Income Guidelines for Public Assistance

Income guidelines for public assistance vary from state to state. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a listing of the various public aid programs available, as well as program locator assistance and further informational resources. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also publishes the poverty guidelines on an annual basis in the Federal Register (official journal of the federal government), which are used to determine eligibility for numerous federal aid programs.

The poverty guidelines are used by a number of federal programs, as well as by the Community Services Block Grant Program, as an eligibility measure. The poverty line is a direct function of family size and income. The federal poverty line for the contiguous 48 states in 2011 is set at $10,890 for a single-person household and $3,820 is added for each additional person in the household.

The TANF program is designed to provide temporary help to families with children, when the parents or other responsible adults in the household cannot provide for the basic needs of the family. The program is state-run and funded by federal government grants. The federal government allows the states ample flexibility to decide the range of services being provided, the rules for eligibility and the amount and type of assistance payments made to families. The income guidelines for public assistance through the TANF program are determined by each state.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the new name for the federal program formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. To obtain SNAP benefits, a household must meet specific income guidelines. Unless all members of the household are receiving TANF or SSI (Supplemental Security Income) benefits, the household is typically required to meet both the gross (pretax) and net income guidelines. For Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2011, the maximum allowable gross monthly income for a single-person household is $1,174 and the net income is $903. For each additional person in the household, another $406 and $312 are added to gross and net income respectively.

SSI is a public assistance program that provides supplemental income to adults 65 years and older, blind persons and the disabled. The benefit amounts are based on the current poverty level, and the amount of funds needed to bring total monthly income up to $674 for individuals and $1,011 for couples.

Public assistance housing was established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a way to provide safe and affordable housing for the disabled, elderly and low-income families. HUD provides funding to local housing agencies (HAs) to manage Section 8 housing. In addition to income guidelines, there are other requirements that must be met: for example, qualification as a family, elderly or disabled person and U.S. citizenship or qualified immigration status. Income limits vary by area, so HUD sets the lower income limit at 80 percent and the very low income limit at 50 percent of the median income level for the county or municipal area where residents live.