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Fact check: Did the 2025 continuing resolution change SNAP income eligibility thresholds?
Executive Summary
The 2025 continuing resolution did not directly change SNAP income eligibility thresholds; recent official updates to SNAP income limits originate from routine annual USDA adjustments and other legislative actions in 2025 rather than from the short-term funding measure. Multiple authoritative sources show income standards were updated for FY2026 through USDA cost-of-living adjustments and broader 2025 policy changes, while reporting on the continuing resolution focuses on funding continuity and benefit delivery, not on permanently altering eligibility formulas [1] [2] [3].
1. Headlines Misread: Why the Continuing Resolution Got Blamed for Eligibility Changes
News coverage around the October–November 2025 funding fight emphasized the politics of SNAP funding and emergency benefit continuity, which led some readers to conflate funding actions with eligibility rulemaking. Reporting on the continuing resolution stressed short-term appropriations and stopgap funding to keep programs operational during a potential shutdown; that debate affected timing and distribution of benefits, not the statutory income thresholds that determine eligibility, which are set by statute and USDA rulemaking or by separate legislation [3] [4]. Some outlets referenced broader 2025 policy shifts in the same news cycle, creating the appearance that the continuing resolution itself changed income tests; a careful reading of the timeline shows eligibility standards trace to USDA FY2026 adjustments and other 2025 legislative acts rather than the temporary funding bill [2] [1].
2. What Actually Changed: USDA Adjustments and 2025 Legislation
USDA administrative updates and the FY2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments adjusted SNAP parameters effective October 1, 2025, including maximum allotments, income eligibility standards, and standard deductions, which are routine annual changes to reflect inflation and policy choices. The Food and Nutrition Service documentation and FY2026 notices list these adjustments as the mechanics that alter income cutoffs and benefit levels, and some 2025 legislation — for example provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 identified by USDA summaries — modified eligibility factors like work requirements and non-citizen access separate from a continuing resolution [1] [2]. State-level updates also matter: several states implemented new thresholds or streamlined processes in 2025, which can create a patchwork of thresholds across the country even when federal rules are unchanged [5].
3. Conflicting Reporting: Sources That Suggested a Threshold Shift
Some outlets and compilations published in late October and early November 2025 described updated SNAP rules and stated income limits by state, occasionally implying a causal link to the continuing resolution. These pieces accurately reported revised income limits and eligibility guidance for 2025–2026, but they did not distinguish clearly whether those changes originated in appropriations language, USDA administrative updates, or separate legislation. Where reporting ties updated thresholds to the continuing resolution, it often reflects an aggregation of contemporaneous events—USDA rule updates, FY2026 COLA notices, state-level changes, and the funding fight—rather than a single statutory change carried by the continuing resolution itself [6] [5] [7].
4. The Bigger Picture: Funding vs. Eligibility — Different Policymaking Tracks
Appropriations and continuing resolutions determine whether federal agencies have money to operate and distribute benefits in the short term; they do not typically rewrite program eligibility formulas, which are set by authorizing statutes or regulatory actions. USDA rulemaking and annual COLA notices are the standard channels for adjusting SNAP income limits and deductions. During the 2025 funding impasse, public attention focused on benefit continuity, contingency funds, and court actions to preserve access—actions that affect logistics and timing of benefits but not the statutory poverty-percentage thresholds that define who qualifies absent explicit legislative change [3] [8] [2].
5. Bottom Line and Practical Guidance for Claimants
For households tracking their eligibility, the authoritative guidance is to consult USDA/FNS notices and state SNAP agencies for the updated FY2026 income limits, deductions, and state-specific rules rather than rely on coverage of the continuing resolution. The evidence shows that 2025 updates to income eligibility stem from USDA COLA adjustments and legislative changes enacted during 2025, while the continuing resolution handled short-term funding and benefit distribution—so verify eligibility using official FNS resources and state pages which list the precise income thresholds and effective dates [2] [1].