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Work Expense Deduction Disregard the first $160 of total gross earned income of each individual in the household who has earnings. If more than one non-student (see Student Disregard below) group member has earnings, then the $160 work expense deduction is applied to each group member with earnings. Example Ms. Kenner, her 16-year-old daughter Julie, and Julie's daughter Kathy are all applying for TANF assistance. Both Ms. Kenner and Julie work. Ms. Kenner earns $300 per month, and Julie earns $250 per month. The $160 work expense deduction is applied to both Ms. Kenner and Julie. After accounting for this disregard, Ms. Kenner's countable earned income is $140, and Julie's is $90. Dependent Care Deduction Disregard the actual amount paid for the care of each dependent child or incapacitated adult living in the home and receiving TANF up to the following maximums: o $175 per child (or incapacitated adult) if the child is age two or older. o $200 per child if the child is under age two. The child care expense may not be paid to a member of the group. If a group's child care costs are fully paid by a subsidy program, the group receives no child care disregard. Child care costs can only be subtracted from earned income. If the combination of the work expense deduction and child care expenses are greater than the group's earned income, the group's net earned income is $0. No deductions to unearned income can be made based on child care or work expenses. When determining whether an applicant group is eligible for TANF, the group's net earned income is combined with the group's countable unearned income to determine net countable income. If a group's net countable income is less than the payment level, the group meets the income-eligibility criteria for TANF. If the group's assets are below the asset limit (see Section 3.3: Asset Limits in this Part) and the group meets all non-financial eligibility requirements (see Part IV: Non-Financial Eligibility), the group is eligible for TANF. If an applicant group is determined eligible, the recipient disregards described below should be used when calculating the level of benefits for which the group is eligible. Example Ms. Dee lives with her two children and is applying for TANF. Ms. Dee works and earns $400 per month. One of her children receives $75 per month in child support. Ms. Dee pays her neighbor $110 per month to watch her younger child while she works. To determine if Ms. Dee and her children are eligible for TANF, her net countable income must be compared to the payment standard for a family of three which equals $379. The group's net earned income is calculated as follows: $400 (earnings) – $160 (work expense deduction)