Family Benefits Eligibility Screener
Does my family qualify for help with food, health coverage, or the energy bill?
It depends on three numbers: your state, your household size, and your income. Type them in below and the screener lines your income up against the published limit for six programs at once, showing the limit and your number side by side. The limits are the official ones, from the sources named on each program page. Only the agency that runs a program can approve you; this tool shows you where you stand against the published line so you know which applications are worth your afternoon.
When money gets tight, the hardest part is not the paperwork. It is figuring out which doors are even worth knocking on. Every program draws its income line in a different place, in a different year's dollars, on a different website. This page puts the lines in one place, next to your number.
Your household
Gross income means the total before taxes and deductions. Count everyone who lives and eats together for household size, the way most of these programs do.
How to read your results
Green means your income sits under that program's published limit. Red means it sits over. Amber means the answer depends on a choice your state makes. Every row names the limit it used, so you can check the same figure on the program page and at the source.
Under a limit is not an approval. Programs also look at residency, household makeup, and sometimes savings. Over a limit is not always the end either: deductions, a pregnancy, or a state rule can move the line. The agency decides.
| Program | Published limit | Your numbers | How you compare |
|---|
Limits shown: SNAP fiscal 2027 federal standards; WIC 2026-2027 guidelines; Medicaid and CHIP levels published by Medicaid.gov; LIHEAP federal band for fiscal 2027; state EITC as listed by the IRS; unemployment maximums from the U.S. Department of Labor, July 2026. Full tables and sources sit on each program page below.
A note before you screen
I am Jennifer, and I want to say this plainly before the form: using a benefit your family qualifies for is budgeting, not failing. These programs exist for exactly the season of life this site is about, when the kids are small and the money is tight. The screener below lines your income up against the published limits for six programs at once, using the official tables named on each program page. Only the agency can approve you, but knowing which applications are worth your afternoon is half the battle, and our program pages explain each line in plain language.
The six programs, in plain language
SNAP puts grocery money on an EBT card. The federal gross income test sits at 130 percent of the poverty guidelines, with a second test on net income after deductions. Our SNAP maximum benefits page carries the full fiscal 2027 amounts, and the grocery costs by state pages show what that money has to cover at your store.
WIC covers food, breastfeeding support, and nutrition help for pregnancy and the under-five years. Its income line, 185 percent of poverty, is the most generous of the food programs, and families already on SNAP or Medicaid pass the income test automatically.
Medicaid and CHIP are health coverage. Children almost always get the highest income limits in the house, pregnant women get their own higher limit in most states, and adults depend heavily on whether the state expanded Medicaid.
LIHEAP helps with heating and cooling bills. Washington sets a band and your state picks its limit inside it, which is why two families with the same income can get different answers across a state line.
State earned income tax credits ride on top of the federal EITC at tax time. Twenty-nine states and DC add their own percentage, and one state, Washington, pays a flat amount instead. It is the only program here that arrives as a tax refund rather than a monthly benefit.
Unemployment insurance is the odd one out: it is not based on your current income at all, but on wages you already earned. We include it because a job loss is usually the moment families come looking for the other five, and knowing your state's weekly ceiling helps you plan the gap.
Two households, worked through by hand
Household A: a family of four in Texas earning $52,000
Two kids, one of them three years old. Their income is 157.6 percent of the poverty guideline for four. Running the six checks:
| Program | Published limit | How they compare |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP gross income test | $42,900 a year | Over by $9,100 a year |
| WIC | $61,050 a year | Under by $9,050 a year |
| Children's Medicaid and CHIP | $66,330 a year (201% of poverty) | Under by $14,330 a year |
| Medicaid for the parents | $3,960 a year (12% of poverty) | Over: Texas has no adult expansion group |
| LIHEAP energy help | Federal band up to $49,500 a year | Over the 150% ceiling by $2,500 |
| State earned income tax credit | None in Texas | Federal EITC still applies |
The same income that misses the food and heating tests still clears the two programs built around young children. That split is exactly why a single yes or no answer never works for benefits.
