How do state Standard Utility Allowances (SUAs) alter SNAP shelter deductions for a family of four in 2026?
Executive summary
State Standard Utility Allowances (SUAs) change how a family of four’s utility costs are counted toward SNAP’s excess shelter deduction in fiscal year 2026 by replacing actual bills with state‑set estimates that feed into the excess shelter formula; the federal excess‑shelter cap for non‑elderly/non‑disabled households is $744 in the 48 contiguous states and D.C., which directly limits how much shelter-related deduction a SUA can help generate [1] [2] [3]. Because the excess shelter deduction lowers a household’s net income — and SNAP benefit is 30% of net income subtracted from the maximum allotment — the level and design of a state’s SUA can raise or lower benefits for a four‑person family even when gross income is unchanged [2] [4].
1. What SUAs are and why states use them
Standard Utility Allowances are state‑set, standardized amounts meant to represent typical utility costs (heating, cooling, electricity, gas, water, and sometimes other basic utilities) that states use instead of individual household bills when calculating SNAP shelter deductions; FNS instructs states to adopt and update SUA methodologies and encourages simplified FY2026 submission processes [3] [5]. States choose SUAs because they streamline administration and avoid auditing every small bill, but that same uniformity means many households’ actual costs will be over‑ or under‑represented compared with itemized billing [3] [6].
2. How SUAs feed into the excess shelter deduction formula
SNAP first subtracts several deductions, then counts shelter costs that exceed half of the household’s income after those other deductions as the “excess shelter deduction,” capped at a federal maximum ($744 for most households in 48 states/D.C. in FY2026) unless the household includes an elderly or disabled member, in which case the cap does not apply [7] [2] [8]. SUAs supply the utility portion of that shelter cost used in the calculation: a higher SUA increases the household’s reported shelter expense and thus can increase the excess shelter deduction — up to the $744 cap — lowering net income and therefore raising the SNAP allotment under the program’s 30% net‑income contribution rule [2] [4].
3. What this means for a family of four in 2026
For FY2026 a family of four faces a federal maximum allotment of $994 in most states, and the standard deduction for a household of four is a different, automatic deduction (state and federal sources show $223 for four in many summaries) that is applied before shelter calculations [1] [8]. If that family’s rent plus the state’s SUA for utilities pushes total shelter costs high enough, the excess shelter deduction will reduce countable income substantially — in one published example an applied shelter deduction of $661 reduced Countable Income A from $1,073 to $412, cutting the family’s expected food contribution and increasing benefits [2]. Conversely, a low SUA undercounts utilities and can leave more income countable, shrinking the benefit even if the household’s actual bills are unchanged [4].
4. Where state variation and recent rule changes matter
States set SUA values and must update methods at least periodically; FNS’s FY2026 implementation guidance and a final rule require state submission and encourage consistency with low‑income utility data, while also setting timelines for methodology review [5] [6]. There is a policy tangle on internet costs — some materials note recent statutes or guidance affecting whether internet may be treated as an allowable utility, and FNS guidance and regulatory changes have addressed inclusion criteria for “basic internet” differently across documents — meaning some states may include internet in their SUA while others cannot or have been advised to change methodologies [5] [6]. These procedural shifts mean benefits for identical households can diverge across states in 2026 depending on whether the state’s SUA is higher, lower, or includes additional items.
5. Practical takeaway and reporting limits
In short, SUAs act as a lever: raising the utility allowance raises the shelter deduction (subject to the $744 cap for non‑elderly/non‑disabled households) and thus can increase SNAP benefits for a four‑person family with the same gross income, while a low SUA has the reverse effect; exact dollar impacts require the family’s income, rent, and the specific state SUA, which federal summaries and calculators illustrate but do not compute for every possible household [2] [1] [4]. Reporting here relies on federal FY2026 COLA and FNS SUA guidance and state materials; precise benefit changes for a named household must be calculated with state SUA values and household income and expense data that are not contained in the cited national summaries [1] [5] [8].