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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 133  If depreciation is claimed, use the deprecation schedule to determine any actual expenses in the current tax year that were required to be depreciated on the Schedule C and add this amount to the other eligible expenses. Generally, self-employment income is annualized, also known as averaged, over a 12-month period. Divide annual self-employment income by 12 to even out the fluctuations of income of self-employed individuals. Exceptions to annual averaging of self-employment income are as follows:  If the household has experienced a significant increase or decrease in business and averaging the self-employment income over the year would not accurately reflect the household’s circumstances, calculate self-employment income based on what can be reasonably anticipated.  Average self-employment income intended to meet the household’s needs for only part of the year over the period of time the income is intended to cover.  If a household’s self-employment business has been in existence for less than a year, average the income from the self-employment enterprise over the period of time the business has been in operation and project a monthly amount for the coming year. Example 1 Ms. Davis and her two children apply for SNAP. Ms. Davis is a self-employed caterer. Last year, she earned $8,000 over the course of the year, though her earnings were uneven during the year. She earned more during the Christmas season and in the early summer due to catering several weddings. Ms. Davis expects her annual income to be similar to her earnings last year. Average the household’s self-employment earnings over a 12-month period. Use her average net monthly earnings of $667 per month as the household’s monthly income to determine eligibility for SNAP.

Example 2 If Ms. Davis recently added a contract to provide catering services each week to new clients and the prior year’s earnings would not reflect her current circumstances, do not use the prior year’s income to determine her eligibility or benefits. If she anticipates earning $2,400 over the next three months, use her new average expected earnings over the next three months ($800) to determine eligibility and benefits.

Example 3 Mr. Roberts is self-employed during June, July and August selling ice cream as a street vendor, but he intends to work at another job (not as a self-employed person) for the remainder of the year. Average the self-employment income from the ice cream business over the three months in which it is earned.

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