Heat and Eat SNAP in 2026: How LIHEAP Can Raise Your Benefit

Quick answer: Heat and Eat SNAP rules link food benefits to home energy aid. If your household got an energy assistance payment of more than $20 in the past 12 months, SNAP can count the state's highest utility allowance in your benefit, which often raises it.¹ For other bill help, see our related assistance guide.

Since July 4, 2025, that shortcut works only for households with someone age 60 or older or someone with a disability.¹ Everyone else can still get the same allowance by showing a heating or cooling bill.

What is the Heat and Eat program?

Heat and Eat is the common name for a state practice, not a separate program you sign up for. The rule behind it covers payments from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or a similar program. A household paid more than $20 a year must be offered the heating and cooling standard utility allowance (HCSUA).² Some states send SNAP households a small energy payment so they meet that rule.

• Washington pays $20.01 a year to SNAP households that include an older or disabled person, get at least $1 but less than the maximum SNAP benefit, and do not already qualify for the allowance.⁶
• Connecticut's 2027 energy plan pays eligible SNAP households $20.01 in cash and recalculates their SNAP with the highest heating and cooling allowance.⁷
• Maryland paid $21 once a year under its 2025 policy, issued as cash on the household's EBT card.⁸

That small deposit is why many people see a surprise $20 or $21 in cash benefits on their EBT card.⁶⁸

How does LIHEAP raise your SNAP benefit?

It works through the excess shelter deduction. SNAP adds your rent or mortgage to a utility allowance, then deducts the part of that total above half of your income after other deductions.² A larger utility allowance means a larger deduction, lower net income and a bigger benefit, because SNAP expects you to spend 30 percent of net income on food.³

Here is how it plays out for one person age 70 in upstate New York, with $1,400 a month in Social Security and $600 rent that includes heat. We used the federal amounts for October 2026 to September 2027⁴ and New York's "rest of state" allowances.¹¹

Step	With Heat and Eat	Without
Income minus $217 standard deduction	$1,183	$1,183
Utility allowance used	$908 (heat/AC)	$368 (utility)
Rent plus allowance	$1,508	$968
Shelter deduction (above half of $1,183)	$916.50	$376.50
Net income	$266.50	$806.50
Monthly SNAP ($306 maximum minus 30% of net)	about $226	about $64

PantryPath's arithmetic, as of October 24, 2026. Sources: USDA FY 2027 figures and New York's FFY 2027 allowances.⁴¹¹ Your agency rounds each step, so its numbers can differ by a dollar or two.

The gap here is about $162 a month. Because this person is 70, there is no cap on the shelter deduction. Households without an older or disabled member are capped at $769 in the 48 states and D.C.⁴

Who still qualifies for Heat and Eat after the 2025 law?

Section 10103 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBB) limited the automatic link to households with an elderly or disabled member. For SNAP, elderly means age 60 or older.¹

Your household	Energy payment over $20?	Heating and cooling allowance
Has someone 60+ or disabled	Yes	Automatic
No one 60+ or disabled	Yes	Only if you pay heating or cooling costs
Anyone	No	If you pay heating or cooling separately from rent

Rules in effect since July 4, 2025. Source: USDA memo on energy assistance payments and 7 CFR 273.9.¹²

The change took effect on July 4, 2025, for new applicants. For people already on SNAP, states must apply it no later than the next recertification.¹ States may not cut the allowance mid-period just because no one in the home is older or disabled, and a household that pays heating or cooling costs keeps it.¹ Weatherization payments now follow the same elderly-or-disabled rule.⁵

Does LIHEAP count as income for SNAP?

No. Energy assistance paid under federal law, including LIHEAP, is excluded from SNAP income.² USDA confirmed in May 2026 that the 2025 law did not change this for LIHEAP.⁵ One-time payments to repair or replace a broken furnace are also not income, whatever your household's makeup.⁵

The 2025 law changed a different kind of help: third-party energy payments made under a state law. Those now count as income for households without an older or disabled member, and the bills they pay no longer count toward shelter costs.¹ Applying for LIHEAP will not lower your SNAP.

What is the standard utility allowance for SNAP?

It is a set dollar amount that stands in for your actual utility bills. States set their own amounts and update them each year, and most states require their use.⁹ You get one allowance, the one that matches what you pay:²

• Heating and cooling (HCSUA): you pay for heat or air conditioning separately from rent, or are billed by your landlord for your own usage.
• Limited utility (LUA): you pay at least two other utilities, such as electricity, water, sewer or trash, but not heating or cooling.
• Single utility: one type of bill, such as a phone.

