Can College Students Get Food Stamps in Texas?

College students in Texas can get food stamps, but only if they meet at least one specific exemption on top of the usual SNAP income and residency rules. The student restrictions apply to most people ages 18 through 49 who are enrolled at least half-time in higher education, and without a qualifying exemption those students are shut out even if their income is low.1Texas Health and Human Services. B-410, Students in Higher Education If you do qualify, the maximum SNAP benefit for FY 2026 is $298 a month for one person and $546 for two.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions

When the Student Rules Apply to You

The extra hurdles only exist for a specific group. You are treated as a “student” under SNAP rules if you are between 18 and 49, enrolled at least half-time (as your school defines it), and attending a college, university, or trade school that normally requires a high school diploma or equivalent for admission.1Texas Health and Human Services. B-410, Students in Higher Education

If you are under 18, 50 or older, enrolled less than half-time, or in a program that doesn’t require a diploma to enroll (some cosmetology or auto mechanics programs, for example), the student restrictions don’t touch you.3Food and Nutrition Service. Students You just apply under the standard SNAP rules like any other Texas resident. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) runs the program in the state and decides whether your exemption holds up.4Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 372.6 – TANF and SNAP Administrator

Exemptions That Let a Student Qualify

If you are in the group covered by the student rules, you need to fit at least one of the exemptions below. Meeting a single one is enough. The list from the Texas Works Handbook, effective January 1, 2026:1Texas Health and Human Services. B-410, Students in Higher Education

  • Working for pay an average of at least 20 hours a week. If you’re self-employed, your earnings must be at least the federal minimum wage times 20 hours weekly.
  • Approved for and actively working in a state or federally funded work-study program during the regular school term. Internships and student teaching taken for academic credit do not count.
  • Responsible for a dependent child under age 6 living in your household.
  • Responsible for a dependent child ages 6 through 11 with no available childcare that would let you attend class and meet the work or work-study requirement.
  • Enrolled full-time as the sole parent or caretaker of a child under 12. Both parents in a household can’t both claim this for the same child.
  • Approved for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
  • Physically or mentally unfit for employment, supported by documentation from a doctor or psychologist or by proof of government or private disability benefits.
  • Enrolled through a qualifying training program such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Choices, SNAP Employment and Training, Trade Adjustment Assistance, or a state-approved equivalent.
  • Participating in employer-run on-the-job training. Classroom instruction alone doesn’t qualify.

If none of these fits, you are not counted in your household for SNAP purposes at all, and your income and resources are not used in anyone else’s application in the same house.1Texas Health and Human Services. B-410, Students in Higher Education

Income Limits and How Financial Aid Is Counted

Clearing a student exemption gets you past one gate. You still have to be within SNAP income limits. For FY 2026 the federal gross monthly income limits at 130 percent of the poverty level are:5Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility

  • 1 person: $1,696
  • 2 people: $2,292
  • 3 people: $2,888
  • 4 people: $3,483
  • Each additional person: add $596

Texas uses Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, which raises the gross income threshold above the federal baseline for many households. Texas also sets its own resource limit at $5,000 in countable liquid assets, with a primary vehicle and your home excluded. There’s a net income test too, applied after deductions like rent, utilities, and dependent care. The net income limit for a one-person household is $1,305 a month for FY 2026.5Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility

Most Financial Aid Doesn’t Count as Income

Federal law excludes most educational assistance from your SNAP income. Grants, scholarships, fellowships, veterans’ educational benefits, and student loans with deferred payment are all excluded, and work-study earnings funded under the Higher Education Act are excluded from income as well.6eCFR. 7 CFR 273.9 – Income and Deductions So a Pell Grant, your loans, and your work-study paycheck generally won’t push you over.

Wages from a regular part-time job do count. If you’re using the 20-hour work exemption, those earnings go into your household’s gross income calculation.

Dorms, Meal Plans, and Roommates

Two situations trip up students specifically.

If you live in a dorm and get more than half your daily meals from an institutional meal plan, you count as a resident of an institution and can’t receive SNAP.7Food and Nutrition Service. Clarification on Treatment of Meal Plans at Institutions of Higher Education A meal plan that covers half or fewer of your meals doesn’t trigger this bar, and students living off campus without a meal plan aren’t affected at all.

Living with roommates doesn’t force you to apply together. If you share an apartment but each buy and prepare your own food, each person applies as a separate household. Only people who regularly buy and prepare meals together are treated as one SNAP household.

How to Apply

The application is Form H1010, the Texas Works Application for Assistance.8Texas Health and Human Services. Form H1010, Texas Works Application for Assistance – Your Texas Benefits Have these ready before you start:

  • Social Security numbers for everyone in your household.
  • A Texas driver’s license, state ID, or other government photo ID.
  • Proof of Texas residency, such as a lease or utility bill.
  • Your current class schedule showing enrollment status.
  • Your financial aid award letter if you’re qualifying through work-study.
  • Pay stubs from the last 30 days if you’re using the 20-hour work exemption.
  • Documentation for a child-related or disability exemption, such as a doctor’s statement.

You can submit the completed application four ways:

  • Online through the YourTexasBenefits.com portal, where you can upload documents and get a confirmation number.9Your Texas Benefits. Your Texas Benefits
  • By mail to P.O. Box 149024, Austin, TX 78714-9024.10Texas Health and Human Services. Lone Star Card Contacts
  • By fax to the toll-free number on the application instructions.
  • In person at a local HHSC office; call 2-1-1 to find one.11Texas Health and Human Services. Benefits Application Next Steps

After you apply, a caseworker will schedule a phone interview to verify your exemption, household, income, and expenses. Federal law requires HHSC to issue benefits within 30 days of your application date if you’re eligible.12Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Application Processing Timeliness

Expedited Benefits in Seven Days

If you have $100 or less in liquid resources and under $150 in gross monthly income, or if your combined liquid resources and gross monthly income are less than your rent and utilities, you qualify for expedited service and benefits arrive within seven calendar days instead of 30.13Texas Health and Human Services. A-140, Expedited Service Flag this when you submit the application.

What You’ll Get and What You Can Buy

Approved households receive a Lone Star Card that works like a debit card at authorized grocery stores. The card is mailed to you and you set a PIN before using it. FY 2026 maximum monthly allotments are $298 for one person and $546 for two, though most recipients get less because the formula subtracts a share of net income.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Maximum Allotments and Deductions

SNAP covers most food for home preparation: produce, meat, dairy, bread, cereals, snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and seeds or plants that grow food.14Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy It won’t pay for alcohol, tobacco, hot prepared foods, vitamins or supplements, pet food, household supplies, or anything else that isn’t food.15Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Retailer Notice – Allowable Items

Keeping Benefits While You’re a Student

Once you’re on SNAP, you must report certain changes to HHSC within 10 days. That includes a new income source, a change in wage rate or employment, a change in household members, an address change, or anything else affecting eligibility.16Cornell Law School. Texas Administrative Code 366.743 – Requirement to Report Changes For students, the ones to watch are dropping below half-time enrollment and losing the exemption that got you in, such as quitting a job or finishing a work-study assignment. Miss the report and you can end up owing benefits back.

Certification isn’t permanent either. Texas typically assigns a six-month certification period, though it can range from three to twelve months.17Texas Health and Human Services. A-2320, Eligibility Dates and Benefit Amounts Before it ends, you submit a renewal application and go through eligibility again to keep the benefits coming.