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Title 7: SNAP Page 11 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter E: Income Types of Income Revised February 13, 2026 Family Support Subsidy Family Support Subsidy (Unearned) 7 CFR 273.9(b)(2)(i) Count Iowa Family Support Subsidy payments as unearned income. The Department issues these payments to families with children who have special educational needs due to a physical disability or mental retardation.

The program is administered through the Division of Behavioral, Developmental, and Protective Services for Families, Adults, and Children. Financial Assistance for Education or Training See 7-I, Students: Income. Focus Group, Survey or Study Income (Earned, Unearned, or Excluded) 7 CFR 273.9(b)(1) and (2), 273.9(c)(5) Count as income payments received for participation in a focus group, survey, or study unless the payment is a reimbursement or paid in the form of a store-specific gift card. Gift cards that are not store-specific, such as MasterCard® or Visa® cards, can be used like cash and are therefore countable as income. Whether it is considered earned or unearned income depends on how the payment is described by the entity providing it. (Also see Welfare Reform Evaluation Payments.)

Exclude income when there is no way to predict the month it will be received. If you can predict the month income will be received but the amount is uncertain, count only the amount that is certain. Food Programs Exclude as income the value of:

 Commodities donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 Assistance to children in the School Lunch Program, the Summer Food Service Program for Children, the Commodity Distribution Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program provided under the National School Lunch Act.