SNAP Payment Error Rate (PER)

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) provides monthly benefits on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to eligible low-income individuals and families to help them buy groceries and afford nutritious food. The program is federally funded but administered at the state level.  It is the largest anti-hunger program in the U.S.

The PER measures how accurately a state determines eligibility and benefit amounts for SNAP households. The PER is calculated as total mis-issued dollars divided by total benefits issued. A mis-issuance occurs as the result of an error regardless of whether the error was intentional.

The SNAP Quality Control (QC) process to determine the PER consists of four steps:

1. State review: Each month, state agencies randomly select a sample of households participating in SNAP to confirm the households are eligible for and receive the correct amount of food assistance benefits.
2. Federal re-reviews: Federal SNAP staff select a sub-sample of each state’s reviews — about half of the state’s reviewed cases — for re-review to verify the accuracy of the state’s findings.
3. Corrections: Errors are corrected – overpayments must be paid back to the state and the state must reimburse participants for underpayments so each household gets exactly the amount for which they were eligible.
4. Analysis: Federal SNAP staff analyze the data, considering the size of a state’s caseload and other variables, to establish national and state payment error rates.

As part of the 2025 H.R. 1 Act (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), beginning in 
FY 2027, Michigan will need to spend more money on SNAP. This includes:

• Paying 75% of administrative costs compared to 50% today.
• Paying up to 15% of program benefit costs based on the state’s PER. Today, states pay 0% of these program costs.
  

There are two types of payment errors:

• Underpayments: When a household receives fewer benefits than they are entitled.
• Overpayments: When a household receives more benefits than they are entitled.

Payment errors may happen due to:

• State agency error – for example, the agency miscalculates a household’s expenses.
• Household error– for example, the client does not report a change in income.

Most errors arise from:

• Incorrect income or expense budgeting.
• Delays or gaps in gathering verification.
• Incomplete or inaccurate case documentation.
• Misapplication of program policy.
• Data entry or processing errors.

Under H.R. 1, Michigan’s share of SNAP benefit costs will be determined by the state’s federally calculated PER for FY 2026. States with higher error rates will be required to pay a higher portion of SNAP benefit costs, while states with PERs under 6% will continue to receive full federal funding.

MDHHS is implementing these key actions:

• Pre-certification case reads.
• Refreshed training and reference tools.
• Process redesign and automation.
• Enhanced communication.
• Performance monitoring.