The USDA’s latest review shows the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had a national payment error rate of 10.62 percent in fiscal year 2025, translating to about $10.1 billion in improper payments and keeping the program well above the six percent target set by Congress.
The Department of Agriculture’s payment error rates measure whether states are correctly determining who qualifies for SNAP and how much they should receive. This year’s national payment error rate, 10.62 percent, is a modest dip from FY 2024 but still far beyond the six percent congressional threshold, signaling systemic problems at the state level.
When you add overpayments and underpayments together, the FY 2025 rate equals roughly $10.1 billion in improper payments nationwide. That’s taxpayer money that didn’t reach the intended households efficiently, and it points to persistent breakdowns in state-level program administration and oversight.
“These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. “USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics.”
Congress has already moved to force accountability. H.R. 1 introduced new guardrails that make states with payment error rates at or above six percent responsible for covering a share of benefits — five percent, 10 percent or 15 percent depending on how high their PER is. The FY 2025 numbers are the first that could be used to calculate those penalties, which in many cases could kick in as soon as October 1, 2027.
Along with financial matching requirements, states that cross the six percent threshold must submit a Corrective Action Plan to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service outlining how they will address the root causes of errors. Some states that fail to fix issues may also face separate financial penalties through the SNAP quality control process, creating real consequences for mismanagement.
Payment errors come in two main flavors: overpayments, where benefits exceed what a household should receive, and underpayments, where eligible households get less than they should. Congress set a six percent target for states to aim for, but many fell well short this year, with dramatic variation across the country.
Alaska posted the worst result at about a 23 percent payment error rate, while Washington, D.C. reported 18.66 percent. Oregon’s rate was roughly 14 percent and Minnesota’s sat near 12.5 percent, all well above the congressional benchmark and clear signs that state systems are failing beneficiaries and taxpayers alike.
USDA has been prosecuting fraud and tightening oversight where possible. Secretary Rollins has pushed investigations into bad actors and the department reports nearly 1,000 people accused of stealing from SNAP, a program that helps feed about 41 million people nationwide. These enforcement efforts aim to protect program integrity so aid reaches those who truly need it.
States that mishandle SNAP have to answer for it, and the new H.R. 1 framework is designed to turn soft warnings into hard financial incentives for reform. If states want to avoid covering a slice of benefits themselves, they will need to fix eligibility determinations, improve case reviews, and shore up quality control systems quickly.
Fixing SNAP’s error problem won’t be painless, but allowing large error rates to linger is worse for needy families and taxpayers. Better audits, clearer accountability, and tougher corrective plans will push states to weed out mistakes, limit waste, and ensure benefits flow to eligible households on time.
The federal role is to set standards and enforce them, but state agencies are the ones doing day-to-day eligibility work. That split means Congress and USDA can require better practices, but real improvement depends on states acting deliberately to strengthen systems and close loopholes that lead to overpayments and underpayments.
https://x.com/DepSecVaden/status/2069841467133075772
Policymakers should treat the FY 2025 numbers as a call to action: high error rates are a sign of administrative failure, not just bad luck. With billions at stake and millions of lives touched by SNAP, the priority must be clearer accountability, smarter audits, and tangible consequences for chronic mismanagement.