Household B: a family of three in Ohio earning $38,000, with a baby on the way
One toddler, one pregnancy. Their income is 139.1 percent of the poverty guideline for three.
| Program | Published limit | How they compare |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP gross income test | $35,520 a year | Over by $2,480 a year |
| WIC | $50,542 a year | Under by $12,542 a year |
| Medicaid in pregnancy (Ohio) | $54,640 a year (200% of poverty) | Under by $16,640 a year |
| Children's Medicaid and CHIP | $56,279 a year (206% of poverty) | Under by $18,279 a year |
| LIHEAP energy help | Federal band up to $40,980 a year | Under the ceiling by $2,980 |
| Ohio earned income tax credit | 30% of the federal EITC | Nonrefundable: it can cut Ohio tax to zero but pays no refund beyond that |
One pregnancy moves three answers at once: WIC opens up, pregnancy Medicaid uses a higher limit than regular adult coverage, and the baby will count in the household when they arrive.
What to do with your results
Start with the green rows. Apply for those first, because being under the income limit means the longest test is already behind you. For the amber LIHEAP row, look up your state energy office's own limit, since the state number decides. For a red row that is close, remember that SNAP counts income after deductions like housing and childcare costs, so a family a little over the gross line sometimes still qualifies on the net test; your childcare costs are part of that math. And if a baby is coming, run the screener again with the household size you will have after the birth, because several limits move with it.
Nothing here replaces the agency's decision, and no one from this site will ever ask you to pay to apply. Every one of these programs is free to apply for, through your state. Anyone charging a fee to sign you up for WIC, SNAP, Medicaid, or LIHEAP is running a scam.
State benefits guides: SNAP, WIC and child care help, state by state
Program names, agencies and application doors change at the state line. Each state guide below covers the three programs that matter most to parents (food benefits, WIC, and help paying for child care) with the income yardsticks for a family of four and the official place to apply.
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Frequently asked questions
What does this screener actually check?
It compares three things you type in (your state, your household size, and your yearly income) with the published income limits for SNAP, WIC, Medicaid and CHIP, LIHEAP energy help, and your state's earned income tax credit. It also shows the unemployment insurance ceiling in your state. Every limit comes from the official source named under each program page.
If the screener says I am under a limit, am I approved?
No. Being under a published income limit means your income passes that one test. Each program has other rules too, about things like residency, household makeup, and the kind of income you have, and the agency that runs the program makes the final decision. Think of the screener as a map, not a verdict.
Which income should I enter, gross or net?
Enter your gross yearly income, the total before taxes and deductions come out. WIC and the first SNAP test use gross income. Medicaid uses a tax based measure called MAGI, which is close to gross for most families, and SNAP also runs a second test on net income after deductions. The screener shows both SNAP limits so you can see the pair.
Why do the limits differ so much between programs?
Because each program was built for a different job. WIC aims at pregnancy and the first five years of life, so its line sits high, at 185 percent of the poverty guidelines. Heating help through LIHEAP sits in a federal band between 110 and 150 percent. Health coverage for children reaches the highest of all in most states, because states add CHIP on top of Medicaid.
Is my information stored or sent anywhere?
No. The screener runs entirely in your browser, the same way every calculator on this site works. Nothing you type is sent to us or saved.
When do these limits change?
On a rolling calendar. New poverty guidelines arrive every January, SNAP resets every October 1, WIC limits reset every July 1, and state tax credits change when legislatures act. Each program page carries the dates its figures cover.
Keep exploring
Programs: Benefits eligibility screener · WIC income limits · LIHEAP income limits · Medicaid and CHIP income limits · State earned income tax credits · Unemployment maximums by state
Already on Mami's Budget: SNAP maximum benefits by household size · USDA grocery costs by state · Childcare costs by state · Family budget planner
Sources: USDA Food and Nutrition Service, SNAP Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (August 21, 2026) and WIC Policy Memorandum #2026-5 (2026-2027 income eligibility guidelines, 91 FR 23050); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026 Poverty Guidelines (91 FR 1797); Medicaid.gov, Medicaid, CHIP and BHP Eligibility Levels (state decisions as of December 1, 2023); 42 U.S.C. 8624(b)(2) and HHS LIHEAP Information Memorandum IM-2026-01 for energy assistance; Internal Revenue Service, States and Local Governments with Earned Income Tax Credit; U.S. Department of Labor, Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws (July 2026). Retrieved October 31, 2026. Every figure is a published guideline for comparison; the agency that runs each program makes the final eligibility decision for your household.