Will Food Stamps Affect When I Can File Taxes?

Food stamps, also called SNAP -- supplemental nutrition assistance benefits -- are government-provided vouchers that allow low-income people to purchase groceries. Although these benefits are administered by state governments, funding is provided mainly by the Social Security Administration, a federal agency. Federal agencies are financed primarily by federal tax revenues. Receiving food stamps, however, will not affect when you are required to file your taxes.

Food Stamps

Food stamps are meant to help people buy groceries. These vouchers are provided only to individuals and families who, according to a set formula, would not have enough money to buy a sufficient amount of food. These stamps cannot be used to buy non-food products, such as household items, alcohol or tobacco. Food stamps are assigned based on a person's income, but will not be affected by when they file their taxes.

Tax Filing

In most cases, taxes must be filed yearly -- although people will often pay taxes throughout the year. All people who make a certain amount of income are required to pay taxes. This limit varies depending on the kind of tax. However, in some cases, a person who is receiving food stamps will not be making enough money that he is required to pay income taxes.

Deadlines

The deadlines for filing taxes vary depending on the kind of tax -- federal, state or local -- as well as the rules of the government assessing the taxes. In addition, many filers choose to get extensions on the deadlines. Many governments offer extensions for a number of reasons. It is not difficult to get an extension for the filing of federal taxes, although it is unrelated to the receipt of food stamps.

Considerations

The only way that the receipt of food stamps would affect when a person was required to file his taxes would be indirectly, if the person was suffering a sudden financial hardship that required him to be put on food stamps. In some cases, the IRS will allow for late payment of taxes due to unforeseeable occurrences. This can include, in some cases, events that can put the person onto food stamps.