29.13 Income exclusions28

Earned income exclusions. The following are excluded from earned income: Support service payments made directly to the providers of services in the Limited Work Experience Program under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 USC § 794d) or needs-based payments of $10 per day made to participants in the program. The earned income of an individual under the age of 22 who is a student regularly attending school. This applies to wages received from regular employment, self-employment, or payments from the Neighborhood Youth Corps, Work Study and similar programs. Infrequent or irregular earned income received, not to exceed $30 per calendar quarter. Any in-kind assistance received from others. Earned Income Tax Credit payments (both refunds and advance payments). Earned income of a working disabled individual when performing the second step of the categorically- needy eligibility test redetermining net income, set forth in § 8.05(d). 28 See, also, § 29.08(i)(9) for income excluded by federal law. Financial Methodologies Part 5 – Page 46 (Sec.29.00, Sub.29.13) Earned income of a child under the age of 18. Wages paid by the Census Bureau for temporary employment. Wages that are made pursuant to Vermont’s Premium Pay for Workforce Recruitment and Retention Program enacted in Act 83 of 2021 or a similar workforce recruitment and retention program enacted in Vermont and directed by state law to not be considered as countable income in determining eligibility for benefit programs. Unearned income exclusions. Unearned income exclusions are limited to the following: Expenses incurred as a condition of receiving the unearned income. For example, guardianship fees may be deducted from unearned income if having a guardian is a requirement for receiving the income, or attorney fees and court costs may be deducted from unearned income if they were incurred in order to establish a right to the income. The following VA payments: (i) Portion of pension or compensation payment for aid and attendance and housebound allowances, even when the provider is a spouse or a parent of the veteran; (ii) Augmented portion of pensions, compensation or other benefits for a dependent of a veteran or a veteran’s spouse; (iii) $20 from educational benefits to the veteran funded by the government; (iv) Educational benefits paid as either part of a plan of vocational rehabilitation or by withdrawals from the veteran’s own educational fund; (v) Clothing allowance; and (vi) Payment adjustments for unusual medical expenses. Ordinary and necessary expenses of rental property and other capital investments except depreciation or depletion of property. This includes, but is not limited to, interest on debts, state and local taxes. The expenses of managing or maintaining the property, as of the date the expense is paid, are deductible. The first $20 per month of any unearned income unless all of the unearned income is from a source that gives assistance based on financial need. Any public agency’s refund of taxes on food or real property. Infrequent or irregular unearned income received, not to exceed $60 per calendar quarter. Bills paid directly to vendors by a third party. Replacement of lost, stolen or destroyed income. Weatherization assistance. Financial Methodologies Part 5 – Page 47 (Sec.29.00, Sub.29.13) Receipts from the sale, exchange or replacement of a resource. Any assistance based on need which is funded wholly by the state, such as General Assistance. Public assistance benefits of any person who is living with the individual, as well as any income that was used to determine the amount of those benefits. Any portion of a grant, scholarship or fellowship used to pay tuition, fees or other necessary educational expenses. Home produce used for personal consumption. Assistance and interest earned on assistance for a catastrophe from the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or other comparable assistance provided by the federal, state or local government. Irregular and unpredictable voluntary cash contributions or gifts received from friends or relatives. Payments for providing foster care for children or adults placed in the individual’s home by a public or private non-profit placement agency. One-third of child support payments received for a child in the household of the individual. The remaining two-thirds of the support payments are considered the unearned income of the child received from the absent parent. Income paid for chore, attendant or homemaker services under a government program, such as Title XX personal services payments or the $90 VA Aid and Attendance payments to veterans in nursing homes. Any “in-kind” assistance received from others. Assistance provided in cash or in kind (including food, clothing, or shelter) under a government program that provides medical care or services (including vocational rehabilitation). That portion of a benefit intended to cover the financial need of other individuals, such as AABD-EP grants. Retroactive payments of SSI, AABD or OASDI benefits if the payments were included in determining financial eligibility for Medicaid in the month it was actually owed to the individual. Home energy assistance provided by a private nonprofit organization or a regulated supplier of home energy. State-administered victims’ compensation payments. State or local government relocation payments. Payments occasioned by the death of another person to the extent that they are used to pay for the deceased person’s last illness and burial, including gifts and inheritances. Financial Methodologies Part 5 – Page 48 (Sec.29.00, Sub.29.14) Earned Income Tax Credit payments (both refunds and advance payments). Social security disability insurance benefits (SSDI) and veterans disability benefits provided to working disabled persons when determining categorically-needy eligibility, specified in § 8.05(d). Income from a home equity conversion plan in the month received. Dividends paid on life insurance policies. Payments made by someone other than the individual to a third-party trust for the benefit of the individual. Interest and dividend income from a countable resource or from a resource excluded under a federal statute other than § 1613 of the Social Security Act. Any interest on an excluded burial space purchase agreement if left to accumulate as part of the value of the agreement. Any amount refunded on income taxes that the individual has already paid. Proceeds of a loan in the month received when the individual is the borrower because of the borrower’s obligation to repay. Exclusions based on federal law as set forth in § 29.08(i)(9). Any refundable credit against taxes made pursuant to Vermont’s child tax credit29 or pursuant to a similar tax credit enacted by the State and directed by state law to not be considered as countable income in determining eligibility for benefit programs.