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Does Food Stamps Count as Income?

If you’re getting food stamps and you have student loans, we have some good news for you!

According to the USDA, student loan payments don’t count toward your income for the purpose of calculating food stamp eligibility. This means that if you have loans and are applying for food stamps, your student loan payments won’t be taken into consideration when determining whether or not you’re eligible for food stamps.

So how does this all work? Well, first off: let’s talk about what counts as income when it comes to determining whether or not you’re eligible for food stamps. Generally speaking, if you get money from someone else who is actually paying them directly (like a parent), rather than getting them indirectly through an institution like an employer or school, then this money would count as income when it comes time to determine your eligibility. Student loans are typically paid by your lender directly (or indirectly through an institution like a university) rather than by anyone else—so they don’t count as income when it comes time for the USDA to evaluate your application.

Will My Student Loan Refund Affect My Food Stamps and My Daughter’s Medical Card?

If you receive assistance from a state welfare agency, it’s important that you follow their eligibility requirements. When you receive medical assistance, food stamps or other aid from the government in your state, you must have assets and an annual income that falls below a specific threshold. Unfortunately, if you have a higher amount of liquid assets or earn more money than is allowed, your benefits may be canceled.

Eligibility Thresholds

If you have the opportunity to increase the annual earnings that you bring in or boost your portfolio assets, it’s important that you check the eligibility thresholds at your state welfare agency. You can do this by searching the internet for “food stamps” and “your state.” You may also want to search for listings in your city.

To be eligible for food stamps, you must not have a higher amount of liquid assets than is allowed. This may vary between states as it is often dependent on political policies and the costs associated with living in a certain area. For example, the eligibility threshold in California is going to be higher than a state like West Virginia as the cost of living in California is relatively higher than the latter state.

The eligibility requirements for liquid assets will also vary state-by-state. You will need to check with the welfare agency in your local area to determine which assets are considered to be “liquid.”

Student Loan Refunds

If you recently graduated or decided to drop out of school, you may be eligible for a student loan refund. The size of the refund will determine if you are still eligible for receiving assistance from the state for food stamps.

If you had a large number of credits that you didn’t use, you may be eligible for a refund that is as large as $1000. In this situation, it’s likely that your eligibility for food stamps will be affected.

Reporting Income

If you do receive a student loan refund for unused credits, there may be a way that you can avoid reporting a portion of that income. After the refund is posted to the account at your bank, you may be able to utilize some of the funds by paying for clothing and food as these are necessities that you use every day. By utilizing cash to pay for these items, you may be able to claim a lesser amount of the refund that you receive when you complete an annual income statement for eligibility.

Can College Students Get Food Stamps?

Although the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, around 13% of households in the country experienced food insecurity in 2015. A 2017 study in Annals of Anthropological Practice indicates that college students are significantly more likely to not know how they will get their next meal than the general population. About 59% of students reported facing food insecurity at some point during their time in college.

Despite the ubiquity of campus hunger, college students have been largely excluded from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Federal laws that made students attending college at least part-time ineligible sought to keep learners from harvesting public aid they didn’t really need. Due to the pandemic, however, those laws have been lifted.

In 2022, students continue to lose access to work and resources through campus shutdowns. Food stamp benefits, which are temporarily extended to college students, can help them stay afloat. Beginning in January 2021, independent college students, students eligible for federal work-study, and students whose expected family contribution (EFC) is zero on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) became eligible.

A proposed bill would continue to make benefits available to college students beyond the pandemic. The College Student Hunger Act of 2021, put forward in October, would lower the work requirement for students (from 20 hours to 10) and provide food stamps to all Pell Grant recipients as well as students whose families contribute no money according to their FAFSA. The bill would also establish a pilot program to test allowing students to use the funds for on-campus dining. Current SNAP rules prohibit benefits from being used to purchase prepared food or campus meal plans.

If passed, the bill would represent the most substantial federal action taken to counter college hunger in over two decades. Including recipients of federal Pell Grants alone would expand the pool of food-stamp-eligible students by 7 million.

How to Get Food Stamps as a College Student

SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps, is paid through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that work like debit cards and can be used to buy food.

Every state has its own application form residents must fill out in order to receive SNAP benefits. Apply through the nearest SNAP office in your state of residence using the USDA national map. You can also call your state’s SNAP hotline number. Applicants receive notice of whether or not they are found eligible for benefits within 30 days.

If you are eligible, you will receive an EBT card and be notified of how long you may receive monthly benefits, known as a certification period. The amount of money loaded onto an EBT card for each month in the certification period varies based on income and expenses.

SNAP income and resource limits are updated annually. From Oct. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2022, a household of one may net up to $1,074 monthly (income after expenses) and receive up to $250 per month. (Allotments are different in Alaska and Hawaii.) During the pandemic, SNAP benefits may increase.

SNAP benefits may be used to buy any food items:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Meat, poultry, and fish
• Dairy products
• Breads and cereals
• Snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages
• Food-producing seeds and plants

SNAP benefits may NOT be used to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
• Vitamins, medicines, and supplements
• Live animals (except fish and shellfish)
• Foods that are hot at the point of sale
• Pet food
• Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies
• Hygiene items, cosmetics

What Students Qualify for Food Stamps?

Prior to the pandemic, most students enrolled in college at least part-time were not eligible for SNAP unless they met certain specific exemptions:

• Under the age of 18 or over the age of 50
• Not “physically or mentally fit”
• Assigned to a school through the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
• Employed a minimum of 20 hours per week
• Enrolled full-time as a single parent with a child under the age of 12
• Enrolled as a parent with a child under the age of 6, or with a child aged 6-12 for whom childcare is not available

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 temporarily expanded student eligibility beginning January 16, 2021 through the end of the declared public health emergency. While the old rules restricted eligibility to students actively participating in state- or federally-funded work-study, the new rules include all students who are eligible for work-study.

