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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 43 Verification of expenses that result in an income deduction cannot be treated as required verification. If the household fails to provide verification of expenses, the case should be processed without the deduction:  If the household does not provide needed verification for an income deduction but has provided all verification to determine eligibility for SNAP, ESA will determine the household’s eligibility and benefits without the deduction for the unverified expenses.  ESA will explain to households that they must provide proof of the expenses within 10 days to receive the deduction for these expenses. ESA will process the case with the known information and proof at the time of application or recertification. ESA must not hold the case as pending to verify a deductible expense.  ESA will send a notice giving the customer 10 days to return the needed proof of the expenses, informing them that they may provide the proof of these expenses even after ESA has determined the household’s eligibility for benefits.  ESA will document the case actions in the case record, including the fact that the customer did not provide the needed verification at the time of application or recertification and was informed at the time to submit verification of these costs.  In instances where ESA has processed the application or recertification without the income deduction because all other factors of eligibility have been verified: − If the household provides verification for an income deduction within the 10 days provided in the notice, ESA must redetermine eligibility and benefit levels back to the date of initial application or new certification period at recertification and issue a supplement as needed. − If the household provides verification for an income deduction after the 10 days provided in the notice but within the 30-day processing timeframe, ESA will provide the expense back to the date of application or new certification period (see Section 15.5, Action on Reported Changes). Example Tina applied for SNAP on June 1 and was interviewed that day. At the interview, Tina did not provide proof of her shelter costs, and ESA was unable to contact the landlord for proof of this expense. ESA informed Tina that she needed to provide proof of her shelter expenses by June 11 to receive a deduction for these expenses. ESA took the following actions: ▪ Processed the application without using the shelter costs for the income deduction ▪ Documented in the case record that the customer did not provide the proof of shelter costs, that she was asked to provide proof by June 11 and that the case was processed without the expense ▪ Sent Tina a notice to inform her of the need to provide verification of her shelter costs by June 11

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