P-2230 Benefits (continued)

P-2230A Calculating Net Income and Benefits (24-16)

Calculate the household’s eligibility for a Reach Up benefit by comparing the household’s total countable net income to the household’s maximum benefit. The maximum benefit is also called the payment standard. It is based on the number of household members, the calculated basic need standard, their allowable housing expenses, and where the household lives. These factors are used to determine the household’s total need, which is then ratably reduced to 49.6% and results in the maximum benefit.

Basic Need Standards

Number in Assistance Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 or more Basic Needs $644 $942 $1236 $1478 $1733 $1907 $2203 $2458 Add $236 for each additional person

Calculating Net Income

Net earned income

Follow the steps below to calculate the household’s net earned income (per household member):

1. Total gross wages and net self-employment

2. Subtract allowable dependent care paid for incapacitated adult or non-Reach Up member (very rare)

3. Subtract court ordered alimony and child support paid out

4. Subtract $90 deduction or $350 disregard

5. The result, thus far is the subtotal

6. If $350 was used in (4) above, calculate 25% of the subtotal and subtract

7. The result is the net earned income

P-2914 CALCULATION OF BENEFITS (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2914) (7/1/25, 25-16) P-2914A Percentage of Poverty (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2914(a)(4)) 2025-2026 Household Income per Month as a Percentage of Poverty Based on Household Size HH Size 0 To <75% 75% To 84% 1 $ - To $ 965 $ 966 To $ 1,096 2 $ - To $ 1,305 $ 1,306 To $ 1,481 3 $ - To $ 1,644 $ 1,645 To $ 1,866 4 $ - To $ 1,983 $ 1,984 To $ 2,251 5 $ - To $ 2,323 $ 2,324 To $ 2,636 6 $ - To $ 2,662 $ 2,663 To $ 3,021 7 $ - To $ 3,000 $ 3,001 To $ 3,406 8 $ - To $ 3,340 $ 3,341 To $ 3,791 9 $ - To $ 3,679 $ 3,680 To $ 4,176 10 $ - To $ 4,018 $ 4,019 To $ 4,561 11 $ - To $ 4,357 $ 4,358 To $ 4,946 12 $ - To $ 4,696 $ 4,697 To $ 5,330 13 $ - To $ 5,035 $ 5,036 To $ 5,715 14 $ - To $ 5,374 $ 5,375 To $ 6,100 15 $ - To $ 5,713 $ 5,714 To $ 6,484 HH Size 85% To 94% 95% To 104% 1 $ 1,097 To $ 1,226 $ 1,227 To $ 1,357 2 $ 1,482 To $ 1,658 $ 1,659 To $ 1,834 3 $ 1,867 To $ 2,088 $ 2,089 To $ 2,310 4 $ 2,252 To $ 2,519 $ 2,520 To $ 2,787 5 $ 2,637 To $ 2,950 $ 2,951 To $ 3,264 6 $ 3,022 To $ 3,381 $ 3,382 To $ 3,740 7 $ 3,407 To $ 3,811 $ 3,812 To $ 4,217 8 $ 3,792 To $ 4,243 $ 4,244 To $ 4,694 9 $ 4,177 To $ 4,673 $ 4,674 To $ 5,170 10 $ 4,562 To $ 5,104 $ 5,105 To $ 5,647 11 $ 4,947 To $ 5,534 $ 5,535 To $ 6,123 12 $ 5,331 To $ 5,965 $ 5,966 To $ 6,599

P-2914 CALCULATION OF BENEFITS (continued) P-2914B Payment Rate (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2914(b)) (7/1/25, 25-16) The payment rate, or RATABLE, is subject to change with every season and/or every batch benefit issuance. Funding is anticipated to be insufficient to meet 100 percent of the calculated benefit. ESD will pay each season’s fuel benefits at a percentage of the calculated benefit. ESD will determine this percentage before seasonal benefits are issued. In unusual circumstances, the ratable percentage can be adjusted, if necessary, based on eligible applications submitted after the initial benefit issuance. This payment rate changes every year based on funding availability. After the fuel program determines the payment rate, right before issuing payments to fuel suppliers, the program will email this rate to the district offices to use when manually calculating benefits. Because the ratable can change at any time during the heating season: • Use ACCESS Code/D/FR to find the current payment rate; OR • Contact the Fuel and Utility Programs Team for the ratable. See Benefit Control Record in ACCESS for the client in the month that payment is issued. FNX: FUEL MODE: D Screen 3

