming.