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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 142 Households must verify deductible expenses to receive the excess medical deduction, excess shelter deduction and child support deduction. Households only need to verify dependent care expenses when questionable. The standard deduction applies to all SNAP households, while all other deductions apply only to certain SNAP households. 12.2 Standard Deduction A standard deduction is applied to all SNAP households. The amount of the standard deduction varies based on the household size. Total income is reduced by the amount of the standard deduction, which is updated each October. See Table 25.3.c, SNAP Standard Deduction, for the current deduction amounts. 12.3 Earned Income Deduction Households with earned income will receive the earned income deduction. ESA will deduct an amount equal to 20 percent of the household’s gross countable earnings. The earned income deduction cannot be applied against any excluded income. Example A household has $300 in gross countable earnings and receives a travel reimbursement of $50, which is excluded as income. The household receives an earned income deduction of $60 (20 percent of $300). The travel reimbursement is excluded as income, so it is not considered for the earned income deduction. 12.4 Dependent Care Deduction Households that pay dependent care costs for the care of each dependent child (under age 18) or incapacitated person (of any age) living in the home are eligible for the dependent care deduction. See Table 25.1.a, Glossary of Terms, for the definition of incapacitated. For dependent care costs to be allowable, they must be necessary for a household member to do the following:  Accept or continue employment.  Comply with employment and training requirements.  Attend training or pursue education to help the individual prepare for employment. Dependent care costs include the following:  Costs of child and adult care provided by an individual care provider or care facility, including copays for subsidized care  Costs of care provided by a relative if the relative providing the care is not part of the same SNAP household as the child or dependent adult receiving the care Return