1002 Determining Income for Prospectively Budgeted Households

For the purpose of determining the eligibility and benefit level for prospectively budgeted households, the county department shall budget income in accordance with the following procedures. Additional procedures specific to simplified reporting households are found in Chapter 17. A. Anticipating Income The county department shall take into account the income already received by the household during the certification period and any anticipated income the household and the county department are reasonably certain will be received during the remainder of the certification period. If the amount of income that will be received, or when it will be received, is uncertain, that portion of the household’s income that is uncertain shall not be counted. For example, a household anticipating income from a new source, such as recently applied for public assistance benefits, may be uncertain as to the timing and amount of the initial payment. These moneys shall not be anticipated unless there is reasonable certainty concerning the month in which the payment will be received and in what amount. If the exact amount of the income is not known, that portion of it which can be anticipated with reasonable certainty shall be considered as income. Income received during the past 30 days should be used as an indicator of the income that is and will be available to the household during the certification period. However, this income should not be used if changes have occurred or can be anticipated. Under no circumstances should the worker automatically attribute to the household amounts of any past income without discussion with the household. If the household states the income in the past 30 days is representative of the normal fluctuations in income and the total monthly income is relatively stable (although the income may vary within the month) then it is appropriate to use this income to anticipate the income for the certification period. Use of a month’s income to anticipate the monthly income to show in the food stamp budget does not constitute averaging, even if it involves the determination of income received more often than monthly which is then converted to monthly income using the appropriate conversion factor. If income fluctuates to the extent that a 30-day period alone cannot provide an accurate indication of anticipated income, the worker and household may determine that a longer period of past time will more accurately represent the anticipated fluctuations in future income. If income fluctuates from month to month over a period of time, income averaging may be a more accurate method to use to determine the monthly income to budget. See Section 1002C for the policies concerning income averaging. The household must be advised to report changes in gross monthly income as required in Chapter 17. B. Income Only in Month Received Income anticipated during the certification period shall be counted as income only in the month it is expected to be received, unless the income is averaged in accordance with Section 1002 C. 1. Nonrecurring lump-sum payments shall be counted as a resource starting in the month received and shall not be counted as income. 2. Wages held at the request of the employee shall be considered income to the household in the month the wages would otherwise have been paid by the employer. However, wages held by the employer, as a general practice, even if in violation of law, shall not be counted as income to the household unless the household anticipates that it will ask for and receive an advance, or that it will receive income from wages that were previously held by the employer asa general practice and that were, therefore, not previously counted as income. 3. Advances on wages shall count as income in the month received only if reasonably anticipated. Income received monthly or semi-monthly (twice a month, not every two weeks) is counted in the month it is intended to cover rather than the month in which it is received when an extra check is received in one month because of changes in pay dates or mailing cycles for reasons such as weekends or holidays. C. Income Averaging Income averaging is appropriate for any source of income that fluctuates from month to month so that anticipation based on recent past income cannot accurately reflect the appropriate income to show in the food stamp budget. Examples of income that may be averaged include fluctuating child support, FA income that fluctuates due to receipt of child support or wages, SSI that fluctuates due to wages or combinations of UCB and wages. It is the worker’s decision to use income averaging when fluctuations in income make anticipation inappropriate. Income averaging may not be used for destitute households as defined in Section 1004C, as averaging would result in assigning to the month of application income from future periods not available to the destitute household for its current food needs. A minimum of two months of income must be used to determine an average. If two months of income does not accurately reflect the fluctuations in income, a longer period of time may be used to arrive at an average. Workers should take care in determining the amount of income to budget, particularly in the instance of fluctuating child support income. If income information is available for the time period that corresponds with the intended certification period, this average may more accurately reflect the fluctuations that occur, and therefore be a more appropriate average. If the last 12 months of income is available, this may also be used to average income that fluctuates greatly over a year’s time. Income received more frequently than monthly must be converted to a monthly amount using the appropriate conversion factors of 4.3 for income received weekly, 2.15 for biweekly income, and 2 for income received on a semi-monthly basis. Income which has been averaged must be recalculated at recertification or at a report of changes that cause an increase in the allotment. At certification the household must be advised of the averaged amount of income budgeted, as this becomes the basis upon which changes in income must be reported in accordance with the policy in Chapter 17. Households which by contract or self-employment derive their annual income in a period of time shorter than one year shall have that income averaged over a 12-month period provided the income from the contract is not received on an hourly or piecework basis. These households may include school employees, share croppers, farmers, and other self-employed households. The procedures for anticipating and averaging self-employment income are given in Section 1100. The above provisions for averaging income from contract or self-employment do not apply to migrant or seasonal farm work income.