Maryland Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) for single parents and families (2026)

How Maryland sets the $773 TCA grant each year

State law requires the TCA grant plus a family’s SNAP benefit to equal at least 61.25% of the Maryland Minimum Living Level. That figure is updated each year for inflation ⁠⁴. Grant increases used to start each Oct. 1, along with the new SNAP amounts. DHS delayed the last two increases to Jan. 1. The current schedule raised the three-person grant from $753 to $773 on Jan. 1, 2026 ⁠¹⁠⁴. The legislature asked DHS to report its next calculation by Oct. 1, 2026. As of Oct. 20, 2026, DHS’s October 2026 income chart still listed $773 ⁠²⁠⁴.

The October 2026 chart adds $136 for each person beyond eight ⁠². The full schedule runs to a household of 21 ($3,269) ⁠¹.

A family with no countable income gets the full amount. Maryland does not have a separate gross income limit. You qualify if your net countable income is below the payment for your household size and the calculated benefit is at least $10 ⁠⁵. If you are eligible in the month you apply, TCA starts on the date the local department receives your signed application. If you are not, it starts on the first day of the next month ⁠¹².

Earnings, child support and no asset test: Maryland’s income math

When you apply, Maryland subtracts 20% of gross earnings (50% for self-employment). Once you are on TCA and have an unsubsidized job, the disregard rises to 40% ⁠⁵. Caseworkers also deduct child care for each child: up to $200 a month if you work 100 hours or more a month, or $100 if you work fewer hours. They also deduct child support you pay to someone outside the household ⁠⁵. Your EITC, SSI and student grants are not counted. Only the first $60 a month of a housing subsidy counts as income ⁠⁵.

These are our calculations from the payment amounts and disregards in ⁠¹ and ⁠⁵, using the $10 minimum benefit. Child support you receive, unemployment benefits and other unearned income lower these thresholds.

TCA does not count assets. Savings, a car or a home do not affect eligibility. The only exception is a sponsored immigrant, whose sponsor’s assets are counted ⁠⁶.

Welfare Avoidance Grants: a lump sum instead of monthly TCA

A Welfare Avoidance Grant (WAG) is Maryland’s diversion payment. You cannot apply for one. Your case manager screens for it at application or redetermination and may offer it under the local department’s approved plan ⁠⁷. It fits a short-term need that would keep you off TCA, such as tools and uniforms for a new job or a car to keep your job. Your family must meet TCA’s technical eligibility rules and must not have resources of its own to cover the need ⁠⁷.

A WAG can be up to three times the monthly grant for your household size. If the need is immediate and compelling, it can be up to 12 times ⁠⁷. For a family of three, that works out to $2,319, or up to $9,276, under the 2026 schedule. Any part of a month the WAG covers counts as a full month, and you cannot get TCA during those months ⁠⁷. You do not have to assign child support to the state to get a WAG, and you can still get SNAP and Medicaid ⁠⁷. Before you sign the WAG Agreement, compare the lump sum with the monthly grants you would give up.

Work Opportunities: hours, exemptions and the 30% sanction

Maryland’s TANF work program is the Work Opportunities Program. Local departments run it themselves or through contractors such as American Job Centers ⁠⁴⁠¹⁰. Most work-eligible adults must take part 30 hours a week, and 20 of those hours must be in a federally defined core activity such as employment, work experience or community service. A parent with a child under 6 must take part 20 hours a week ⁠¹⁰. Two-parent families need 35 hours a week combined. If they use federally funded child care, they need 55 hours, with 50 in core activities ⁠¹⁰.

Under HB 1043, customers whose TCA month counter is 1 through 6 are exempt from the work program. They may still volunteer, and they will not be sanctioned ⁠¹⁰. You are also exempt if you care for a child under 1, if you are severely disabled (for up to 12 months unless you have applied for SSI), if you care for a disabled family member at home, or if you are a family violence victim and an expert has evaluated you. A teen parent without a diploma cannot use the child-under-1 exemption ⁠¹⁰.

