What's the CalFresh income limit for a family of 4 in 2025? (EBT eligibility question)

For CalFresh, a family of 4 can earn up to $3,750 gross monthly income (before taxes) to qualify as of 2025. BUT this is just the gross income limit - they also look at your net income after certain deductions like housing costs and childcare. Are you applying for the first time?

The numbers above are mostly right but slightly off. For 2025, a household of 4 can have gross monthly income up to $3,875 (130% of federal poverty level) and net monthly income up to $2,981 (100% FPL) after deductions. For housing deduction, they count rent/mortgage, property taxes, and utilities - but there's a cap on how much they'll deduct. The standard deduction for household of 4 is $193. You should definitely apply online through BenefitsCal.com - the system calculates everything for you.

@profile8 Those limits are specifically for CalFresh (what used to be called food stamps, now on EBT cards). CalWORKs (cash aid) has lower income limits - around 80% of federal poverty level, so significantly less than CalFresh.

I just went through this whole process. If your family of 4 makes around $3,600, you'll likely qualify. DEFINITELY include ALL your expenses when you apply - rent, utilities, childcare, child support payments, medical costs for seniors/disabled family members. Each $3 in deductions can get you about $1 more in benefits. Also worth knowing - if anyone in your household is elderly (60+) or disabled, you might qualify under different rules (200% FPL which is around $5,962 for family of 4).

Apply asap! It takes them forever to process applications these days. I applied in December and didnt get approved until February. had to call them like 20 times to check on it and they never picked up.

@profile5 The income limits change every year in October when the federal poverty guidelines update. It's possible you applied right before or after a change, or the worker was looking at net income limits instead of gross. If you were only $50 over, you should definitely appeal that decision or reapply! Also, sometimes the county workers make mistakes in the calculations - I've seen it happen a lot.

@profile5 You have 90 days from the date on your denial notice to request a state hearing. Call the number on your denial notice or contact the state hearing division directly. Definitely worth doing if you were only slightly over the limit. Sometimes they don't correctly apply all the deductions you're entitled to. @profile7 With those housing costs, you should qualify for the full shelter deduction, which will significantly lower your countable income. The medical expenses for your son might help too if they're over $35/month and properly documented.

yes they count everyone in the household's income! my teenage daughter works part time and they counted it. super annoying bcuz she saves that money for college but whatever

@profile7 If your 17-year-old is in school at least half-time, his income should be EXEMPT from the CalFresh calculation. Make sure to mention that he's a student during your interview and on the application. This is a special student exemption that many workers forget to apply! Also, once approved, remember you'll need to report changes on your SAR7 (Semi-Annual Report) if your household income goes above the IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) they assign you. This is usually 130% of your monthly income when you're approved.

Just want to add - when you apply, make sure to have all your documents ready! You'll need proof of identity, income (pay stubs for last 30 days), rent receipts or mortgage statements, utility bills, and any medical expense receipts. Having everything organized will speed up the process. Also, if you get approved, your benefits will be backdated to when you submitted your application, so don't delay! Good luck with your application - sounds like you'll definitely qualify with those housing costs and your son being a student.

Just wanted to share my recent experience since I see a lot of good info here! I applied for CalFresh for my family of 4 last month and got approved. We make about $3,400 gross monthly and pay $1,800 in rent plus utilities. The whole process took about 6 weeks from application to getting our EBT card. One thing I learned - definitely apply online through BenefitsCal.com first, then you can upload all your documents there too. Way easier than trying to fax everything. Also, they scheduled my phone interview pretty quickly, and the worker was actually really helpful in making sure I got all the deductions I was entitled to. For anyone nervous about applying - it's really worth it! We're getting $740/month in benefits which has been a huge help with groceries. The hardest part was just gathering all the paperwork, but once you have everything together it's pretty straightforward.