Overview
- USDA released fiscal year 2025 data on June 24 showing a national SNAP payment error rate of 10.62 percent, equal to about $10.1 billion in improper payments.
- The majority of improper payments were overpayments at roughly 9.28 percent while underpayments accounted for about 1.33 percent of the total error rate.
- Under H.R.1 states with error rates of 6 percent or higher face a sliding cost share of 5, 10 or 15 percent of benefits and may choose to use either their 2025 or 2026 rate to set obligations for October 1, 2027.
- Seven jurisdictions with rates at or above 13.34 percent, including Alaska and the District of Columbia, received a statutory delay that pushes their cost-sharing until at least fiscal 2029.
- The release has prompted House oversight letters and subpoenas over states' refusal to share beneficiary data, and states say they will either invest in staff and systems to cut errors or consider budget cuts, tighter eligibility or other tradeoffs to absorb possible costs.