Maryland SNAP Eligibility: Income Limits, Deductions, and Work Rules

You qualify for Maryland SNAP eligibility if your household’s gross monthly income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, you meet federal citizenship rules, and you satisfy the work requirements that apply to you. For a family of three, that gross income ceiling is $4,442 per month.¹ Maryland uses a policy called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, which raises the income limit above the federal baseline and eliminates the asset test for most households.² The rules on who has to work for benefits changed substantially under the 2025 federal budget reconciliation (H.R. 1), so the work piece deserves close attention even if you qualified easily in the past.

Income Limits by Household Size

Two income tests matter. Gross income is everything your household brings in before taxes and deductions. Net income is what remains after Maryland subtracts allowable deductions. Both have to pass.

The gross monthly income limits for fiscal year 2026 are:¹

1 person: $2,610
2 people: $3,526
3 people: $4,442
4 people: $5,360
5 people: $6,276
6 people: $7,192
7 people: $8,110
8 people: $9,026
Each additional person: add $918

The net income thresholds follow 100% of the Federal Poverty Level:¹

1 person: $1,305
2 people: $1,763
3 people: $2,221
4 people: $2,680
5 people: $3,138
6 people: $3,596
7 people: $4,055
8 people: $4,513
Each additional person: add $459

The lower your net income, the larger your monthly benefit, so the deductions discussed below do real work.

Who Counts as Your Household

Household composition sets the size used in every income calculation, which makes it the first thing to get right. Your household includes everyone who lives with you and regularly buys food and prepares meals together. Someone living with others but genuinely purchasing and cooking food separately can be treated as a separate household.³

Two groupings are mandatory regardless of how meals are handled. Spouses living in the same home are always one SNAP household. Parents living with their natural, adopted, or stepchildren age 21 or younger are also one household, even if the adult child is financially independent or buys food separately.³

Deductions That Lower Your Countable Income

Maryland subtracts several items from gross income to arrive at the net figure. Every household receives a standard deduction based on size. For fiscal year 2026 that is $209 per month for households of one to three people, $223 for four, $261 for five, and $299 for six or more.⁴

If anyone in your household earns wages, 20% of those gross earnings is deducted automatically. Shelter costs that exceed half your income after other deductions have been applied are subtracted as an excess shelter deduction, which covers rent or mortgage, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and utilities. For households without an elderly or disabled member, the excess shelter deduction caps at $744 per month. Households that include an elderly or disabled member face no cap, which can meaningfully increase the final benefit.⁴

Rather than requiring you to document every utility bill, Maryland applies standard utility allowances based on which utilities you pay. Households where every member is homeless receive a flat $184 monthly shelter deduction.⁵

Two other deductions apply in specific situations. Households with an elderly or disabled member can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses above $35 per month, including prescriptions, doctor visits, medical equipment, and health insurance premiums.⁶ Legally obligated child support you pay to someone outside the household is deductible, as are dependent care costs that let a household member work or train.

Asset Rules

Most Maryland households face no asset test. Under Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, bank accounts, savings, cash, and vehicles are not counted.² Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs are excluded under federal law in any case.⁷

The asset test does apply to a narrow group: households including someone disqualified for a program violation, and households with an elderly or disabled member whose gross income is above the 200% threshold. For those households, countable resources cannot exceed $4,500. The home you live in and most personal property are not counted.⁸

Work Requirements

The 2025 federal budget reconciliation (H.R. 1) significantly expanded who has to meet SNAP work rules. Unless you qualify for an exemption, you must document at least 80 hours per month spent working, volunteering, or participating in a work or training program.⁹

H.R. 1 brought several groups under the work requirement for the first time: adults ages 55 to 64, parents with children ages 14 to 17 living at home, veterans, young adults under 24 who aged out of foster care, and people experiencing homelessness.

