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1229 (07/2026) Chapter 8: Examples • Chapter 8: Examples Example 1: Faith earns $650 a month working part-time at a local cafe, but she also has a small business on the side baking custom cakes. Another cake lady moved in her neighborhood, so her cake business hasn’t been doing so well lately. Last year she showed a net loss of $1,000 and doesn’t expect things to change until she can move to the other side of town. Her net loss for the prior year is divided by 12, and then that amount is excluded from her monthly income from working at the café. $1,000 / 12 = $83.33 $650 gross wages - $83.33 self-employment losses = $566.67 countable earned income Example 2: Benjamin and his wife Jessica are both self-employed and are applying for a Medicare Savings Program. Benjamin is making money doing payroll for several small businesses, but Jessica’s organic produce business is operating at a loss because her neighbor uses a lot of pesticides on his orchard, they have been blowing over into her garden, and she’s struggling to stay certified. Last year, Benjamin earned $3,000 in gross receipts, had $1,000 in costs, and Jessica showed a net loss of $800. Her losses can be excluded from Benjamin’s gross receipts before his costs are excluded. $3,000 gross income for Benjamin - $800 loss for Jessica - $1,000 costs = $1,200 / 12 months - $100 countable monthly self-employment income for the financial group. Expenses and deductions Individual program example(s) SNAP Example 1: A participant reports in January that they will be moving at the end of the month and their rent for February will go up. The change would be made to the rent amount on the case for the month following the month the change actually occurs. In this case the change would be made for March. Example 2: Clarice is allowed a deduction for $300 per month rent. She reports that she failed to pay her rent for two months because of a family emergency, and now she is being billed $400 per month until the back rent is paid in full. Do not allow a deduction for the extra $100 per month that the participant is now being billed, because it was already allowed during previous months when she failed to pay her rent.