If you miss requirements, the case manager mails a notice of noncompliance and gives you a 30-day conciliation period to fix the problem or show good cause ⁠¹¹. If you still do not comply, the adult portion of your grant is cut by 30% for work noncompliance. The whole grant is cut by 25% for child support noncooperation. The cut takes effect on the first of the month after the conciliation period and a 10-day notice period end ⁠¹¹.

Maryland’s 60-month clock and the hardship review

Maryland does not add a shorter state limit to the federal 60-month limit. Each adult parent’s months count, including TANF months from other states and months when a sanction removed the parent’s needs from the grant ⁠⁸. These months do not count: months as a non-parent caretaker relative, months as a minor child, months receiving verified domestic violence services, months the case was closed ⁠⁸, and months you were working and eligible only because of the 40% earned income disregard ⁠⁹.

Your case manager must interview you between months 42 and 48 to address barriers. You get another notice at month 58 and a final face-to-face review in months 59-60 ⁠⁸. A hardship exemption is granted if you could not find or keep work despite real effort because of circumstances such as a medical condition, mental health or substance use issues, homelessness, domestic violence, or barriers with transportation, child care or job skills. It is also granted if the local department did not provide the services in your Family Independence Plan ⁠⁸. Exemptions are reviewed every six months ⁠⁸. This review now matters more than it used to. Between November 2023 and October 2025, 9,709 TCA cases closed at the time limit. In federal fiscal 2025, 1,429 households had hardship exemptions ⁠⁴.

Applying through Maryland Benefits or your local department of social services

1. Gather documents first

   Bring pay stubs and records of child support, unemployment or other income, because net countable income sets your grant ⁠⁵. Also bring Social Security numbers for everyone in the household and immigration papers for any noncitizen. You do not need bank statements or vehicle titles, because TCA has no asset test ⁠⁶.

2. Apply

   Use the Maryland Benefits website, which replaced myMDTHINK. You can also apply at your local department in person, by mail or by fax, or ask someone to drop off your application ⁠³⁠⁴. If you also want help paying for child care, say so, because you can apply for that at the same time ⁠³.

3. Complete the interview and assessment

   You and the case manager sign a Family Independence Plan that lists your activities and the services the department will provide. Later hardship reviews are based on this plan ⁠⁸. Missed interviews cause about 8% to 10% of TCA denials ⁠⁴.

4. Cooperate with child support

   While you receive TCA, current support for your children is assigned to DHS ⁠¹³. If you do not cooperate without good cause, your application can be denied, or your grant cut by 25% once you are receiving TCA ⁠⁴⁠¹¹.

5. Watch for the decision

   The local department must decide within 30 calendar days of receiving your signed application ⁠¹². In 2025, TCA applications took an average of 20.5 days ⁠⁴. TCA denial rates have generally been above 70%, and verification problems are a leading cause, so return requested documents quickly ⁠⁴.

6. Appeal if you are denied or cut off

   Request a hearing as soon as you get the notice. If you appeal within 10 calendar days of a notice that reduces or ends your benefits, your TCA continues until the hearing decision. If you lose the appeal, you may have to repay those benefits ⁠¹⁵.

Child support pass-through and the Child Support Administration

While you receive TCA, current child support is assigned to DHS. The Child Support Administration passes part of each month’s payment to you: up to $100 for one child or $200 for two or more, or the court-ordered amount if it is lower. Payments on arrears are not passed through ⁠¹³. TCA does not count the pass-through, but SNAP does ⁠⁴. Under Chapter 373 of 2025, the pass-through grows starting in fiscal 2028, which begins July 1, 2027. Families will get the larger of the current amount or 25% of collections, rising to 100% by fiscal 2031 ⁠⁴. Opening a case normally costs $15, but the fee may be waived if you receive or have received TCA ⁠¹⁴.

When TCA ends: Transitional Support Services and emergency help

If your TCA closes because your earnings are too high, Transitional Support Services pays the same benefit for three more months ⁠⁴. For a crisis such as an eviction or a utility shutoff, ask your local department about Emergency Assistance to Families with Children. It is paid under each county’s plan from a set annual allocation ⁠⁴. TCA payments arrive on an EBT card, and you can sign up for direct deposit ⁠³.

For other help in this state, see all Maryland assistance guides or compare cash assistance across states.