Texas TANF cash assistance for single parents and families (2026)

What a Texas TANF check is worth after the Oct. 1, 2026 increase

The table shows the maximum grant, which is what a household with no countable income receives. Any countable income lowers the amount. In the “one parent” column, a household size of 1 means a caretaker whose only child receives SSI. In the “two parents” column, size 2 means both parents of a child on SSI ⁠¹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Each additional person adds $89 to the maximum grant in every column ⁠¹.

The first month’s grant is prorated from the date eligibility begins. If the prorated amount comes to less than $10, no grant is paid for that month ⁠¹. Monthly benefits go onto a Lone Star Card. One-time payments are mailed as a warrant (a paper check), and the Postal Service will not forward it ⁠³⁠².

The two income tests behind the “income limit”

The amounts HHSC lists as income limits are the recognizable needs figures, which are 25% of the state’s budgetary needs standard ⁠¹⁠². A household that has not received TANF in any state during the last four months has to pass both tests ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹:

1. Budgetary needs test

   Net income has to be below the 100% standard: $650 for a parent with one child, $751 for a parent with two, and $903 for a parent with three ⁠¹.

2. Recognizable needs test, Part A

   HHSC subtracts $120 in work expenses and then one-third of the remaining earnings. What is left must be below $163, $188 or $226 for those same households ⁠¹¹⁠¹.

3. Recognizable needs test, Part B

   After the $120, HHSC deducts 90% of the remaining earnings, up to $1,400. A person can get this 90% deduction for only four months in a 12-month period. Households already on TANF take only Part B ⁠¹¹.

HHSC disregards the first $75 of child support when it counts income. After approval, any child support you receive for a certified child must go to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). If you keep it, a sanction follows ⁠¹⁰.

Two-parent households and the TANF State Program

When a child lives with both legal parents (natural, adoptive or step), HHSC certifies the family under the TANF State Program (TANF-SP). The family must meet every other TANF rule ⁠¹². TANF-SP has a higher payment column, and its months do not count toward the federal 60-month clock. TANF-SP has its own 60-month limit instead, and federal TANF months also count toward that limit ⁠⁴⁠⁵. The work rule is stricter. One or both parents must log an average of 35 hours a week, or 55 hours if the family gets child care funded by the Texas Workforce Commission ⁠⁸. Neither parent can claim the single-caretaker exemption for a baby ⁠⁷.

One-Time TANF and the $1,000 relative payment

One Time TANF (OTTANF) is a diversion payment. A family that qualifies for TANF can take $1,000 once instead of a monthly grant if a caretaker or second parent meets one of four crisis criteria ⁠³:

• lost a job in the two months before applying, in the application month or in the processing month (a voluntary quit without good cause does not count);
• in a one-parent home, the child lost financial support from a parent or stepparent within the last 12 months, and the caretaker worked during that time;
• graduated from a college or technical school within 12 months, is unemployed or underemployed, and received Texas TANF before or during school;
• is working but faces the loss of transportation or housing, or a medical emergency lasting 60 days or less.

Before getting the payment, required members must attend a workforce orientation ⁠³. Choosing OTTANF makes the caretaker and second parent ineligible for TANF, TANF-SP and OTTANF for 12 months. The 12 months begin with the grant month and follow the adult if they move to another household. After the $1,000 warrant has been cashed, you cannot switch to monthly TANF ⁠³. A $1,000 payment is about 2.6 months of the $388 grant, so compare the two before you choose.

One-Time TANF for Relatives replaced the old TANF Grandparent Payment. It pays $1,000 once in a lifetime, regardless of how many children are in the home. The relative must be 25 or older, must be the child’s grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister (great and great-great relatives count), and must be the caretaker or payee for a child who gets TANF or OTTANF. Cousins, nieces and nephews are not eligible ⁠³. Family gross income must be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and resources must be at or below $1,000 ⁠³.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: HHSC TANF Cash Help page ⁠². The figures match 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines.

