Who Is Eligible for SNAP in NY: Income, Assets, and Work Rules

To be eligible for SNAP in New York, you need to live in the state, meet income limits that depend on your household’s circumstances, satisfy federal work rules if they apply to you, and be a U.S. citizen or a qualifying non-citizen. Most working households qualify with gross monthly income up to 150% of the federal poverty level. Households that include someone age 60 or older, someone with a disability, or that pay out-of-pocket dependent care costs can earn up to 200%. Households with no earned income face the standard federal limit of 130% gross and 100% net.

Income Limits by Household Situation

New York uses a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility, which raises the income ceiling above the standard federal thresholds for many households and waives the asset test for those who qualify under it.¹ Which limit applies depends on who is in your household and where your income comes from.

Households With an Elderly or Disabled Member, or Dependent Care Costs

If someone in your household is age 60 or older, is receiving disability benefits, or if you pay out-of-pocket dependent care costs, your gross monthly income can be as high as 200% of the federal poverty level.¹ For October 2025 through September 2026, the 200% limits by household size are:²

1 person: $2,660 per month
2 people: $3,607 per month
3 people: $4,553 per month
4 people: $5,500 per month
5 people: $6,447 per month
6 people: $7,393 per month
7 people: $8,340 per month
8 people: $9,287 per month

A household with an elderly or disabled member whose income exceeds 200% isn’t automatically disqualified. It drops out of categorical eligibility and has to pass the standard tests instead: net income at or below 100% of the poverty level ($1,305 per month for one person, $2,680 for a family of four) and countable assets at or below $4,500.³⁴ There’s no separate gross income test for these households.

Working Households Without Elderly, Disabled, or Dependent Care Factors

If your household has earned income but doesn’t include an elderly or disabled member and you don’t pay dependent care costs, the gross income limit is 150% of the federal poverty level.¹ Based on the 2026 poverty guidelines, that works out to roughly:²

1 person: $1,995 per month
2 people: $2,705 per month
3 people: $3,415 per month
4 people: $4,125 per month

Households With No Earned Income

Households that have no earned income, no elderly or disabled member, and no dependent care costs fall under the standard federal limits. Gross income has to be at or below 130% of the poverty level and net income (what remains after deductions) at or below 100%.⁵ For one person, the 130% gross limit is $1,696 per month; for a family of four, $3,483. These households also face an asset limit of $3,000 in countable resources such as cash and bank accounts.⁴

Who Counts as Part of Your Household

The income limits apply to your household, not just you, so it matters who gets counted. Under federal rules, a household is a group of people who live together and normally buy and prepare food together.⁶ Someone living alone is a one-person household. Roommates who buy and cook their food separately can apply as separate households even at the same address.

Some people have to be included if they live with you, regardless of whether they actually share meals. Spouses count. Children under 22 who live with a parent or stepparent count. Children under 18 living with an adult who acts as a parent count.⁷ Everyone in the household needs a Social Security number or must have applied for one.⁸ All applicants must live in New York when they apply.⁹

Work Requirements

Most SNAP recipients between 16 and 59 have to register for work, accept a suitable job if one is offered, and not voluntarily quit a job without good cause.¹⁰

A stricter set of rules applies to able-bodied adults without dependents, known as ABAWDs. After changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, the ABAWD category now covers adults aged 18 through 64 who aren’t disabled or pregnant and don’t have a dependent child under 14 in the household. Previously, the age range was 18 through 54 and having any dependent excluded you. ABAWDs have to work, participate in a training program, or combine the two for at least 80 hours per month. Those who don’t meet the requirement are limited to three months of benefits.¹⁰

Several groups are exempt from the ABAWD time limit, including people who are physically or mentally unable to work, pregnant individuals, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth up to age 24.¹⁰ If you lose benefits for not meeting the requirement, you can regain eligibility by working at least 80 hours in a 30-day period or by qualifying for an exemption.

Rules for College Students

If you’re enrolled at least half-time in college, you generally don’t qualify for SNAP unless you meet a specific exemption.¹¹ The most common exemptions:

Working at least 20 hours per week in paid employment
Participating in a federal or state work-study program
Caring for a child under 6
Caring for a child aged 6 to 11 and lacking the childcare needed to attend school and work 20 hours per week
Single parents enrolled full time caring for a child under 12
Receiving TANF benefits
Being under 18 or age 50 or older

Students enrolled less than half-time aren’t subject to these restrictions and qualify under the normal rules. Students who get most of their meals through a school meal plan, whether mandatory or voluntary, aren’t eligible regardless of other factors.¹¹

Citizenship and Immigration Status

U.S. citizens who meet the other requirements can apply without any immigration-related restrictions. Certain non-citizens with lawful immigration status can also qualify, including lawful permanent residents, refugees, and people granted asylum.⁵

Most lawfully present adults must have lived in the United States for at least five years before becoming eligible. The five-year wait doesn’t apply to children under 18, people receiving disability-related assistance, or refugees and asylees, who are eligible as soon as they arrive.⁵ Undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible, but a non-citizen parent can apply on behalf of eligible citizen children without affecting the parent’s own immigration standing.

Assets and Savings

Households that qualify through broad-based categorical eligibility (the 150% and 200% groups above) don’t face an asset test, so savings, retirement accounts, and other resources generally won’t disqualify you.¹ The asset limits only apply to households testing under the standard federal rules: $3,000 in countable resources for most households, and $4,500 for households with an elderly or disabled member whose income exceeds 200% of poverty.⁴

If You Qualify, How to Apply

The standard New York application is form LDSS-4826, available in several languages. A simpler version, LDSS-5166, is available for seniors and people with disabilities.¹² You can apply online through the New York State myBenefits portal, mail your application to your local Department of Social Services, or drop it off in person at a district office.¹³

Expect to document identity, New York residency, income (pay stubs from the last four weeks or profit-and-loss records if self-employed), shelter costs, and the Social Security numbers and birth dates of everyone in the household. After filing, you’ll have a mandatory eligibility interview, usually by phone. The state has to issue a decision within 30 calendar days of the date you filed.¹⁴

If you’re in immediate need, you may qualify for expedited processing that delivers benefits within seven days. The two ways in: gross monthly income under $150 with no more than $100 in liquid assets, or combined monthly income and liquid assets below your monthly rent and utility costs.⁵

1
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. 16 ADM-06 Expansion of Categorical Eligibility for SNAP Households
2
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
3
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
4
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
5
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
6
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.1 – Household Concept
7
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.1 – Household Concept
8
Social Security Administration. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Facts
9
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 18 387.9 – Investigation and Eligibility
10
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
11
Food and Nutrition Service. Students
12
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. SNAP Application/Recertification LDSS-4826
13
New York State. myBenefits
14
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 – Certification of Eligible Households