1142.035.10.05 Determining the Amount of the Claim for Simplified Reporting Households – DSS Manuals

IM-102 December 12, 2023 ; IM-65 July 12, 2023 ; IM-52 May 30, 2013 ; IM-36 April 22, 2010 ; IM-40 May 28, 2008 ; IM-142 December 2, 2005

Beginning June 1, 2013 act on all changes reported or known to the agency.

A household is only required to report changes that cause the total gross household income to exceed 130% of poverty, a change in ABAWD status, or when substantial lottery or gambling winnings, before taxes or other withholdings, equal to or greater than the resource limit for elderly/disabled households when won in a single game.

Changes reported or known by the agency and required to be acted on must be considered in determining a claim. Changes not required to be reported and are not known to the agency are not considered when establishing a claim.

If… Activity Result the household was correctly determined eligible and the benefit amount accurately computed at application, and The change was not required to be reported. There is no claim. the household was not eligible and/or the budget was not done correctly at application resulting in an overpayment, prior to establishing the claim: Compute a corrected determination of the income being received at application to determine the corrected amount of the benefit. Use the corrected budget for each month of the claim. Do not use each month’s actual income. a change is required to be acted on and the budget was not done correctly resulting in an overpayment, prior to establishing the claim: Compute a corrected determination of the income being received at the time of the budget adjustment to determine the corrected amount of the benefit. Use the corrected budget for each month of the claim. Do not use each month’s actual income. the possible overpayment is due to non-report of a change required to be reported or failure to take required action by the household: Determine whether the household is overpaid for all or part of the certification period. Compute the claim amount using actual income to determine the amount of benefit the household was eligible to receive each month.

Note : When all efforts to obtain actual income have failed and the claim period covers the entire quarter and the income information is consistent on IMES, this source of income verification may be used to calculate the overpayment.

If the household fails to report a change that caused the household’s total income to exceed the 130% of poverty amount:

Use the household’s total actual income to determine the month the income exceeded the 130% poverty amount.

Apply change reporting rules to determine the first claim month.

Using actual income determine the amount of benefit the household was eligible to receive each month during the certification period. Include any income or change that was reported or known to the agency.

Example: Mr. Andrews is approved for SNAP benefits for a three person household with zero income March 1 st . At the August mid certification review, it is discovered Mr. Andrews began employment, at $800 weekly beginning March 15 th . This ongoing income caused the household to exceed the 130% poverty amount in April, requiring it to be reported by May 10 th . After applying change reporting rules, the first claim month would be July.