What the Personal Responsibility Agreement commits you to

Every caretaker and second parent signs Form H1073, the Personal Responsibility Agreement (PRA). If you do not sign it, the application is denied ⁠⁶. By signing, you agree to:

• take part in Choices unless you are exempt;
• cooperate with child support;
• not quit a job of 30 or more hours a week without good cause;
• get your children Texas Health Steps checkups and required vaccines;
• keep your children in school;
• go to parenting classes if referred;
• not abuse drugs or alcohol ⁠⁶.

Breaking any one of these rules triggers a full-family sanction. The family loses that month’s grant permanently. If the family is still not cooperating by the end of the second month, it loses cash for two months and must show 30 days of cooperation before TANF restarts. HHSC calls this “pay for performance” ⁠⁶.

Choices, the 30-hour rule and Texas time limits

In a full-service Choices county, you must attend a workforce orientation before HHSC can certify you. If you cannot get to a session, for example because you have no transportation, you live more than 30 miles away or you are caring for a baby under four months old, you can ask for a phone or home-visit orientation ⁠⁷. Single parents then have to average 30 hours a week of work activities ⁠⁸. You are exempt if you are a single caretaker of a child under one year old (checked at the first application), if you have a disability expected to last more than 180 days, if you are needed at home to care for a disabled household member, or if you are pregnant and unable to work ⁠⁷. In minimum-service counties nobody is required to take part ⁠⁷.

Texas time limits stack:

• Federal limit. Each caretaker has a 60-month lifetime limit, and months of cash received in other states count toward it. When a caretaker reaches it, the whole household is denied ⁠⁵.
• State limit. Based on education and work history, each caretaker is placed in a tier with a limit of 12, 24 or 36 months. Months count only while the caretaker has an open Choices case. When the state limit is reached, the adult is barred for five years, but the children stay on TANF ⁠⁴.
• Extended TANF. You can apply in your 60th month or later. You must have a hardship such as a disability, caring for a family member with a disability, family violence, living in a minimum-service county or a documented lack of jobs. The last two hardships are capped at 24 more months ⁠⁵.

HHSC updates a list of hardship counties every quarter in handbook section C-321 ⁠¹⁵.

Applying through Your Texas Benefits, step by step

1. Gather proof first

   Have Social Security numbers, citizenship or immigration documents, pay stubs, child support records, bank balances and vehicle values ready for everyone in your household. Countable resources must total $1,000 or less ⁠⁹⁠².

2. File Form H1010

   Apply at YourTexasBenefits.com, by calling 2-1-1, by mail or fax, or at an HHSC office. One application covers TANF, SNAP and Medicaid. Ask about OTTANF at this stage, because staff must record whether you asked for it or turned it down ⁠³.

3. Complete the interview and verifications

   You generally have 10 days to send any documents the caseworker asks for ⁠¹³.

4. Attend workforce orientation

   Bring back Form H2588, signed and stamped by Choices staff, unless the Workforce Solutions office sends it to HHSC for you ⁠⁷.

5. Sign the PRA and assign support

   Signing the application assigns your child support rights to the OAG ⁠⁶⁠¹⁰.

6. Watch for the decision

   HHSC must send Form TF0001, Notice of Case Action, by the 45th day after your file date ⁠¹³.

7. Appeal if you disagree

   You have 90 days from the date an action takes effect to ask for a fair hearing, either orally or in writing. If you ask within 13 days of a notice that cuts or ends your benefits, they continue until the decision ⁠¹⁴.

Child support help from the Texas OAG

Every TANF case involving a parent who lives outside the home goes to the OAG Child Support Division. You must cooperate unless you have good cause, such as family violence ⁠⁶⁠¹⁰. Parents who are not on TANF can also open a case. Apply online at the OAG’s Child Support Online, or call (800) 252-8014 to get a paper application by mail.

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