2026 Benefit Changes: What You Need to Know
Last reviewed: September 2026
Several federal benefit figures changed for 2026. Here is what moved, when each change took effect, and which agency published it.
The short answer
Social Security payments rose 2.8% in January 2026. The Medicare Part B standard premium is $202.90 a month. SNAP allotments and deductions changed on 1 October 2025 for the 2026 federal fiscal year, and the tax-year 2026 EITC amounts apply to the return you file in 2027.
Social Security and SSI
A 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment applied to benefits payable from January 2026. The SSI federal benefit rate is $994 a month for an eligible individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple. The maximum earnings subject to Social Security tax rose to $184,500, up from $176,100.
If you claim before your full retirement age and keep working, the earnings test still applies: $1 is withheld for every $2 you earn above $24,480 in 2026. In the year you reach full retirement age a higher limit of $65,160 applies, and $1 is withheld for every $3 above it. From the month you reach full retirement age, earnings no longer reduce the benefit.
Medicare
The standard Medicare Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month. Higher earners pay an income-related adjustment on top of it; the first threshold is $109,000 for someone filing individually and $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly, measured against the modified adjusted gross income reported for 2024.
SNAP
SNAP figures run on the federal fiscal year, so the 2026 values took effect on 1 October 2025 rather than in January. For the 48 contiguous states and D.C., the maximum monthly allotment for a household of four is $994, the standard deduction for households of one to three is $209, and the cap on the excess shelter deduction is $744. The minimum monthly benefit for one and two-person households is $24.
Tax credits
The Earned Income Tax Credit amounts for tax year 2026 were set in Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The maximum credit for a filer with three or more qualifying children is $8,231, up from $8,046 for tax year 2025. These figures apply to the 2026 return, which is filed in 2027 - not to the return most people filed this spring.
The poverty guidelines
The HHS poverty guidelines for 2026 took effect on 13 January 2026. The annual guideline for a one-person household in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. is $15,960. Several programmes key their income tests to a multiple of this figure, which is why the guideline moving changes eligibility thresholds that are never expressed in dollars themselves.
What this does not tell you
This page records changes that have been published by the responsible agency and have taken effect. It does not cover proposals, bills that have not become law, or rules an agency has announced but not implemented. Where a change is under discussion rather than in force, it is not listed here at all.
Figures shown for one programme do not carry across to another. A state can and often does apply its own rules on top of the federal ones.
Official sources
- Social Security Administration - 2026 COLA fact sheet
- Social Security Administration - Contribution and benefit base
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - 2026 Part B premiums and deductibles
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service - SNAP cost-of-living adjustments
- Internal Revenue Service - Tax year 2026 inflation adjustments
- HHS ASPE - Poverty guidelines
What you can do next
A figure changing does not by itself change what you receive. If one of these applies to you, the useful next step is to put your own numbers into the calculator for that programme and see what the new figures produce.
Related calculators
More in Benefits & Updates
- How Much Social Security Will I Get?
- SNAP Benefits: How Much Can You Get and Who Qualifies?
- EITC: Who Qualifies and How Much Can You Get?
BenefitCalculators.com is an independent educational site. It is not a government agency, and nothing here is a decision about your benefits.