Official Benefits & Tax Resources
These are the primary sources behind our calculators and guides. When our numbers and an agency page ever disagree, the agency page wins — and we want to know about it via feedback.
Food assistance
- USDA — SNAP eligibility
Federal income limits, deductions, and who counts as a household.
- USDA — state SNAP directory
Where to actually apply — every state's SNAP agency and application portal.
- USDA — WIC income eligibility
Current WIC income guidelines (185% of poverty).
- USDA — school meal income guidelines
Free (130%) and reduced-price (185%) school meal thresholds.
Health coverage
- Medicaid.gov — eligibility
Federal Medicaid rules and links to each state's program.
- Medicare.gov — Medicare Savings Programs
QMB, SLMB, and QI — programs that pay Medicare premiums.
- HealthCare.gov
ACA Marketplace enrollment and premium subsidies.
- InsureKidsNow — CHIP
Children's coverage at incomes above Medicaid limits.
Taxes and credits
- IRS — EITC: who qualifies
Official EITC eligibility rules and income tables.
- IRS — Publication 915
The worksheet that determines how much Social Security is taxable.
- IRS — Free File
File federal taxes free if you qualify.
- IRS — VITA free tax prep locator
Free in-person tax help for lower-income, disabled, and senior filers.
Cash, income, and poverty data
- HHS — poverty guidelines
The FPL table nearly every program's limit is built from.
- SSA — benefits portal
Retirement, disability, SSI, and survivor benefits.
- ACF — TANF state contacts
Cash assistance program contacts by state.
- Benefits.gov
Federal cross-program benefit finder.