When do benefits terminate?
The following tables show the 2021 income levels at which households no longer qualify for various benefits. Housing Choice Vouchers are not included in the tables since their benefits gradually decline to zero based on income. They do not have a cliff.
Here are the abbreviations used in the table:
- FNS: Food and Nutrition Service
- WIC: Women, Infants, and Children
- MAF: Medicaid for Families with Dependent Children
- MIF: Medicaid for Infants and Children
- FPG: Federal Poverty Guidelines
| Household Size | FNS 200% FPG | Work First Need standard | WIC 185% FPG | NC Child Care Subsidy 200% FPG | Smart Start 200% FPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,264 | $362 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2 | $3,052 | $472 | $2,823 | $3,052 | $3,052 |
| 3 | $3,838 | $544 | $3,550 | $3,838 | $3,838 |
| 4 | $4,624 | $594 | $4,277 | $4,624 | $4,624 |
| 5 | $5,412 | $648 | $5,006 | $5,412 | $5,412 |
| 6 | $6,198 | $698 | $5,733 | $6,198 | $6,198 |
| 7 | $6,984 | $746 | $6,460 | $6,984 | $6,984 |
| 8 | $7,772 | $772 | $7,189 | $7,772 | $7,772 |
| Household Size | MAF Need standard | MIF child under 6 210% FPG | MIF child 6 - 18 133% FPG | NC Health Choice 211% FPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 2 | $569 | $3,205 | $2,030 | $3,220 |
| 3 | $667 | $4,030 | $2,552 | $4,049 |
| 4 | $744 | $4,855 | $3,075 | $4,878 |
| 5 | $824 | $5,683 | $3,599 | $5,710 |
| 6 | NA | $6,508 | $4,122 | $6,539 |
| 7 | NA | $7,333 | $4,644 | $7,368 |
| 8 | NA | $8,161 | $5,168 | $8,199 |
As shown above, benefit thresholds depend on either the Federal Poverty Guidelines or state median income. The poverty guidelines are issued each year by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and are the same for the entire 48 contiguous states. They vary only by household size.
The federal poverty guidelines should not be confused with the federal poverty thresholds. The poverty thresholds are the values that US Census poverty rates are based on and vary by household size, age, and family composition. The poverty guidelines are a simpler implementation of the thresholds, only varying by household size. Federal benefits use the guidelines instead of the thresholds due to their simpler and more uniform structure.