The new rules also extend eligibility to students whose EFC is zero — their family does not supply any money for their education or living expenses as reported on the FAFSA. College students may show proof of eligibility under the temporary rules through their financial aid award letter, Student Aid Report, or a letter from their college (the same entity that decides work-study eligibility).

For students who are expecting or new mothers, other federal assistance to afford food is available through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). WIC offers grants for food purchases and other healthcare and nutrition benefits to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum people.

The Impact of College Hunger

The inability to afford food can deprive students of nutritious options, lead to physical and mental health conditions, and make concentrating difficult. Going hungry in college is directly linked to getting worse grades — students who experience food insecurity are less likely to earn A’s — and taking longer to graduate. College students who deal with hunger have lower rates of degree completion.

College hunger is a widespread issue, with reverberating consequences. Diminished performance in college can mean fewer career opportunities for the rest of one’s life. While more than half of students may go hungry at some point in their college careers, some student groups are at higher risk and, consequently, bear more of the continuing burdens.

Community college students, financially independent students, Pell Grant recipients, and student parents are all more likely than their peers to experience basic needs insecurity, including food insecurity.

Student loans do count as income for food stamps. If you have a student loan, you can use it to qualify for food stamps.

If you are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, you may be eligible for an increase in your benefits if you receive a student loan disbursement. You must be enrolled in or attending an institution of higher education at the time that your application is submitted.

Does Student Financial Aid Count as Income for Benefits?

Only certain forms of college student financial aid count as income for government benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid.

Financial aid can include student loans, grants, scholarships, stipends, and work-study programs.

Student loans do not count as income for these two benefits, but be careful to avoid resource limitations if you borrow extra money to pay living expenses not billed by your school.

Funds held in a bank account could cause you to lose valuable benefits.

College work-study programs typically count as income, but your participation helps with food stamps eligibility while sometimes impacting Medicaid qualifications.

Financial Aid & Food Stamps

The answer to whether college financial aid counts as income for food stamps is secondary. Most students are ineligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if attending school at least half-time unless they meet an exemption and all other eligibility requirements.

Find the complete list of SNAP exemptions for students here.

Table Of Contents

Student Loans

Student loans never count as income for food stamps because the money that you borrow does not represent earnings. However, be careful to avoid disqualifying yourself by exceeding the resource limits if your school deposits excess funding into your checking account.

SNAP qualifying criteria include a $2,500 resource limit for money held in a bank account. Student loan proceeds go to the college first to pay tuition, lab fees, and dormitory expenses.

Colleges often pass excess (unspent) loan proceeds to the student to fund living expenses, such as off-campus housing, transportation, insurance, etc. You might disqualify yourself if you hold more than $2,500 of this extra money in a bank account. 

Pell Grants

Food stamps do not consider Pell Grants as income even though the student does not have to repay the money to the federal government. However, Pell Grant recipients are more likely to qualify under a temporary exemption connected with the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of zero are eligible for SNAP benefits per the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Pell Grant recipients have an EFC of zero.

Pell Grants recipients will have to meet the narrower list of student exceptions 30 days after the public health emergency officially ends.

Work Study

Work-study earnings count as income when applying for food stamps. However, SNAP rules list participation in a state or federally financed program as a permanent exemption for college students.

In other words, work-study programs have a counterbalancing effect. Participating helps you to qualify, provided you do not earn more than the gross monthly limits.

Also, eligibility for a work-study program is a temporary exemption for college students during the COVID public health emergency – even if you are not earning money.

SSI

Many young adults wonder how they can get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Food Stamps as college students. The answer lies in the intersection of the SNAP and SSI eligibility criteria.

1. The SSI program provides monthly payments to adults and children who are blind or disabled.
2. One of the SNAP permanent exclusions for college students is having a mental or physical disability.
3. The average monthly payment for SSI falls comfortably under the SNAP income limit

Therefore, disabled college students can get food stamps and SSI while attending school, even if they receive financial aid (loans, Pell grants, scholarships, or work-study programs).

Financial Aid & Medicaid

College financial aid can sometimes affect eligibility when applying for Medicaid. Of course, the student must support themselves without a parent claiming them as a dependent on their taxes.

Medicaid provides free dental insurance and healthcare to low-income families. However, the qualification rules vary by state for work-study programs and student loans.

Medicaid Loans

Student loans do not count as income for Medicaid. But any excess funding deposited into your bank account could make you ineligible if you reside in a state that has not expanded eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.

• In expansion states, you qualify based on income alone if under 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), with no resource limitations.
• In non-expansion states, you qualify based on income and other factors, including countable resources.

As noted above, colleges routinely transfer unspent loan dollars to students to help them fund living expenses: off-campus housing, food, transportation, etc. Money held in a bank account could make you ineligible if your state has not expanded Medicaid.

Non-Expansion State 2023

Alabama	Florida	Georgia
Kansas	Mississippi	North Carolina
South Carolina	South Dakota	Tennessee
Texas	Wisconsin	Wyoming

Medicaid Work-Study

Participation in a student work-study program counts as income for Medicaid. However, the amount you can earn before making yourself ineligible varies by state and increases for pregnant women.

• Medicaid income limits are higher for pregnant women
• Expansion states allow earnings up to 138% of FPL
• Non-expansion states have much lower earning limits