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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES INCOME DEDUCTIONS
10/25 VOLUME V, PART X, PAGE 8
be given as a deduction until the household verifies the portion of the cost that is its responsibility.
Example A household consists of one member who is 64 years old. An allowable medical expense of $200 is incurred monthly. Insurance policies reimburse the household $100 a month for the expense. Disallowing the first $35 a month, the monthly medical deduction for this expense is $65 if the household elects to use actual amounts instead of the medical standard deduction.
6. Homeless Shelter Allowance
Households in which all members are homeless, as defined in Definitions, are allowed a deduction for incurred or estimated shelter expenses. The homeless shelter standard is $198.99 per month. This standard is not calculated as part of the shelter expense deduction described in section 4 of this chapter.
To be eligible for the homeless shelter allowance, a household must incur or reasonably expect to incur shelter costs during a month. Homeless households that incur no shelter costs during the month and anticipate none are not eligible for this shelter allowance.
The BPS must accept the household's declaration of expenses unless the declaration is questionable. If the BPS determines that verification is needed but the household has difficulty in obtaining traditional types of verification of shelter costs, the BPS must use prudent judgement in determining if verification is adequate.
Example A homeless individual claims to have incurred shelter costs for several nights at a hotel. The costs reported are reasonable. The BPS may accept this information as adequate and allow the household to use the shelter estimate.
No other shelter costs, including the utility standard or telephone standard, may be used if the homeless shelter allowance is used. The homeless shelter allowance also may not be used if the household claims shelter costs that exceed the allowance. Higher or other shelter costs must be handled as a part of the shelter expense deduction (Part X.A.4) in which case, the household may or may not receive an actual deduction.
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