Get the Most Out of Your SNAP

SNAP benefits are based on your household’s income and certain expenses. If eligible, reporting and providing proof of these costs may cause your SNAP benefits to go up. Read about each type below.

SNAP benefits will not change if you already get the maximum monthly SNAP amount. You can find what the maximum SNAP benefit amounts are for your household size on our webpage. You can find your current monthly SNAP benefit amount on DTA Connect or by listening to your case information on the DTA Assistance Line at 877-382-2363.

If you or anyone in your SNAP household is 60 or older OR gets a disability-based benefit, tell DTA about medical costs over $35 per month.

What types of medical costs count?

We can count the medical costs that you are responsible for - such as a hospital or dental bill - even if you have not paid them yet. However, we cannot count costs that are reimbursed by insurance.  

Tell us how often you pay for each cost. Example: Tell us if a medical expense was only one-time (such as a medical procedure) or if you pay for it weekly, monthly or annually (such as vitamins or medications).

Here are some examples of acceptable medical expenses:

Insurance Premiums: Basic Health, Drug, Dental, Vision, Medicare

Medical Supplies such as: Hearing aids/batteries, Contact lenses, Glasses, Diabetes supplies, Adhesives, Wheelchair, Walker, Prosthetics, Crutches, Dentures, Communication equipment

Pharmacy: Prescriptions, Over-the-counter drugs, Wound care supplies, Adult diapers, Vitamins/herbal health remedies

Co-payments: Doctor, Hospital, Dentist, Physical Therapy, Chiropractor, Mental health services, Medical procedure

Transportation Costs: Mileage by car*, Taxi, Uber/Lyft, Public transportation/The Ride, Parking, Tolls

Other Health Costs: Home health or adult day care, Gym membership, Acupuncture/alternative medicine, Service animal costs, Housekeeping 

What type of proof is needed?

You will need to provide documentary proof of all your health care costs.  

Proof may include a copy of medical bills, receipts, a printout from the pharmacy, receipts from The Ride, Uber, or Lyft.

* If you drive, you can provide a self-declaration (either telephonically or by writing a letter) stating the address of the medical provider/pharmacy and how many trips you take to and from the medical provider/pharmacy each week. 

How can I send proof of my health care costs to DTA?

• Online: DTAConnect.com or DTA Connect Mobile App
• Mail: DTA Processing Center, P.O. Box 4406, Taunton, MA 02780
• Fax: (617) 887-8765
• In person: Scan at a local DTA office

If anyone in your SNAP household is working, looking for work, or in school, tell DTA about child or disabled adult care costs such as babysitter, transportation, or day care costs.

What type of proof is needed?

The fastest way to tell DTA is through DTA Connect by uploading proof of your expenses.  Examples include: 

• Statement or letter from provider showing the amount that you are responsible for
• Receipts, canceled check, or money order
• If you drive the person to and from the dependent care provider:
  • Statement or self-declaration stating the address of the provider and how often you drive to and from this provider.
• If you pay for any other transportation costs to bring the person to the dependent care provider:
  • Parking or tolls receipts
  • Statement or receipts from a transportation company (e.g., Lyft, Uber) or for public transportation (e.g., bus, subway, taxi, The RIDE). 

Tell DTA about your rent or mortgage costs.

What type of proof is needed?

The fastest way to tell DTA is through DTA Connect by uploading proof of your expenses. Examples include:  

• Rent receipt, lease, or letter from your landlord.
  • If you are not the primary tenant or the homeowner, provide a statement from the person you live with stating what your share of the shelter and utility expenses are.
• Mortgage statement, property tax, condo fees, home insurance bill 
• Other documentation showing how much you pay for housing 

You can tell DTA if you are legally obligated to pay child support costs for a child not in your household.  In order to receive child support costs, you must provide:

1. The legal obligation to pay child support, like a court order or a DOR Lockbox bill, and
2. The amount of child support costs you pay, such as recent copies of cashed checks or wage withholding statements

You must provide actual proof of child support expenses.  You take a picture of supporting documents and upload them on DTA Connect.

The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) puts money back on your EBT card when you use SNAP to buy healthy, local fruits and vegetables from HIP farm vendors.

You can tell DTA if your income has gone down or your costs have gone up by:

• Taking a picture of supporting documents and uploading them through DTA Connect.
• Visiting a local DTA office
• Mailing the information to DTA Document Processing Center, PO Box 4406, Taunton, MA 02780
• Faxing the information to DTA Document Processing Center, (617) 887-8765
• Working with one of DTA’s over 100 SNAP outreach community partners

If it is easier for you, you can also upload documents on DTA Connect

Follow these steps below to send your Cost information to DTA via the DTA Connect mobile app.

1. Open the DTA Connect mobile app on your phone
2. Click on the upload button at the bottom of the screen. It looks like a camera.
3. Read the upload instructions and click confirm.
4. Next, it will ask you what kind of documents you are uploading. 
   1. Submit Verification
   2. Voluntary Request to Stop Benefits
   3. Request for authorized representative
   4. Request for replacement Due to Household Misfortune
5. Click submit verification
6. Now you can select which household member the document is for by clicking person and selecting the household member
7. Then click the gray box that says photo instructions to read tips on taking a photo of the document
8. Now click on the photo icon on the page. You can choose to upload a photo from your photo library or take a photo.
   1. If you click take photo, your camera will open up and you can click the circle button to take the photo. You then can click use photo or retake. If you are all set, click use photo.
9. If you need to select multiple pages, you can click the photo icon again to add more.
10. Finally, click Submit in the top right hand corner of the screen. Click submit again. And then click confirm at the bottom of the page. A message will pop up saying your document has been submitted.

Follow these instructions below to send your Cost information to DTA via DTAConnect.com.

1. Log in to DTConnect.com
2. Click Documents at the top of the screen
3. Click on the blue box that says Send Documents to DTA
4. Read the upload instructions and click continue to step 2
5. Next, it will ask you what kind of documents you are uploading.
   1. Submit Verification
   2. Voluntary Request to Stop Benefits
   3. Request for authorized representative
   4. Request for replacement Due to Household Misfortune
6. Click verification document. The box will turn blue
7. Now click continue to step 3
8. Next select which household member the document is for
9. Click photo instructions to read tips on how to take a photo of documents
10. Click on choose a file to send
11. Find the document you want to upload from your computer and click open
12. If you want to send more than one document, click add another file
13. When you are done, click send to DTA at the bottom of the page. A pop up message will appear saying your document(s) have been submitted