Page 69

SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTIONS 1000 1600 Determining Household Composition 1621.7.2 Deeming the Sponsor’s Income and Resources

1621.7.2 Deeming the Sponsor’s Income and Resources SNAP Manual 07/01/2026 Deeming procedures are used to determine the amount of the sponsor’s resources and income to be used in the SNAP budget of the sponsored alien’s household. If the sponsored alien is found to be eligible for SNAP services and the sponsor has executed a USCIS Form I-864 or I-864A after December 19, 1997, their income and resources will be deemed to the sponsored eligible alien as unearned income and as a resource. The deemed income must be the sponsor and sponsor’s spouse’s total monthly earned and unearned income that is being received at the time that the household containing the sponsored alien member applies or is recertified for participation, reduced by: • A twenty percent (20%) earned income amount for the portion of the income determined as earned income of the sponsor and the sponsor’s spouse; and • An amount equal to the SNAP monthly gross income eligibility limit for a household equal in size to the sponsor, the sponsor’s spouse, and any other person who is claimed or could be claimed by the sponsor or the sponsor’s spouse as a dependent for Federal income tax purposes. Any income given to the eligible sponsored alien by the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse is considered income, but only to the extent that the money exceeds the amount deemed to the eligible sponsored alien. The resources deemed as available to the eligible sponsored alien will be the total amount of the resources of the sponsor and sponsor's spouse (that are otherwise countable for SNAP) reduced by one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500). NOTE: The amount to be deemed for indigent aliens differs from these procedures. See SNAP 1621.7.4. If a sponsored alien can verify that their sponsor is the sponsor of other aliens, the State agency must divide the income and resources deemed under the provisions listed above by the number of such sponsored aliens. If the information needed to verify that the sponsor is sponsoring other aliens is not provided, all the sponsor’s income and resources will be deemed to the alien. The State agency must use the same procedure to determine the amount of deemed income and resources to exclude in the case of a sponsored alien or a citizen child of a sponsored alien who is exempt from deeming as listed in SNAP 1621.7. Deemed income and resources will continue to be used in the household’s budget for the entire deeming period. The deeming period is three (3) years from the alien’s date of entry into the United States. 1621.7.3 Battered Aliens SNAP Manual 07/01/2026 Section deleted 07/01/2026