South Carolina TANF Income Limits 2026

2026 Family Independence Payment Amounts

South Carolina updates TANF benefit levels every October using a formula tied to the federal poverty guidelines. The Payment Standard — the maximum monthly benefit for a household with zero countable income — equals the Need Standard multiplied by 0.4046.

Here are the verified figures for 2026:

Child-only grants (relative caregiver excluded from the assistance unit):

• One child: $229/month
• Two children: $308/month
• Three children: $388/month

Caregiver-included grants (standard Family Independence):

• Three-person household: $449/month maximum
• Gross income limit: $2,053/month (1.85 × the Need Standard)

The difference matters enormously for grandparents. A caregiver-included grant subjects your Social Security, pension, and wages to the $2,053 gross income cap. A child-only grant ignores your income entirely — the eligibility test applies only to income in the child's own name.

Who Gets Which Track

Child-only is available to any non-parent relative caregiver — grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, step-relative — who applies on behalf of the child without including themselves in the benefit group. There are no work requirements and no time limits.

Caregiver-included is the standard track. The adult must meet work activity requirements, faces a 24-month limit within any 120-month period, and the federal 60-month lifetime cap applies.

Most grandparents on fixed incomes should file child-only. If your only income is Social Security retirement of $1,800 a month, that entire amount is invisible to the eligibility test under child-only rules.

How Income Is Counted for the Child

Under child-only rules, SCDSS counts only income that belongs to the child: Social Security Survivor Benefits, child support payments, or other unearned income in the child's name. The child's countable income is measured against the Need Standard for the assistance unit size.

If a grandchild receives $350 per month in survivor benefits after a parent's death, that $350 exceeds the one-child payment standard of $229. The child-only grant would be denied based on the child's own income — not because of anything the grandparent earns.

Processing Timeline

SCDSS must process standard TANF applications within 30 calendar days of the filing date. The filing date is locked the moment any form with a name, address, and signature reaches the agency. Benefits are backdated to that date upon approval.

What This Means for Kinship Caregivers

The income limits that appear on government portals — $2,053 a month for a family of three — apply to caregiver-included grants. They do not apply to child-only grants. This distinction is the single most common source of confusion, and it causes grandparents to assume they will not qualify when the child almost certainly would.

For a complete walkthrough of child-only applications, document requirements, and how TANF interacts with Medicaid, SNAP, and child care assistance, the South Carolina Kinship Financial Help Guide covers every program in one place.

See more South Carolina guides →