HOUSEHOLD INCOME ELIGIBILITY

A. Determining Income 1. Income eligibility shall be determined prospectively based on the eligibility technician’s anticipation of income at the time of application and when changes are made known to the local office. 2. When determining if a household is eligible under gross and/or net income limits, households shall have income converted to a monthly amount by using a conversion as specified below. When a full month's income is anticipated any cents in the gross weekly or biweekly earnings shall be used in converting income to a monthly amount. Pay Frequency Conversion Weekly Multiply Weekly Average by 4.3. Bi-Weekly (Every Two Weeks) Multiply Bi-Weekly Average by 2.15. Semi-Monthly (Twice a Month) Multiply Semi-Monthly Average by 2. Every Other Month Multiply Average by 0.5. Quarterly Multiply Average by 0.333333. Twice a Year Multiply Average by 0.166666. Annual Multiply Average by .083. 3. Household income shall mean all earned and unearned income received or anticipated to be received by household members from whatever source, unless specifically exempted for Food Assistance eligibility and budgeting purposes, per Section 4.405. Income of household members, including the amount of the disqualified person's income attributed to the household, shall be counted as income in the month received or the month it becomes available, unless the income is averaged over the certification period. B. Variations in Date of Pay 1. Regular ongoing earned income that is received early or late by a household due to a holiday, a weekend, or pay dates being changed will have income counted based on the regular pay schedule instead of the actual date of pay. 2. Households receiving monthly benefits such as public assistance or social security payments shall not have their monthly income varied merely because mailing cycles resulted in two (2) payments in one month and none in the next month. 3. Households containing a member of the Armed Services of the United States shall not have their monthly income varied merely because the first day of the month falls on a holiday or weekend which resulted in two (2) payments in the month and none in the subsequent month. C. Wage Data 1. With respect to income or resource information originating with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and provided through the income and eligibility verification system (IEVS), as well as wage data obtained through the DOLE or IEVS, the local office must verify such information from another source and must verify applicant/participant access to that income/resource. The local office may not take adverse action on such information until independent verification is obtained, or until the applicant has been found to have failed to cooperate in providing the required verification. The information must also be verified prior to establishing a claim for an over-issuance of benefits.