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TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP The cash value of an in-kind benefit the Exception: Count payments as unearned income if: • • • • household receives in exchange for performing work for the provider is budgeted as earned income. Budget wages of a required household member who is temporarily absent (up to 90 days) from the home because of employment as earned income. Budget wages of an individual who is not a required household member because their absence will extend beyond 90 days who makes their wages available to the household as unearned income. Divide the amount received by the absent member equally between household members who have a relationship of spouse/child of the absent member. they are received from programs that required individual to work without wages, e.g., Tribal Work Experience Program – (TWEP) payments and they substitute for wages, or they are from a wage earner absent from the household because of employment, or wages are made available to a joint bank account by a non-household member. If an individual asks his employer to hold their wages or the wages are being garnished, count the deduction as income in the month the household would otherwise have been paid. However, if an employer holds the employees' wages as a general practice, count this money as available income in the month it is paid. Count advances in the month they are received and deduct them from wages in the month the employer deducts them. Income related to employment entitles a household to deductions not allowed for unearned income. 711.1 Flexible Fringe Benefits (toc) Flexible fringe benefit plans allow the employee to choose from benefit components such as insurance, extra vacation time, and payments to third parties for medical bills or childcare. These are also called "cafeteria plans." Under some plans, employers withhold wages to pay for the benefits selected by the employee. Under other plans, employers offer benefit credit in addition to wages, which the employee can use to purchase benefits. If the employee does not use all of the credit to purchase benefits, some plans allow the excess to be paid to the employee as part of his wages. All wages and salaries must be counted as income. Gross wages must be budgeted and any money deducted from the gross income and paid to a third party for taxes, insurance or other fringe benefits are counted as income. Any amount reported on the pay stub or elsewhere as taxable gross wages is countable. Note: Do not include meals as earned income unless the meals are included in the taxable gross. Some employers add the meals to the gross and then take them out to gain a corporate/business tax advantage. In these situations, do not include the meals as income in the gross income calculation. INCOME Earned Income Division of Social Services Eligibility and Payments Manual 26 Jun 26 MTL 09/26 A-711