National Cash Subsidy Program (Targeted Subsidies Reform / Yarane Naghdi)
Iran's Targeted Subsidies Reform, launched in December 2010, replaced government subsidies on fuel, electricity, bread and other staples with a nationwide cash transfer deposited into every citizen's bank account, making Iran the first country to implement a near-universal, national-scale unconditional cash program. Originally worth roughly $40-45 per person per month, the payment's real value has collapsed due to sustained currency devaluation, sanctions and inflation, falling to only a few dollars per month by the mid-2020s. Since 2021-2022 the program has shifted from a universal payment to a means-tested one that excludes higher-income deciles. In January 2026, amid a rial collapse and nationwide protests, the government layered on (or restructured into) a new restricted-use electronic food credit worth about $5-7 per person per month, non-cash and goods-only, extended to roughly 92% of the population. The program remains active but is heavily modified from its original universal, cash-in-hand design.
UBI pioneer, National subsidy reform, Originally universal now means-tested, Currency devaluation, Sanctions-impacted, Food/commodity credit, 2026 crisis response
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Targeted Subsidies Organization, Government of Iran (under the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare)
- City
- Tehran
- State / Province
- Tehran Province
- Country
- Iran
Contact
- Website
- https://hemayat.mcls.gov.ir/
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Rolling
- Number of recipients
- 80,000,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- Ongoing / unconditional
- Yes
- Distribution Type
- Direct deposit to registered national bank account/debit card (legacy 'Yarane' account, cash-withdrawable), newer (Jan 2026) tranche uses a restricted-use electronic payment/credit card that can only purchase designated staple goods and is not cash-withdrawable
- Benefit details
Funds are deposited monthly into a household's registered bank account/debit card and historically could be withdrawn as cash. Payment amounts have varied by income decile: as of roughly 2022-2025 the poorest ~30% of households received about 4,000,000 rials/person/month and the middle ~60% received about 3,000,000 rials/person/month, while the top income decile(s) received nothing. In January 2026 the government introduced a new tranche worth about 1,000,000 Tomans (10,000,000 rials) per person per month for four months, restricted to purchases of specified staples (eggs, meat, rice, chicken, cooking oil) and not withdrawable as cash. Some outlets instead describe this as the classic cash subsidy tripling from 3 million to 10 million rials per household. Nominal rial amounts are not automatically indexed to inflation, though officials have pledged periodic increases.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
At launch in December 2010 the program was universal and unconditional, covering all Iranian citizens who registered a national ID and bank account. Since a 2021-2022 restructuring, eligibility has been means-tested: households are sorted into income deciles by the government using self-declared and cross-verified income, banking-transaction, vehicle and property data, with the highest-income decile(s) excluded. Roughly 4.5 million additional middle-income recipients were removed between March and November 2024. The January 2026 emergency food credit was extended to nearly the entire population (over 80 million people, about 92%), partially reversing prior targeting.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 0
Financial
- Banked status
- Banked
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Iran
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
Households/individuals register with a national ID and bank account through the government's welfare/decile-classification portal (hemayat.mcls.gov.ir, formerly yaraneh.mcls.gov.ir). Households already enrolled since the 2010 launch remain in the system and are periodically reclassified by income decile; new entrants and those disputing their income-decile classification can register or file an appeal ('objection') through the same portal.
- Selection process
Automatic income-decile classification performed by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare using self-declared income plus cross-verified banking transaction, vehicle-ownership and property records; the highest-earning decile(s) are excluded from the legacy cash subsidy. The January 2026 food-credit tranche was extended by government decree to nearly all citizens regardless of decile.
