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FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES CERTIFICATION INCOME AND RESOURCES FNS 340 DEDUCTIONS Section 340 Change #02-2026 August 4, 2026 FNS 340 DEDUCTIONS Change #02-2026 August 4, 2026 340.01 REQUIREMENT The deductions listed in this section are the only deductions allowed when calculating a household’s net monthly income. Evaluate all households to determine allowable deductions. 340.02 EARNED INCOME DEDUCTION Twenty percent of the monthly gross earned income, or adjusted gross income for self- employed households, is deducted to allow for expenses associated with employment such as transportation, special clothing, withholding taxes, and other incidental expenses. Do not allow this deduction for earnings that are excluded. North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) automatically calculates this based on information entered into the system. 340.03 STANDARD DEDUCTION Allow every Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) unit with earned and/or unearned income a monthly standard deduction according to household size. Only eligible FNS unit members are included in the household size for calculation of the allowable standard deduction. NC FAST automatically calculates this based on information entered into the system. See DSS-8560 Caseworker Desk Reference for current standard deduction amounts. 340.04 DEPENDENT CARE DEDUCTION A. Establish eligibility for the dependent care deduction. 1. The FNS unit must incur a dependent care expense for any dependent, child or incapacitated adult, in the FNS unit; and 2. The FNS unit must incur the dependent care expense to accept, continue, or seek employment; attend training; or attend school (including high school) to prepare for employment; and 3. The dependent care provider cannot be included in the FNS unit. 4. Allow as an expense the amount payable for dependent care by the FNS unit. This includes additional transportation expenses incurred as a result of transporting FNS members to and from the dependent care provider. When determining the mileage incurred to provide the dependent care transportation, do not include the normal mileage incurred by the FNS unit to go to and from