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S N A P M A N U A L

178 Earned and unearned educational income (See Section 11.7 Educational Assistance), after allowable exclusions, will be averaged over the period which it is intended to cover. Income will be counted either in the month it is received, or in the month the household anticipates receiving it or receiving the first installment payment, although it is still prorated over the period it is intended to cover.

1 3 . 5 D E T E R M I N I N G D E D U C T I O N S Allowable deductions include only certain dependent care, shelter, child support and medical costs as described in Chapter 12 Income Deductions. (1) Billed expenses Except as provided in Section 13.5 Determining Deductions (3) Anticipating expenses, a deduction will be allowed only in the month the expense is billed or otherwise becomes due, regardless of when the household intends to pay the expense. For example, rent which is due each month will be included in the household's shelter costs, even if the household has not yet paid the expense. Amounts carried forward from past billing periods are not deductible, even if included with the most recent billing and actually paid by the household. In any event, a particular expense may only be deducted once. (2) Averaging expenses Households may elect to have fluctuating expenses averaged. Households may also elect to have expenses which are billed less often than monthly averaged forward over the interval between scheduled billings, or, if there is no scheduled interval, averaged forward over the period the expense is intended to cover. For example, if a household receives a single bill in February which covers a 3-month supply of fuel oil, the bill may be averaged over February, March, and April. The household may elect to have one-time only expenses averaged over the entire certification period in which they are billed. (3) Anticipating expenses The Agency will calculate a household's expenses based on the expenses the household expects to be billed for during the certification period. Anticipation of the expense will be based on the most recent month's bills, unless the household is reasonably certain a change will occur. (A) When the household is not assigned the MUA (See Section 12.5 (2) Utility Allowances (Mandatory Utility Allowance) [MUA]) or the BUA (See Section 12.5 (3) Utility Allowances (Basic Utility Allowance [BUA]), the Agency will anticipate changes in actual utility costs during the certification period based on last year's bills from the same period updated by overall price increases; or, if only the most recent bill is available, utility