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2. Twenty dollars ($20.00)/Month General Income Disregard – The first (1st) twenty dollars ($20.00) per month of unearned income is disregarded. For the disregard to apply to unearned income, the income must not be a benefit of a government funded program in which a person’s income was a factor in determining eligibility. The disregard is applied as follows: a. Order. The twenty dollars ($20.00) disregard is applied to earned income only if it cannot be applied to unearned income. b. Limits. The dollar amount of the disregard is not increased when an applicant and NAPP spouse who are living together both have income. A couple, in which both spouses are Medicaid applicants or beneficiaries, receives one (1) twenty dollar ($20.00) exclusion per month. 3. PASS Disregard – Income, whether earned or unearned, of a person who is blind or living with a disabling impairment may be excluded if such income is needed to fulfill a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS). This exclusion does not apply to applicants who are blind or a person with disabilities who is age sixty-five (65) or older, unless the applicant was receiving an SSI or SSP related to blindness before reaching that age. For additional information on the PASS, see the Federal SSI Regulations at 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.1180 through 416.1182 (2023). 4. Federally Mandated Exclusions – Certain Federal laws other than the U.S. Social Security Act exclude various types of earned and/or unearned income from the calculation of countable income in the financial eligibility process. A list of these exclusions is located in § 3.5 of this Part and is updated on a periodic basis. 3.4.3 Earned Income Disregards and Exclusions A. Deductions to earned income as a result of disregards and exclusions are applied in accordance with certain rules. First, earned income is never reduced below zero (0) as a result of applying disregards and exclusions. Second, any unused earned income disregard or exclusion is never applied to unearned income. Last, any unused portion of a monthly exclusion cannot be carried over for use in subsequent months. Within these Rules, disregards and exclusions are applied as follows: 1. Sixty-five dollars ($65.00) and one half (1/2) Earned Income Disregard – If the applicant or non-applicant spouse is employed, earned income of sixty-five dollars ($65.00)/month plus one half (1/2) of the balance is disregarded. When both eligible spouses are employed, income is combined and then the disregard is applied. 2. AmeriCorps – Payments made to participants in AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) are