Texas food stamps: SNAP income limits, Lone Star Card and estimate

Texas food stamps income limits for 2026–27

Texas sets its SNAP gross income limit at 165% of the federal poverty level for categorically eligible households; HHSC’s own chart for October 1, 2026 says the 165% column is “also the income limits for categorically eligible households.”^[1] USDA’s November 2026 chart lists Texas among the states where all households can use this route, but unlike most such states Texas keeps an asset test: $5,000, with one vehicle excluded up to $22,000 and any vehicle value above that counted.^[2]

A household that does not come in through that route is measured the standard federal way: gross income at or below 130% of poverty ($1,729 for one person, $3,575 for four), net income at or below 100%, and countable assets under $3,000, or $4,750 with a member who is 60 or older or disabled.^[1][3][4] Either way, the benefit itself comes from the federal formula: the maximum for your household size minus 30% of net income.^[5][4]

Example: SNAP for a Texas family of three

Take a parent with two children who earns $2,400 a month, pays $1,100 rent and has a separate electric bill that runs the air conditioning. Texas treats air conditioning, evaporative coolers and window units as cooling costs, so this family gets the full standard utility allowance.^[6]

The estimate is $510 a month. Their pay is under both the 165% line for three ($3,757) and the 130% line ($2,960). Their excess shelter deduction of $713 stays under the $769 cap, so the whole utility allowance counts. For an older Texan the numbers look different: a 68-year-old living alone on $1,350 of Social Security with $650 rent and a cooling bill gets about $130, with no cap on her shelter deduction because she is over 60.^[5] If she also has verified medical costs over $35 but not over $170 a month, Texas budgets a standard medical expense (SME) of $170 and then subtracts $35, so the deduction is $135; above $170 she can claim actual costs minus $35.^[1][6]

Utility allowances Texas uses

Texas has three flat utility amounts from October 1, 2026: a standard utility allowance (SUA) of $464, a basic utility allowance (BUA) of $417 and a telephone standard of $64.^[1]

You get the SUA if you pay, or expect to pay within the next 12 months, for heating or cooling separately from rent or mortgage.^[6] A household that got more than $20 a year in LIHEAP or similar energy help also qualifies, but only when it has an elderly or disabled member, which matches the 2025 federal change.^[6][15] The BUA is for households that pay utility costs other than a phone but have no separate heating or cooling bill, and a fan never counts as a cooling cost.^[6]

How to apply for food stamps in Texas

Apply online at YourTexasBenefits.com; for language help or disability aids, call 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905.^[7] You can also file Form H1010, the Texas Works Application for Assistance, at a local office or by fax or mail to the Document Processing Center.^[8]

1. Interview by phone. HHSC staff try to reach you by phone at least twice. If they cannot, they mail Form H1830-FA, which tells you to call the Flexible Appointment toll-free number within seven calendar days of the first attempt (three business days for expedited applicants).^[9]
2. Send proof. If you miss the appointment or the proof deadline on Form H1020 by the 10th day, the application is denied the next workday.^[9]
3. Decision within 30 days. HHSC must certify or deny by the 30th day after the file date.^[9][10]
4. Expedited SNAP within 7 days. You qualify if your liquid resources are $100 or less and gross income is under $150, or if income plus liquid resources is less than rent or mortgage and utilities. The interview must be done and benefits provided by the seventh calendar day, and you can postpone every proof except identity.^[8]

Certification, reporting and Lone Star Card dates

Most Texas households that meet streamlined reporting rules are certified for six months; households made up only of elderly or unemployable people with stable circumstances can get six to 12 months.^[11] The Texas Simplified Application Project (TSAP) gives households where everyone is 60 or older or disabled a simpler application and three years of benefits at a time.^[7][11] Between renewals, a streamlined household reports only gross income above 130% of poverty for two months in a row ($2,960 for three people), an able-bodied adult’s work hours dropping below an average of 20 a week, or lottery or gambling winnings over $4,750.^[12]

Benefits go on the Lone Star Card, which works like a debit card at any store that accepts SNAP.^[7] The monthly deposit day runs from the 1st to the 28th and is set by the last two digits of your EDG (eligibility determination group) number: 00–03 get benefits on the 1st, 46–49 on the 14th and 96–99 on the 28th. Households certified before May 1, 2023 keep their older schedule unless benefits stop for at least six months.^[13]

SNAP Texas work rules and 2026 changes

• Basic work rules. Recipients 16 to 59 who can work must respond to Texas Workforce Commission requests about SNAP Employment and Training, take a suitable job if offered and not quit or cut hours below 30 a week without good reason.^[14]
• Time limit to 64. Adults 18 to 64 who can work and have no dependent under 14 get only three months in three years unless they work or join a work program at least 80 hours a month.^[14][15][16]
• Candy and sweetened drinks. Since April 1, 2026, Texas SNAP cannot buy candy or sweetened drinks, meaning drinks with 5 grams or more of added sugar or any artificial sweetener; drinks with milk or more than 50% juice are still allowed.^[7] USDA lists the Texas restriction as an approved waiver with that start date.^[17]

Official Texas links

• YourTexasBenefits.com: apply for SNAP online Texas HHSC; help at 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905
• Texas HHS SNAP Food Benefits page Texas Health and Human Services
• Texas Works Handbook: SNAP income limits and deductions Revision 26-4, effective Oct 1, 2026
• SNAP work rules in Texas Texas Health and Human Services

See how Texas compares with Washington food stamps, Nevada food stamps and Arkansas food stamps. The national food stamps income limit tables cover every household size, the requirements to be on food stamps explain citizenship, student and work rules, and the SNAP calculator runs any state.

Quick table: Texas SNAP amounts by income

These amounts come from the same calculator as above, using Texas’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

Texas’s SNAP payment error rate for fiscal year 2025 was 9.34%, against a national rate of 10.62%.^[18] 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).^[15] That puts Texas 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.