Child Support Income Exclusion from Gross Monthly Income

All verified court ordered child support payments are treated as an income exclusion from the SNAP household's total gross monthly income when comparing to the Maximum Monthly Gross Income Standard for the household size. If eligible after the exclusion is allowed, the household's total gross income (include the child support payment amount) is used to calculate the 20% Earned Income Deduction. Child support payments are not allowed as an income deduction in the net SNAP benefit calculation.

When a SNAP household requests to have child support payments excluded from their gross monthly income, the support order and the actual support payments made in the most recent 30 days must be verified to determine the amount to exclude. Individual payments are converted to a monthly amount. The support order may be a court order, an administrative order, or a legal separation document. Voluntary support payments are not an allowable expense for SNAP.