Calculation of household income; prospective or retrospective accounting basis; consistency
(1)#
(A) Household income for those households that, by contract for other than an hourly or piecework basis or by self-employment, derive their annual income in a period of time shorter than one year shall be calculated by averaging such income over a twelve-month period. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, household income resulting from the self-employment of a member in a farming operation, who derives income from such farming operation and who has irregular expenses to produce such income, may, at the option of the household, be calculated by averaging such income and expenses over a 12-month period. Notwithstanding the first sentence, if the averaged amount does not accurately reflect the household’s actual monthly circumstances because the household has experienced a substantial increase or decrease in business earnings, the State agency shall calculate the self-employment income based on anticipated earnings.
(B) Household income for those households that receive nonexcluded income of the type described in subsection (d)(3) of this section shall be calculated by averaging such income over the period for which it is received.
(C) Simplified determination of deductions.— (i) In general .— Except as provided in clause (ii), for the purposes of subsection (e), a State agency may elect to disregard until the next recertification of eligibility under section 2020(e)(4) of this title 1 or more types of changes in the circumstances of a household that affect the amount of deductions the household may claim under subsection (e). (ii) Changes that may not be disregarded .— Under clause (i), a State agency may not disregard— (I) any reported change of residence; or (II) under standards prescribed by the Secretary, any change in earned income.
(2)#
(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), households shall have their incomes calculated on a prospective basis, as provided in paragraph (3)(A), or, at the option of the State agency, on a retrospective basis, as provided in paragraph (3)(B).
(B) In the case of the first month, or at the option of the State, the first and second months, during a continuous period in which a household is certified, the State agency shall determine eligibility and the amount of benefits on the basis of the household’s income and other relevant circumstances in such first or second month.
(C) Households specified in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of section 2015(c)(1)(A) of this title shall have their income calculated on a prospective basis, as provided in paragraph (3)(A).
(D) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), households required to submit monthly reports of their income and household circumstances under section 2015(c)(1) of this title shall have their income calculated on a retrospective basis, as provided in paragraph (3)(B).
(3)#
(A) Calculation of household income on a prospective basis is the calculation of income on the basis of the income reasonably anticipated to be received by the household during the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined. Such calculation shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary which shall provide for taking into account both the income reasonably anticipated to be received by the household during the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined and the income received by the household during the preceding thirty days.
(B) Calculation of household income on a retrospective basis is the calculation of income for the period for which eligibility or benefits are being determined on the basis of income received in a previous period. Such calculation shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary which may provide for the determination of eligibility on a prospective basis in some or all cases in which benefits are calculated under this paragraph. Such regulations shall provide for supplementing the initial allotments of newly applying households in those cases in which the determination of income under this paragraph causes serious hardship.
(4)#
In promulgating regulations under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in order to assure that, to the extent feasible and consistent with the purposes of this chapter and the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], the income of households receiving benefits under this chapter and title IV–A of the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.] is calculated on a comparable basis under this chapter and the Social Security Act. The Secretary is authorized, upon the request of a State agency, to waive any of the provisions of this subsection (except the provisions of paragraph (2)(A)) to the extent necessary to permit the State agency to calculate income for purposes of this chapter on the same basis that income is calculated under title IV–A of the Social Security Act in that State.