WIC Income Limits for July 2026 Through June 2027

A family of four can have up to $61,050 a year in income before taxes and still meet the WIC income limit. That’s $5,088 a month, or $2,349 a paycheck if you’re paid every two weeks. For two people the line is $40,034, for three it’s $50,542, and every extra person adds $10,508. These numbers run from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 in the 48 contiguous states, D.C., Guam and the territories. Alaska and Hawaii have higher ones.

They come from USDA’s 2026/2027 WIC income eligibility guidelines, published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2026. The formula is set in law: take the HHS poverty guidelines for the year, multiply by 1.85 and round up to the next dollar. WIC is run by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which was renamed the Food and Nutrition Administration on June 1, 2026, so you’ll see both names on official pages for a while.

WIC income limits by household size

Larger families keep climbing by the same step. Seven people can earn $92,574 and eight can earn $103,082. In Alaska a family of four has a limit of $76,313, and in Hawaii it’s $70,208.

These are ceilings. Federal rules let a state agency set its WIC line lower, as long as it stays at or above 100% of poverty, so your state’s own chart is the one that decides. The yearly, monthly, twice-monthly, every-two-weeks and weekly columns are all the same limit cut different ways. Use the one that matches how you’re paid, so you don’t have to annualize anything.

Watch the two similar columns. Twice a month means 24 paychecks a year, usually on the 15th and the last day. Every two weeks means 26. For a family of four the twice-monthly limit is $2,544 and the every-two-weeks limit is $2,349, a gap of $195 per check. Someone paid every other Friday who reads the wrong column could think a $2,450 check is fine when it’s $101 over. Weekly pay has its own column too, $1,175 for four people. If your hours swing from week to week with overtime or tips, bring several recent stubs so the office sees a fair picture instead of one unusual week.

Who counts in your household

Your household for WIC is everyone you live with and share income and expenses with. The FNA eligibility page says that includes children, people you aren’t related to, students away at college and military service members on active duty somewhere else. A roommate who splits rent and groceries with you counts. One who keeps entirely separate finances may not, and that’s a question for your local agency.

Pregnancy changes the count. If someone in the home is pregnant, you can add one person for each expected birth, two for twins. The federal regulation, 7 CFR 246.7, says a pregnant woman who is over the income line is treated as meeting it if adding the unborn children to the family size would bring her under. For a family sitting just over the line, that one extra person can decide the answer.

Take two parents and a 3-year-old, with a second baby due in March. The father earns $26 an hour, full time. $26 times 40 hours times 52 weeks is $54,080 a year, and the mother has no income right now. As a household of three they’re $3,538 over the $50,542 limit. Counted as four, the limit is $61,050 and they’re $6,970 under. He’s paid every two weeks, and his $2,080 gross check is over the $1,944 line for three people but under the $2,349 line for four.

Already on SNAP, Medicaid or TANF?

Then you may not need the chart at all. Under the same regulation, a WIC agency has to accept as income eligible anyone who shows they’re certified for SNAP, or who meets the TANF or Medicaid tests set out there. FNA tells families on any of those three programs, or with children in their care who are, that they can skip the income step.

This matters most for pregnancy. Each state sets its own Medicaid income limit for pregnant women, and where that limit is above 185% of poverty, a pregnant woman on Medicaid can qualify for WIC with income higher than anything in the table. Bring your Medicaid or SNAP card or approval letter to the appointment.

What income counts

Gross income, before taxes and payroll deductions. Wages and tips, Social Security, child support, alimony, unemployment, workers’ compensation, retirement and disability payments all go in. Loans and AmeriCorps income stay out. So do several kinds of military pay, among them Basic Allowance for Housing, combat pay, the Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance, the overseas cost of living allowance and Overseas Housing Allowance. Some WIC agencies exclude other military pay too.

The time period is flexible, and that helps after a job loss or a cut in hours. The regulation lets agencies look at a family’s income over the past 12 months or at its current rate, whichever better reflects the family’s situation. If your hours were cut in August, say so. Last year’s W-2 may not be the number that decides.

Income is only one test

WIC serves women who are pregnant, women up to six months after a pregnancy ends, breastfeeding women up to the baby’s first birthday, infants, and children up to their fifth birthday. The child is the participant, so a father, grandparent or foster parent raising a child under 5 can sign that child up.

The dates catch people. A mother who isn’t breastfeeding loses her own eligibility six months after the birth, while the baby stays on. A breastfeeding mother can stay until the first birthday. A child stays eligible up to the fifth birthday.

Everyone also gets a free, short health check from WIC staff before enrolling, and federal rules require that it find at least one nutrition risk. You apply through the WIC agency that serves where you live.

What a WIC card buys

Benefits load onto an eWIC card that works like a debit card at WIC-approved grocery stores and farmers’ markets. It covers a set list of foods each month. The FNA table of maximum monthly allowances gives a child aged 2 through 4 up to 14 quarts of milk, 36 ounces of breakfast cereal, a dozen eggs, 64 fluid ounces of juice, 24 ounces of whole wheat bread, 6 ounces of canned fish, and dry or canned beans or peanut butter. Pregnant women get 16 quarts of milk and 48 ounces of bread among other items, and fully breastfeeding mothers get the largest package, including two dozen eggs. Each participant also gets a dollar amount for fruits and vegetables, which USDA adjusts for inflation each fiscal year, and the current figure shows on your eWIC balance.

Infants get formula, or for breastfed babies extra food for the mother, and baby cereal and baby food once they’re 6 months old. Your state’s food list sets which brands and sizes the card will take.

Applying this fall

1. Count your household, adding one for each expected baby, and compare your gross pay with the column for how often you’re paid.
2. If anyone in the home gets SNAP, Medicaid or TANF, skip the math and bring proof of that instead.
3. Use the eligibility tool on the FNA site to find your state or tribal WIC agency and call for an appointment.
4. Bring identification, proof of address and recent pay stubs, and bring the child or children you’re applying for.
5. Put the end dates on a calendar. A mother who isn’t breastfeeding stops six months after the birth, a breastfeeding mother at the baby’s first birthday, and each child at age 5.

Related reading

• How Much SNAP Does a Family of 4 Get?
• Government Money Programs for Low-Income Households
• How Much Does LIHEAP Pay Toward a Heating Bill This Winter?

The WIC limits above are USDA’s federal maximums for July 2026 through June 2027, and a state agency can use a lower line or ask for different paperwork. Your local WIC office decides eligibility, so check its income chart and document list before you count on benefits.