South Carolina SNAP for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Why SNAP Rules Differ From TANF for Grandparents

If you have applied for child-only Family Independence in South Carolina, you already know that your retirement income is completely ignored when the state determines the child's cash grant eligibility. SNAP does not work the same way.

Under federal SNAP regulations, anyone living under the same roof who customarily purchases and prepares food together forms one household. If you buy groceries and cook meals for your grandchild — which almost every caregiving grandparent does — you and the child are one SNAP household. Your pension, Social Security, wages, and other income all count toward the eligibility limit.

This surprises many grandparents who assumed the same income-exclusion logic from TANF child-only would carry over. It does not.

Income Limits for 2026

SNAP eligibility uses federal poverty guidelines. For most households, the gross income limit is 130% of the FPL:

• Two-person household (you and one grandchild): $2,351/month gross
• Three-person household: $2,969/month gross
• Four-person household: $3,588/month gross

Maximum monthly allotments (for households with zero net income):

• Two persons: $562
• Three persons: $808
• Four persons: $1,023

Your actual benefit is calculated by subtracting 30% of your household's countable net income from the maximum allotment.

The Age-60 Advantage

Here is where the rules bend in your favor. Households with a member age 60 or older — or a disabled member — are exempt from the gross income test. You are evaluated only against net income standards, and you qualify for:

• Higher asset limits: $4,500 instead of the standard $3,000
• Uncapped medical expense deductions: out-of-pocket medical costs above $35 per month are deducted from your countable income
• Standard shelter deductions that reduce your net income further

If you are 63 and paying $200 a month in Medicare premiums and prescription copays, that $165 above the $35 threshold comes straight off your countable income. Combined with shelter deductions, this can push your net income low enough to qualify even when gross income looks too high.

Can the Grandchild Be a Separate SNAP Household?

In limited circumstances, yes — but it is unusual when a grandparent is the primary caregiver. The federal rule is tied to purchasing and preparing food together. If a teenager in your home genuinely buys and prepares their own food separately, they could theoretically form their own one-person household. In practice, SCDSS will scrutinize this carefully for children under 18 living with a grandparent who feeds them daily.

The more common scenario is that the entire household applies together, with the grandparent's income counting but offset by the elderly/disabled deductions.

How to Apply

SNAP uses the same Form 3800 as Family Independence. You can submit it online at benefits.sc.gov, at your county SCDSS office, or by mail. The agency must process SNAP applications within 30 days, with expedited seven-day processing for households with very low income and minimal resources.

How SNAP Interacts With Other Benefits

TANF child-only cash payments are not counted as income for SNAP. If the child receives $229 per month in Family Independence, that money does not reduce your SNAP allotment.

KinGAP guardianship payments, however, are treated as unearned income for SNAP purposes. If you transition to KinGAP later, your SNAP benefit may decrease.

Children receiving SNAP are directly certified for free school breakfast and lunch — no separate application needed.

For the full picture of how SNAP fits alongside TANF, Medicaid, child care scholarships, and KinGAP in South Carolina, the South Carolina Kinship Financial Help Guide maps out every program's income rules and how they interact.

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