What you get
Free tablet with EBT: what a SNAP household gets in 2026
Enter the price of the tablet you have in mind: the calculator compares the federal help that existed until 2024 with what exists today.
Tablet discount then and now
Federal device discount today
$0
| ACP device discount before June 1, 2024 | up to $100 |
| Lifeline toward a device | $0 |
| You pay today | $150 |
The ACP device discount (up to $100, with a contribution of more than $10 and less than $50) ended with the program.
There is no federal tablet discount in 2026. The only federal program that paid toward a tablet was the Affordable Connectivity Program, which gave a one-time discount of up to $100 on a laptop, desktop computer or tablet bought through a participating provider, provided the household paid more than $10 and less than $50 toward it. That discount disappeared with the program, which stopped enrolling on February 8, 2024 and ended on June 1, 2024 for lack of new funding from Congress, as USAC records. What a SNAP household keeps is Lifeline: receiving SNAP qualifies the whole household whatever its income, and Lifeline takes up to $9.25 a month off a phone or internet plan, $111 a year. The FCC states that Lifeline does not subsidize any hardware, so a tablet offered alongside it is the company’s own offer, not a benefit paid by your EBT eligibility.
Rules and figures read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
What the ACP device discount was, in numbers
From the start of the Affordable Connectivity Program until its end, an enrolled household could receive one device discount of up to $100 toward a laptop, desktop computer or tablet. The archived FCC page sets two conditions: the device had to come from a participating provider, and the household had to contribute more than $10 and less than $50 of the price. The program was limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.
The contribution rule shaped which devices qualified: the discount never covered the whole price, and the household’s own share had to stay within that band. Today the calculator above shows any tablet at its full price, since no federal program has replaced the device discount.
The timeline that ended the free tablet
The end came in three steps. New enrollments were frozen on February 8, 2024. The FCC then issued formal notice that April 2024 would be the final fully funded month. The program then ended on June 1, 2024 because Congress did not provide additional funding. A household that had not bought its device by then lost the chance to use the discount.
The FCC later warned that some providers had not updated their marketing and that some websites kept collecting personal information for ACP enrollment. Any offer in 2026 that presents a tablet as an ACP or EBT benefit relies on a program that no longer exists, and the FCC asks consumers to file a complaint when they see one.
What SNAP still gets you: Lifeline
SNAP is one of the qualifying programs listed in 47 CFR 54.409, alongside Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing Assistance and the Veterans and Survivors Pension. If anyone in your household receives it, the household qualifies without an income test. The benefit is a discount of up to $9.25 a month on a plan meeting the broadband standard, which can be a mobile data plan used on a tablet if the company offers one, or home internet shared by every device in the house.
Whether you must send a document depends on your state. In 23 of the 54 states and territories on USAC’s table of automated sources, the National Verifier confirms SNAP automatically; elsewhere you upload a letter or notice. Pick your state below to see which case applies.
Will your benefit be checked automatically?
In Florida
Checked automatically by the National Verifier
| Benefit | SNAP (food stamps) |
| Where to apply | Apply through the National Verifier |
| A document must be dated | within 12 months |
From USAC’s table of automated data sources by state.
When a document is needed, USAC asks for one that shows your name or that of the household member who receives SNAP, the name of the program, the agency that issued it, and an issue date within the last 12 months or a future expiration date. The documents checklist lists every accepted proof, and the food stamps page covers the SNAP route in detail.
Using the discount for a tablet you already own
The most direct way to connect a tablet with Lifeline is to apply the discount to a service the tablet can use: home internet reaching 25/3 Mbps, or a mobile plan with at least 4.5 GB of data. Ask a company in writing whether its plan works with a device you bring, and whether a tablet it supplies has a price, a contract or a return condition. The home internet page shows the bill with the discount.