You are exempt if you are under 18 or over 64, are medically certified as physically or mentally unable to work, are a parent or caregiver of a child under 14, or are enrolled in a Temporary Cash Assistance employment program.⁹

The consequence is steep. If you are not exempt and cannot meet the 80-hour monthly threshold within three months of the rule taking effect, you may lose SNAP entirely. You can reapply at any time, but you will need to meet the work requirement before benefits resume.⁹

ABAWD Three-Month Time Limit

Able-bodied adults without dependents between 18 and 54 face a separate restriction. If this is you, you can receive SNAP for only three months within a three-year period unless you are working, volunteering, or in a training program for at least 80 hours per month.¹⁰ This time limit runs concurrently with the general work requirement. Maryland can request waivers for high-unemployment areas, but those waivers have become less common.

College Student Rules

Students enrolled at least half-time at a college or university are generally disqualified from SNAP unless they meet a specific exemption. Being low-income is not enough on its own. The qualifying exemptions include:¹¹

Working at least 20 hours per week (not averaged over the month)
Participating in federal work-study during the school year
Receiving Temporary Cash Assistance, SSI, SSDI, or VA disability payments
Caring for a child under 6
Caring for a child ages 6 to 11 when adequate childcare is unavailable
Single parent enrolled full-time with a child under 12
Placed in college through a workforce training program such as one under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Under 18 or age 50 and older
Physically or mentally unfit

Students living in a dormitory with a meal plan covering more than half their meals are not eligible regardless of exemption status. International students cannot receive SNAP, though U.S. citizen or qualified non-citizen household members may still apply.

Citizenship and Non-Citizen Eligibility

SNAP is limited to U.S. citizens and certain qualified non-citizens. Lawful permanent residents (green card holders), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of nations with a Compact of Free Association with the United States are among those who may qualify.¹¹ Lawful permanent residents generally must wait five years after receiving their green card before becoming eligible. Children under 18 are exempt from that waiting period.

A non-citizen who does not personally qualify can still apply on behalf of eligible family members, such as U.S. citizen children, as a nonapplicant. In that role you do not have to disclose your own immigration status; only the household members actually seeking benefits need to document theirs. The income of an ineligible non-citizen household member is still partially counted when the benefit is calculated.

How to Apply and What Happens Next

You can apply online through the myMDTHINK portal, by downloading the application from the Department of Human Services website, or in person at any local Department of Social Services office.¹² Have identification and Social Security numbers for every household member, proof of a Maryland address, income documentation such as pay stubs or benefit letters, and expense records including rent or mortgage, childcare, and medical bills for elderly or disabled members. Expenses matter because the caseworker cannot apply a deduction you did not document, and missed deductions directly reduce your benefit.

A caseworker will schedule a mandatory eligibility interview, usually by phone. A missed interview can stall or close the case. Maryland must process the application within 30 calendar days of filing, and benefits, once approved, are effective back to the original application date.¹³ Households in severe financial distress may qualify for expedited processing within seven days. You are eligible for expedited benefits if your household has less than $150 in gross monthly income and $100 or less in liquid resources, or if your combined monthly income and liquid resources are less than your monthly rent, mortgage, and utility costs.¹⁴

If You Are Denied

If Maryland denies your application or reduces your benefits, you can request an administrative hearing. You have 90 days from the action you are contesting, and you can request the hearing verbally or in writing.¹⁵ If your benefits are being reduced or ended during an active certification period and you request a hearing before the effective date, benefits continue at the previous level until the hearing is resolved.¹⁶ You can bring a representative, whether a lawyer, friend, or family member.

1
Maryland Department of Human Services. Family Investment Administration Programs Income Guidelines
2
Food and Nutrition Service. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility
3
Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.17.03 – Household Composition
4
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions
5
Maryland Department of Human Services. SNAP Mass Changes for October 2025
6
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Medical Expenses Handbook
7
Food and Nutrition Service. Excluded Retirement Accounts
8
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
9
Maryland Department of Human Services. Important Changes to SNAP Benefits
10
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
12
Maryland Department of Human Services. DHS/FIA 9702 – Application for Assistance for One Person
13
Maryland Department of Human Services. Normal Processing Standards
14
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Application Processing Timeliness
15
Maryland Department of Human Services. Administrative Hearings
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2020 – Administration