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SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTION 7000 7500 Step 2 - Gross Income Eligibility 7512 Budgeting SNAP Income Prospectively

7512 Budgeting SNAP Income Prospectively SNAP Manual 7/01/98 The purpose of prospectively budgeting income is to anticipate the household’s income for the assigned certification period; or if the household is subject to semi-annual reporting (SR), to anticipate the household’s income for the upcoming six-month period. (See SNAP 5691 for special instructions on processing self-employment income received by SR households.) Income (other than annualized or averaged income) will not be counted in a perspective budget unless the amount of the income and the date of receipt can reasonably be anticipated. Income from a new source such as a government benefit check or a new job will not be counted in the SNAP budget until the amount and the date of the first payment has been reasonably established. For example, if a household reports at its application interview that a member has been laid off but should begin receiving unemployment insurance(UI) benefits, the UI benefits will not be counted in the household’s budget until the date of receipt of the first check is known. Income received within the past 30 days is normally used as an indicator of the income that is and will be available to the household during the certification period. (For SR households the indicator applies to income to be received in the next six-month period.) For example, a household with the weekly -earned income applies for recertification and is interviewed on May 15. The household reports that earnings are received every Friday and that there is a one-week “hold back” on the earnings. The following pay check stubs will be used to anticipate monthly earnings for the upcoming period of certification.

Pay Check Date Date Received Gross Pay April 13 April 20 $225 April 20 April 27 $231 April 27 May 3 $220 May 3 May 10 $225 Past income will not be considered an accurate indicator of future income when changes have occurred or can be anticipated during the upcoming certification period. (For SR households, this rule applies to the upcoming six-month period). In these instances, the worker will use the most accurate information available to anticipate the household’s income. Income other than annualized or averaged income will be removed from the SNAP budget if the income is no longer being received. If the worker can determine that the household is ineligible for the month of application but will be eligible in subsequent months, the application will be approved. The certification period will begin with the first month of eligibility. For example, if a household