P-2914 CALCULATION OF BENEFITS (continued) P-2914C Types of Benefits (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2914(c)) (7/1/25, 25-16) $21 Benefits This benefit covers three groups of people: • People who have heat included in their subsidized rent. • People who rent a room. • People who receive 3SquaresVT benefit but who did not apply for fuel assistance or were not eligible.* *If a client is approved for 3SquaresVT, and the client pays for heat or air conditioning (in UTIL panel 01), that client will NOT get a $21 benefit. The client must apply for fuel assistance to get any benefit. These households will receive a $21 benefit from the State, referred to as “Heat and Eat,” primarily so that people receiving 3SquaresVT benefits can receive the maximum Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) in their budget. This benefit is issued once every 12 months. If a client already receives fuel assistance, then the client will not get a “Heat and Eat” benefit because the person already receives the maximum SUA. Under federal law, any client who receives more than $20 or more in fuel assistance per year is eligible for the full SUA. Therefore, until the law changes, there will never be an active 3SquaresVT case that does not have the full SUA. Heated Renters This benefit is for people who live in unsubsidized housing and whose heat is included in their rent. These people get 30% of what they would have received if they were responsible for heating costs. This is a cash benefit that goes on the household’s EBT card or is electronically deposited directly into their bank account. These benefits are disbursed in December or at the time of approval if the application is approved after the mid-December disbursement. EBT cash ages off after 90 days; contact the fuel team for review if the client requests that ESD return the funds to the card.

P-2914 CALCULATION OF BENEFITS (continued) P-2914D Manual Budget Calculations (7/1/25, 25-16) Fuel Program Budget Worksheet (Form 203SF)

IMPORTANT! The manual budget MUST be done based on correct client information in the month the benefit was paid! Form 203SF has three main parts: A. Household Heating Information: (primarily gathered from application) B. Maximum Gross Income Test: All income and income calculations follow 3Squares VT rules. C. Benefit Amount Determination: This information is gathered from the four Fuel Income Guidelines & Tables updated annually. You will need to refer to them while using the budget worksheet. 1. Seasonal Fuel Program Income Guidelines (P-2913) • This is the 185% of federal poverty line (FPL) income test. 2. Heat Cost Percentage Tables (P-2915) • Once the total income is determined, use the Percentage of Poverty Table (P- 2914A) to find what range the client falls in, and then find the range on the chart and its corresponding Heating Cost Percentage. 3. Standard Heating Cost Tables (P-2916) • This chart provides an estimate of the annual heating cost based on housing type, number of bedrooms, and fuel type. • It will be used in the Benefit Determination section of the manual budget with information listed in the Household heating information on the 203SF. 4. Percent of Poverty Table (P-2914A) • This table provides income ranges and percentages and is used in conjunction with the “Heat Cost Percentage Table” in P-2915. • Once you find the Gross Income in the Maximum Gross Income section, use the total income from line D to look the percentage up on this chart.

P-2915 HEAT COST PERCENTAGE TABLE (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2915) (7/1/25, 25-16) Table I HH Income as Percentage of Poverty Table II Heat Cost Percentage 175-185% 27% 165-174% 30% 155-164% 33% 145-154% 66% 135-144% 69% 125-134% 72% 115-124% 75% 105-114% 78% 95-104% 81% 85-94% 84% 75-84% 87% 0-74% 90% This table establishes the percentage of fuel benefits that a household is eligible for based on the household’s percentage of poverty. (Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2915(d))

P-2916 STANDARD HEATING COST TABLES(Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2916) (7/1/25, 25-16) FOR 2025-26 HEATING SEASON Multi-Family Homes Fuel Type 1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms 3 Bedrooms 4 + Bedrooms Natural Gas $ 923 $ 1,148 $ 1,373 $ 1,599 Propane $ 1,109 $ 1,728 $ 2,347 $ 2,966 Oil $ 2,124 $ 2,839 $ 3,553 $ 4,268 Kerosene $ 1,610 $ 2,223 $ 2,831 $ 3,435 Electricity $ 967 $ 1,060 $ 1,152 $ 1,244 Firewood, Wood Pellets and Coal $ 1,085 $ 1,231 $ 1,343 $ 1,437 Single Family and Mobile Homes Fuel Type 1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms 3 Bedrooms 4+ Bedrooms Natural Gas $ 1,228 $ 1,454 $ 1,679 $ 1,904 Propane $ 2,141 $ 2,760 $ 3,379 $ 3,998 Oil $ 2,408 $ 3,123 $ 3,837 $ 4,552 Kerosene $ 2,300 $ 2,897 $ 3,494 $ 4,091 Electricity $ 1,692 $ 1,785 $ 1,877 $ 1,970 Firewood, Wood Pellets and Coal $ 1,550 $ 1,604 $ 1,658 $ 1,711

Primary Heating Fuel Costs The annual primary heating fuel cost is based on the following standard heating cost tables (referred to as “proxy tables”). The tables were derived from the actual home heating consumption of fuel assistance recipients and developed in consultation with experts in the home energy field. The tables provide only the cost of fuel or energy for home heat. The tables are revised no less frequently than every three years based on data supplied by certified fuel suppliers, the Department of Public Service and other industry sources. Counting Rooms Rooms may be counted as bedrooms, even though they are not presently being used for such purposes, provided that they would likely be counted as bedrooms in any advertisement for the sale or rental of the home or unit. See Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rule 2916 for how Standard Heating Cost Tables are developed.