SNAP Income Guidelines North Carolina

This page provides the North Carolina SNAP income requirements when applying for food stamps. Households must meet certain income tests, unless all members of your household receives TANF, SSI or in some cases, general assistance. The North Carolina SNAP income guidelines require that most households must meet both gross and net income tests. However, if a household has an elderly person or a person who is receiving certain disability payments, then they only need to meet the net income test. If your household has income over the amounts listed below, then you would not qualify for food stamps in North Carolina.

Law has been passed to determine the income eligibility standards for SNAP benefits. Gross monthly income limits are set at 130% of the poverty level for the household size. Net monthly income limits are set at 100% of poverty. Your household income is just one part that is taken into consideration when you are trying to qualify for SNAP, to find out what else is needed to qualify for these benefits, how to apply for North Carolina food stamps.

North Carolina Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards

(130% of Poverty Level)

North Carolina Net Monthly Income Eligibility Standards

(100% of Poverty Level)

North Carolina Gross Monthly Income Eligibility Standards for Households Where Elderly Disabled Are a Separate Household

(165% of Poverty Level) What is considered a household?

Everyone who lives together and purchases and prepares meals together is grouped together as one household. However, if a person is 60 years of age or older and he or she is unable to purchase and prepare meals separately because of a permanent disability, the person and the person's spouse may be a separate household if the others they live with do not have very much income. (More than 165 percent of the poverty level.)

Some people who live together, such as husbands and wives and most children under age 22, are included in the same household, even if they purchase and prepare meals separately.

Who is considered disabled?

In most cases, a person is considered to be disabled for SNAP purposes if he or she:

• Receives State disability or blindness payments based on SSI rules
• Receives Federal disability or blindness payments under the Social Security Act, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security disability or blindness payments
• Receives an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act and is eligible for Medicare or is considered to be disabled based on the SSI rules
• Is a veteran who is totally disabled, permanently housebound, or in need of regular aid and attendance
• Is a surviving spouse or child of a veteran who is receiving VA benefits and is considered to be permanently disabled
• Receives a disability retirement benefit from a governmental agency because of a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act

What does gross and net income mean?

Gross income means a household's total, non-excluded income, before any deductions have been made. Net income means gross income minus allowable deductions.

How much can a household receive?

The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by 0.3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food. Below is a table that lists the maximum SNAP allotment for North Carolina.