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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 156 13.3 Determining Income A household’s countable income is used to determine whether the household is income-eligible for program benefits (gross and net income test). Categorically eligible households are not subject to the gross or net income test. The household’s income is also used to determine the level of benefits for which the household is eligible. All SNAP cases are budgeted prospectively. ESA will use the following budgeting procedures to determine ongoing prospective income:  To determine representative income, verify all income received in the past 30 days (four current consecutive weeks) prior to the file date. The file date is the date the ESA received the application (initial or reapplication), recertification or report form.  Determine the number of times this income was received in those four weeks. Use income receipt date (not pay period ending date). To determine countable income, use four consecutive weeks of income received in the past 30 days unless one or more of those pay dates is determined to be not representative.  Follow appropriate policy in this section. Representative income is the income within the range of what would be considered typical or usual for that particular job. Income that is significantly higher or lower due to circumstances not typical or usual would not be considered representative. Such a break or difference in income might be due to illness, death, vacation, emergency, overtime or other reasons. ESA must also determine if a week in which no pay is received in the four-week period is representative, considering the nature of the job in making this determination. If the pay for one or more of the four consecutive weeks is not representative, ESA must disregard that week’s income and document the reason it was not considered representative income. 13.3.1 Anticipated Income Total countable income for eligibility is determined on the basis of the income anticipated to be received during the certification period. A person may receive income less often than monthly or may receive a payment for a period of more than one month. ESA records the amount and frequency of income receipt—weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly—and converts all income to monthly by multiplying the average payment amount by the average number of payment periods in a calendar month and rounding to the nearest cent:  If payments are received weekly, multiply by 4.3.  If payments are received biweekly (every other week), multiply by 2.15.  If payments are received semimonthly (twice a month), multiply by 2. If the payments received vary, ESA averages the payments and then converts this average figure to a monthly amount. Converting earnings or other income to an average monthly amount evens out Return