For October 2026 to September 2027, USDA let states raise last year's amounts by the 3.5 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index.¹⁰ New York's figures show how wide the gap is:¹¹

Area	Heat/AC	Utility	Phone
New York City	$1,100	$434	$33
Nassau and Suffolk	$1,023	$402	$33
Rest of state	$908	$368	$33

Monthly amounts effective October 1, 2026. Source: New York OTDA.¹¹ For your state's figure, check your SNAP notice or our guide to how SNAP benefits are calculated.

Why did my SNAP go down when my utility deduction changed?

Two 2025 changes are the usual reasons. If no one in your home is 60 or older or disabled, an energy payment alone no longer earns the heating and cooling allowance.¹ And internet costs can no longer count as a shelter expense or be built into any utility allowance.⁵

What you can do:

1. Show a heating or cooling cost. Bring a gas, electric, propane or oil bill in your name, or a lease showing a separate charge for heat or air conditioning.²
2. Report an older or disabled member. If someone in your home is 60 or older or has a disability, make sure the SNAP office knows.¹
3. Claim medical costs. Older and disabled members can deduct out-of-pocket medical costs over $35 a month.³
4. Read your notice and act fast. Our SNAP recertification guide covers deadlines and what to bring.

How do you get energy help and SNAP this winter?

LIHEAP helps with heating bills, shutoff notices, reconnection and furnace repair or replacement.¹³

1. Find your local LIHEAP office through the federal energy help search tool, or call the National Energy Assistance Referral line at 1-866-674-6327.¹³
2. Apply for SNAP through your state agency. Our SNAP guide links every state's application.
3. Tell your SNAP worker who pays the heating bill and whether anyone is 60 or older or disabled.
4. Ignore anyone who asks for a fee. LIHEAP does not charge for benefits and does not give grants straight to individuals.¹³

Costs are shifting this winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects electric heating bills to rise about 4 percent from last winter, while homes heated by natural gas or propane should pay less.¹⁴

Where can you get food while you wait?

A food pantry can fill the gap while energy and SNAP applications are processed. Of the 7,566 confirmed listings in PantryPath's directory on October 24, 2026, 889 help people apply for SNAP, 1,219 offer delivery and 1,148 run mobile pantries.¹⁵ Delivery and mobile sites help when snow or cold makes travel hard. Our emergency food guide covers same-day options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did I get $20 in cash on my EBT card?

It is likely a Heat and Eat energy payment. Washington and Connecticut pay $20.01, and Maryland paid $21 as cash on the EBT card.⁶⁷⁸ The payment itself is small; its value is the higher utility allowance it unlocks in your SNAP benefit.

Do I have to apply for Heat and Eat?

Usually not. In Connecticut the state issues the payment to eligible SNAP households,⁷ and Maryland checked eligibility automatically through a link between its SNAP and energy systems.⁸ Not every state runs one, so ask your SNAP office.

Can I buy hot food with SNAP through Heat and Eat?

No. Heat and Eat is about utility costs, not food rules. SNAP cannot buy foods that are hot at the point of sale.¹²

Is internet a utility bill for SNAP?

No. Since the 2025 law, internet costs cannot count toward shelter costs or any utility allowance.⁵

What if my rent includes heat?

If no one in your home is older or disabled, you will usually get a smaller allowance based on the bills you do pay.¹ If your landlord bills you separately for heat or charges you for your own usage, that counts as a heating cost.²

Does the $769 shelter cap apply to seniors?

No. The cap applies only to households without a member who is 60 or older or disabled.²⁴ That is why the heating allowance can matter most for older adults with high rent.

How we checked this

On October 24, 2026, we read USDA's August 29, 2025 memo and May 8, 2026 questions and answers on energy assistance payments. We also read the FY 2027 cost-of-living and utility allowance memos and the current text of 7 CFR 273.9. We checked state practice in Washington's, Connecticut's and Maryland's own policy documents. Maryland's memo predates the 2025 law, so we cite it only for how its payment worked. Dollar amounts in the example come from New York's October 2026 SNAP standards; the calculation is PantryPath's, not the state's.

We could not find a federal list of which states still run Heat and Eat payments in 2026. Directory figures come from PantryPath's confirmed listings, queried the same day.

Your next step: look over the other bill help in our related assistance guide, then find a food pantry near you.