16.4 Excluded Resources.

Exclude the following list of resources when determining eligibility for SNAP: A. Home and surrounding property (including barns, garages, sheds, workshops and other outbuildings) that is not separated by intervening property owned by others; 1. Public rights of ways will not affect the exemption status of the property. 2. Exemption status will remain when the home and surrounding property is temporarily unoccupied for reasons of employment, training for future employment, illness or uninhabitable due to a natural disaster or other casualty, if the household intends to return. 3. Property owners or those purchasing a lot to build or who are building a permanent home will receive an exemption for the value of the lot and, if it is partially completed, for the home. B. Household goods and personal effects; C. One burial plot per household member; D. Value of one pre-paid funeral agreement per household member; E. Cash value of life insurance policies; F. Cash value of pension plans or funds; G. The following retirement accounts: 1. Authorized under section 401 including 401(k) plans, 401(a), 403(a) and (b), 408 including traditional IRAs, 408A including Roth IRAs, 457(b) including eligible deferred compensation plans, 501(c)(18), 529A and 7701(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 2. Any other retirement plan designated as tax-exempt under a provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. H. Most vehicles; 1. Licensed or unlicensed vehicles used for regular, on-road transportation such as: a) Cars; b) Trucks; c) Vans; or d) Motorcycles. 2. Any vehicles used as the household’s home; 3. Exception: Recreational vehicles (unless used as the family home), all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and other off-road and industrial vehicles which are not income producing are included in the resource determination. I. Property which annually produces income consistent with its fair market value even if only used on a seasonal basis. Such property includes rental and vacation homes; J. Property used which is essential to employment and self-employment of a household member. Farm property used by a self-employed household member engaged in farming, but is no longer being used due to termination from self-employment, will continue to be excluded as a resource for one (1) year from the date such household member terminated his or her self-employment farming; K. Installment contracts for the sale of land or buildings if the contract is producing income consistent with its fair market value; L. Any governmental payments which are designated for the restoration of a home damaged in a disaster provided the household is subject to a legal sanction if the funds are not used as intended; M. Resources having a cash value which is not accessible to the household such as irrevocable trust funds, security deposits on rental property or utilities, property in probate, and real property that the household is making an effort to sell at a reasonable price but has not been sold; N. Resources which have been prorated as income for self-employed persons or students; O. Indian lands jointly held with the Tribe or land that can only be sold with the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; P. Resources which are excluded for SNAP purposes by express provision of Federal statute; 1. The value of assistance to children under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act according to P.L. 79-396, §12(e) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 according to P.L. 89-642, §11(b); 2. Federal major disaster and emergency assistance payments and comparable disaster assistance provided by Mississippi such as Disaster Unemployment Assistance payments under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act according to P.L. 93-288, §312(d); 3. Reimbursements from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646, §216); 4. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) payments made under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-448, §1324); 5. Payments to volunteers under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, according to P.L. 93-113, §404(f). Payments under that Act include VISTA, University Year for Action, Urban Crime Prevention Program, Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparents Program and Senior Companion Program; 6. The amount of any home energy assistance payments or allowance provided to, or indirectly on behalf of a household under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act; 7. Payments received from the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects, the Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects, and the Youth Employment and Training Programs under Title IV of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-524); 8. Payments received under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (P.L. 92-203); 9. Funds distributed per capita to the Sac and Fox Indians according to P.L. 94-189; 10. Per capita payments under the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act of $2000 or less pursuant to P.L. 93-134 and P.L. 98-64. This exemption applies to each payment made to each individual; 11. Income derived from the disposition of funds to the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians (P.L. 94-540); 12. Income derived from certain submarginal land of the United States which is held in trust for certain Indian tribes (P.L. 94-114; §6); 13. Payments of relocation assistance to members of the Navajo and Hopi Tribes under P. L. 93-531; 14. Payments by the Indian Claims Commission to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation or the Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation (P.L. 95-433); 15. Payments to the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation or any of their members received pursuant to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-420, §5); 16. Funds paid under Indian Claims: Distribution of Funds to Seminole Indians (P.L. 101-277, §8(b)) are excluded except for per capita payments in excess of $2000; 17. Funds paid to heirs of deceased Indians under the Old Age Assistance Claims Settlement Act except for per capita shares in excess of $2000 according to P.L. 98-500, §8; 18. Payments to the Seneca Nation according to P.L. 101-503; 19. Payments to Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservations per P.L. 103-436; 20. Payments to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewas, Arizona, pursuant to P.L. 97- 403; 21. Payments to the Blackfeet, Grosventre, and Assiniboine tribes (Montana) and the Papago tribes (Arizona) as designated under P.L. 97-408; 22. Per capita and interest payments made to the Red Lake Band of Chippewas pursuant to P.L. 98-123; 23. Per capita and interest payments made to the Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Fort Peck Indian Reservation (Montana) pursuant to P.L. 98-124; 24. Payments to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan according to P.L. 99- 346, §6(b) and per capita funds according to P.L. 99-146 §6(b); 25. Funds to the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act per P.L. 101-41; 26. Per capita payments to the Chippewas of the Mississippi pursuant to P.L. 99-377; 27. Income received by individuals age 55 and older under the Title V of the Older Americans Act according to P.L. 100-175, §509; 28. Grants paid under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-383) to certain U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry and permanent resident Japanese non-citizens or their survivors; 29. Payments made to children of Vietnam veterans who were born with spina bifida and certain other birth defects (P.L. 104-204); 30. All payments received under the Agent Orange Settlement Fund, or any other fund established pursuant to the settlement in the Agent Orange product liability litigation (P.L. 101-201 and P.L. 101-239, §10405); 31. Payments made under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (P.L. 101-426); 32. Payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution (P.L. 103-286); 33. Compensation paid to crime victims under the Crime Act of 1984 (amended by P.L. 103-322); 34. Exclude an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account under P.L. 113- 295, §103. Note: ABLE account funds exceeding $100,000 are considered a resource. Q. Earned income tax credits as follows: 1. A federal earned income tax credit received either as a lump sum or as payments under section 3507 of the Internal Revenue Code for the month of receipt and the following month for the individual and his/her spouse. 2. Any federal, state or local earned income tax credit received by any household member will be excluded for 12 months provided the household was participating in SNAP at the time of receipt and the household participated continuously during that 12-month period. Note: Breaks in participation of one month or less due to administrative reasons, such as delayed recertification or late monthly reports will not be considered as non-participation in determining the 12-month exclusion. R. Energy assistance payments or allowances excluded as income; S. Non-liquid asset(s) against which a lien has been placed as a result of a business loan and the household is prohibited from selling the asset(s) per the agreement; T. Real or personal property that is used in the maintenance or use of an excluded vehicle; U. Resources that cannot be sold for a significant return; V. Resources of a household member who receives SSI or TANF; W. Education savings plans such as: 1. Qualified tuition programs defined by section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 2. Coverdell education saving accounts defined by section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 3. Other education savings accounts deemed appropriate for exclusion by FNS. Source: 7 CFR §273.8(e) Revised: March 2022