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SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTION 5000 5400 Income Exclusions 5413 Vendor Payments

the payment is made from funds not owed to the household, is a vendor payment and excluded as income. 2. If an employer pays a household rent or house payment directly to the landlord or financial institution in addition to paying regular wages, this is a vendor payment and excluded as income. If the employer provides a house to an employer, the value of the housing will not be considered as income. 3. Separate and identifiable alimony or support payments made by a person outside of the household under a court order or other legally binding agreement which requires direct payment to a third party are vendor payments and excluded as income by the household receiving the benefit. See SNAP 6550 for instruction on child support as a deductible expense. (When the court awards part of a pension to an ex-spouse and that payment is diverted by the payer directly to the ex-spouse, only the portion actually received by the household will be considered income. See SNAP 5712.) 4. Payments by a government agency to a child care facility for the purpose ofproviding day care for a household member are considered vendor payments and excluded as income. 5. Payments or allowances made by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or by the Farmers Home Administration (FMHA) directly to mortgage holders, landlords or utility providers are vendor payments and excluded as income. (See SNAP 5411 for instructions on handling utility reimbursements or utility assistance payments from HUD or FMHA.) Mortgage payments made by state or local housing authorities directly to the mortgage holder are also considered vendor payments and excluded as income. 6. Emergency assistance for a migrant or seasonal farm worker household during the period the household is in the job stream is considered a vendor payment and excluded as income. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, emergency vendor payments for housing or transportation. See SNAP 5405, item 11. Public assistance (PA) vendor payments are treated as follows: 1. PA vendor payments made for medical assistance are excluded as income. 2. Assistance payments provided to a third party on behalf of a household under a State or Local General Assistance (GA) program or a comparable program are excluded as a vendor payment so long as no cash assistance is provided directly to thehousehold.  NOTE: No such programs are known to exist in this State; however, payments received under these conditions in other states will be excluded as income.