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Standard Deduction - SNAP (Food Stamps)

In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), regardless of the amount of income a household has, it is eligible for the Standard Deduction, which is applied on a monthly basis to a household. The method used to determine the Standard Deduction is the same in all states. The actual amount of the Standard Deduction is uniform for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, and varies for Alaska and Hawaii.

NOTE: WorkWORLD computes and applies the Standard Deduction automatically when calculating your household's SNAP eligibility and benefits, based on which State your household resides in and the size of your household.

NOTE: On June 18, 2008, Congress enacted Public Law 110-246, The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA). Section 4100 includes a provision that renames the Food Stamp Program the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" or SNAP and renames the Food Stamp Act of 1977 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, effective October 1, 2008. State agencies may continue to use state-specific program names.

Additionally, Section 4102 contains a provision that raises the minimum standard deduction for households with one to three members from $134 to $144 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and indexes it to inflation starting in FY 2010. (The standard deduction remains unchanged for larger households, which already receive a larger standard deduction indexed to inflation). This provision takes effect on October 1, 2008.

Before October 1, 2002, the Standard Deduction was a fixed amount that applied to all households, and only varied for households in Hawaii and Alaska. For the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia the amount was $134, in Hawaii it was $189, and in Alaska it was $229.

Beginning October 1, 2002 (the start of Federal Fiscal Year 2003) a new method was used to determine the Standard Deduction. It was equal to 8.31% of the applicable net income limit based on the household's size. However, no household could have a Standard Deduction that wa less than the old amount. Also, no household could have a Standard Deduction that was more than the Standard Deduction for a household size of six.

In practice, this resulted in no change of the Standard Deduction amount for small household sizes, and a slightly increased amount for larger households. That is, in the 48 continental States and the District of Columbia through Fiscal Year 2008, for a household with three or fewer members, the Standard Deduction remained at $134. In a household with four members it was $143, with five members the amount was $167, and in a household with six or more members the amount was $191.

Effective October 1, 2008, there is a new provision that raises the minimum standard deduction for households with one to three members from $134 to $144. This provision takes effect on October 1, 2008 at the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and indexes it to inflation starting in FY 2010. (The standard deduction remains unchanged for larger households, which already receive a larger standard deduction indexed to inflation).

The subtraction of the Standard Deduction cannot result in a net income that is less than $0. If a household is eligible for a $134 Standard Deduction and the household only has $110 in income, the household's income is reduced to $0 by the Standard Deduction, but it is not reduced below this amount.

The Standard Deduction is used to calculate your household's net income, and in fact, it reduces your household's net income. By reducing the amount of net income that is counted when determining whether a household meets the net income test or when calculating the level of Food Stamp benefits for a household, this deduction allows households to have higher incomes and still qualify for benefits. In addition, it allows a SNAP household to receive higher benefits.

Source

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/government/

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