NewsWFLA News TampaOctober 25, 2026Hillsborough County
States face federal SNAP funding shifts and potential benefit cuts over error rates
Photo: WFLA News Tampa
States are required to reduce their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) error rates below 6% or face shifting benefit costs to state budgets under a federal law. Only nine states met the target for the 2025 fiscal year, leaving 41 states needing to lower error rates by October 2027 to avoid funding penalties. The policy does not directly cut federal aid to recipients, but the resulting cost shift could lead states to reduce benefits or enrollment.
Read the full story at WFLA News TampaWhy It Matters
Residents in states failing to meet error rate targets risk reductions in monthly SNAP allotments or child nutrition subsidies as state governments absorb 5% to 15% of benefit costs starting in October 2027.
Key Facts
- A federal law ties SNAP error rates to federal funding, requiring states to maintain an error rate under 6% to avoid financial penalties.
- Only nine states (Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) met the 6% error rate goal for the 2025 fiscal year.
- Forty-one states had error rates above the 6% threshold, and the national average error rate stands at approximately 11%.
- Alaska recorded the highest error rate in the country at 23%, down from 60% in 2023 due to prioritization of food access over missing documentation.
- States failing to meet the error rate target will be forced to shoulder 5% to 15% of benefit costs out of their own budgets starting in October 2027.
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the resulting state cost shifts could cause some states to reduce or eliminate SNAP benefits for about 300,000 people.
- Subsidies through child nutrition programs could decrease for approximately 96,000 children as a result of the policy.
- Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and D.C. are granted at least one additional year to try to lower their error rates.
- Missouri, which had an 8.7% error rate last year, could face covering $150 million of its benefit costs if its rate does not improve.
- Nationwide SNAP enrollment fell from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May following eligibility requirement changes under the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'.
Who's Mentioned
locationDelaware“State given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationVermont“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationOregon“State given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationKentucky“State with an error rate under 6%.”OrganizationCongressional Budget Office“Federal agency estimating the impact of state cost shifts on benefit recipients.”locationMissouri“Example state with an 8.7% error rate.”locationWyoming“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationAlaska“State with the highest error rate in the country.”OrganizationAssociated Press“Contributed to the report.”PersonMegan Darrow“Department of Health spokesperson quoted regarding Alaska's error rate.”OrganizationDepartment of Health“State agency providing context on Alaska's error rate.”locationGeorgia“State given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationNebraska“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationUtah“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationSouth Dakota“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationIllinois“State given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationD.C.“Jurisdiction given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationNew Mexico“State given an extra year to reduce error rates.”locationIowa“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationIdaho“State with an error rate under 6%.”locationWisconsin“State with an error rate under 6%.”OrganizationAnchorage Daily News“Publication where spokesperson statements were previously reported.”