Food stamps Indiana: income limits, asset limit and calculator

Indiana SNAP income and asset limits

Indiana applies the standard federal SNAP tests: gross income at or below 130% of the poverty level, net income at or below 100%, and an asset limit of $3,000, or $4,750 if the household has a member who is 60 or older or disabled.^[1][2] Households with an elderly or disabled member skip the gross test but still face the net test.^[2][5] Indiana does not appear on USDA’s list of states using broad-based categorical eligibility, so unlike many states it has no higher gross limit and no waiver of the asset test.^[3]

Assets include bank accounts, cash, real estate and personal property. Your home and its lot, household goods, personal belongings and life insurance policies are not counted, and every vehicle used for household transportation is exempt whatever its value; only recreational vehicles or vehicles not used to get around count, at their equity value.^[2]

What a family of five could get in Indiana

Indiana calculates SNAP the federal way: the household’s maximum allotment minus 30% of its net income after deductions.^[4][5] For two parents and three children with $3,300 a month in wages, $1,050 rent and a heating bill of their own:

The family would get about $615 a month, with gross income under the $4,191 limit for five. The asset limit is where many Indiana families get tripped up: if the same household had $3,500 in a savings account, it would be turned down, because $3,500 is over the $3,000 limit, even though its income passes. Out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 a month for a member who is 60 or older or disabled are deducted, as is court-ordered child support paid to someone outside the household.^[6]

Indiana’s four utility standards

Indiana has four standard utility allowances: SUA 1 for households with a primary heating or cooling expense, SUA 2 for households without one that pay at least two other utilities (electricity not used for heat, water, sewer, trash, telephone and similar), SUA 3 of $65 for a single utility expense, and SUA 4 for a basic telephone bill alone.^[1] The amounts are the same for every household size, and SUA 1 and SUA 2 already include the phone.^[1]

Internet costs no longer count toward shelter costs or the utility standards; DFR says it has put that 2025 federal change into effect.^[2]

Applying for food stamps in Indiana

You apply for Indiana SNAP online through the FSSA Benefits Portal or, without a computer, at your local Division of Family Resources (DFR) office; DFR’s statewide number is 800-403-0864.^[2] Plan to provide names, birth dates and Social Security numbers for everyone in the home, proof of each person’s income and resources, rent or mortgage and utility costs, court-ordered child support paid, dependent care costs, and medical bills for anyone 60 or older or disabled.^[2]

• Interview. A DFR worker asks about who lives with you, income and resources, then gives or mails you a list of documents with a due date; your eligibility notice explains appeal rights.^[2]
• Seven-day benefits. New applicants with less than $150 in monthly gross income and less than $100 in cash, checking and savings, or whose housing costs are more than their income plus cash, get benefits within seven days of applying.^[2]
• Everyone else is told the decision within thirty days of the application date.^[2]

Hoosier Works card, renewals and deposit dates

Most Indiana households are certified for 12 months and complete an Interim Report at month 6, with a redetermination interview every 12 months; households in which every member is 65 or older or disabled and no one has earnings get a 36-month period with no interim report.^[7] Between reports, you must tell DFR by the 10th of the next month if household income goes over the 130% limit ($4,191 for five), if an able-bodied adult works fewer than 20 hours a week, or if someone wins $4,750 or more in lottery or gambling winnings.^[7]

Approved households get a Hoosier Works EBT card in the mail, normally within 3 to 5 business days, and it works for online grocery orders at authorized retailers (delivery fees cannot be paid with SNAP).^[2] Benefits arrive by the first letter of the cardholder’s last name:^[2]

New from November 23, 2026: any benefits that have sat in the account for 274 days, about nine months, are removed even if you use the card for other purchases, and removed benefits cannot be replaced.^[2] For a lost or damaged card, call Hoosier Works customer service at 1-877-768-5098.^[2]

Smart SNAP and work rules in Indiana

Since January 1, 2026, Indiana SNAP benefits cannot buy candy or sugary drinks, including sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks.^[8] Drinks made with milk, soy or rice milk, or sweetened only with fruit or vegetable juice, are not restricted; the rule follows Executive Order 25-55 of April 15, 2025 and USDA’s approval on May 22, 2025.^[8]

DFR has also put the 2025 federal work-rule changes in place: the time limit for able-bodied adults now reaches people up to 64, the parent exception covers only those caring for a child under 14, and homeless people, veterans and former foster youth no longer have their own exception.^[2][9] DFR also notes that from October 2027 states pay a share of SNAP benefits based on their payment error rate, from 0 to 15%.^[2]

Official Indiana SNAP links

• FSSA Benefits Portal (apply, renew, report changes) Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• DFR SNAP / Food Assistance page eligibility, deposit chart; DFR 800-403-0864
• Smart SNAP (restricted items) candy and sugary drinks since January 1, 2026

Rules are looser in many places; compare Louisiana food stamps, Missouri food stamps and Georgia food stamps, check the national food stamps income limit chart, or go through the requirements to be on food stamps step by step.

Quick table: Indiana SNAP amounts by income

These amounts come from the same calculator as above, using Indiana’s figures from October 1, 2026, a $1,000 rent and only wages as income; a dash means no benefit (over the income limit, or 30% of net income uses up the whole maximum). Your own rent, utilities, child care or medical costs can raise the amount, so enter your numbers above for an estimate that fits you.

Payment error rate and the 2028 state cost share

Indiana’s SNAP payment error rate for fiscal year 2025 was 9.77%, against a national rate of 10.62%.^[10] Under the 2025 law, from October 2027 each state pays a share of benefit costs based on that rate (for 2028 the state may elect its 2026 rate instead).^[9] That puts Indiana in the 10% tier: the state would pay 10% of SNAP benefit costs and the federal government the rest. This does not change how benefits are calculated for a household; it changes who pays for them, so watch for state budget decisions.