Page 157

ESA SNAP Policy Manual 141 Chapter 12 Chapter 12. Income Deductions ESA allows certain deductions when determining a household’s eligibility and benefits. Income deductions reduce the amount of income used to determine whether a household is eligible for benefits and the amount of benefits it receives. Earned income deductions provide an incentive for households to increase their earnings by reducing the amount of earnings used when determining eligibility and benefits. A deduction from income can never reduce income below $0 (i.e. if a household is eligible for a $134 standard deduction in SNAP but the household only has $100 in income, the household’s income is reduced to $0 by the standard deduction, but it is not reduced below this level). To determine the household’s net income, ESA must subtract applicable deductions and disregards from gross income. 12.1 Income Deductions: General ESA applies several income deductions to reduce a household’s gross income when determining a SNAP household’s eligibility and benefits:  Standard deduction  Earned income deduction  Excess medical deduction  Dependent care deduction  Child support deduction  Excess shelter deduction or homeless shelter deduction Households that are not categorically eligible and do not include an elderly or disabled household member must pass a gross income test to be eligible for SNAP. Deductions are not applied when determining if a household is income-eligible under the gross income test. Return