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PY26 WHEAP Manual
Revised: August 2025 4.4.26.5 Disabled Disability is a self-declaration that their disability limits their life activities. Verification is required if a student claims disability status.
4.4.26.6 FoodShare FoodShare should be marked “Yes” if that person received FoodShare in the month prior to the date of the application.
4.4.26.7 Military Service Military Service includes a person who is serving or has ever served or is a surviving spouse of someone who served in a branch of the United States military as Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard).
4.4.27 Household Income All household members must report and verify their income received in the test period. For most applicants, this means the month prior to the application date. See Chapter 3 for further clarification on income.
Household members can have multiple sources of income. Enter each income type/source separately for the household member.
The document upload replaces the verification data entry. Enter an HE+ System Note when additional clarification is needed. CARES records, SSA, released Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), and bank statements may be used to verify the receipt of SSA income types. All income must be entered and verified even if the household appears to be over income. If all the income information is not provided and verified, the application is incomplete and should be left “Pending.” Enter an HE+ System Note to describe what is missing. Income types with zero income for the test period should not be entered as income unless it is self-employment income verified by taxes. Refer to Appendix B for more information on income types.
Agencies processing applications shall review all applications and shall contact all household members who are over the age of 18 to verify if they receive or do not receive any type of income. HE+ System Notes shall be entered documenting the date the customer was contacted and the outcome of the call.
4.4.27.1 Zero Income A zero-income household has no sources of income either earned or unearned in the test period. This includes a household that has only ignored income (see Section 3.3.9).
A household is not zero-income when: • The household has countable income to report. • The only countable income in the household is self-employment income (SE) and the business operated at a loss. Enter SE as the income type and zero for the income amount. This is the only income type that should be entered with zeroes for the test period.