Overview
- Federal cost-of-living adjustments that took effect Oct. 1 raise maximum monthly SNAP payments for most households, for example a single-person allotment in the contiguous U.S. goes from $298 to $306 and a family-of-four maximum rises from $994 to $1,023.
- The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires states to pay 75% of SNAP administrative costs starting Oct. 1, moving the burden for eligibility processing, EBT operation and casework from the federal government to states.
- Analysts report about five million fewer people received SNAP over the past year after the law’s eligibility and work-rule changes, and states face additional financial risk in 2027 if their payment error rates exceed 6 percent and trigger benefit-cost penalties.
- Recipients should check their EBT accounts because the FY2027 updates also raised deduction caps, income and asset limits and the minimum monthly benefit to $25, while benefit maximums vary by location with Alaska and U.S. territories higher and Hawaii seeing a decline for some households.
- The combined effect could pressure state budgets and food banks as fewer people enroll and states absorb higher operating bills, with the most direct impact felt by low-income households who may lose access to food assistance because of stricter work rules and new documentation requirements.