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DE Excluded Income - TANF and GA

The first income-eligibility test for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) compares your non-excluded gross income to 185% of the Standard of Need. The following kinds of income are always excluded in determining TANF Income-Eligibility, General Assistance (GA) Income-Eligibility, TANF Grant Amounts and GA Grant Amounts:

NOTE: For TANF eligibility and grant amount, also exclude $50/month of any Child Support Payments.

·      Donated Food: The value of USDA donated foods.

·      Food Stamps: The value of Food Stamps.

·      Section 8 Housing: Subsidies provided under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act.

·      Home Energy Assistance: Benefits paid to eligible households under the Home Energy Assistance Act of 1980.

·      Home Energy Assistance Based on Need, such as, but not limited to, home energy assistance from the following agencies:

Kingswood Community Center
Peoples' Settlement Association
Catholic Social Services, Inc.
Neighborhood House, Inc.
Community Housing, Inc.
Jewish Family Service of Delaware
Salvation Army
Community Action (Sussex County)

·      Assistance from other agencies and organizations provided that no duplication exists between such other agency and that provided by Division of Social Services (DSS). To assure that non-duplication exists, DSS must determine that the aid granted by another agency is for a different purpose. For example, vocational rehabilitation provides cash allowances (usually $25 per week) to reimburse clients for costs such as transportation related to their participation in a training program.

·      Earned income tax credits (EITC). EITC payments are not defined as earned income in the TANF and GA programs even when advance EITC payments are made by the employer.

·      Foster care payments made on behalf of foster children residing in the home.

·      Payments made directly to a third party on behalf of a recipient.

EXAMPLE: A friend pays a recipient's electric bill. The payment is made directly to the electric company. This payment is not considered as income to the assistance unit.

·      High School Graduation Bonus: A one-time bonus payment of $50.00 will be paid from TANF funds to teens who graduate from high school by age 19. This bonus will be paid directly to the high school graduate. The bonus payment is not counted as either income or resource for TANF and Food Stamp purposes.

·      Dependent Child Earned Income: Exclude earnings of dependent children, regardless of student status, in determining the family's eligibility and the amount of the TANF or GA benefits. This includes 18-year-old students for whom an adult is receiving a grant.

·      Student Loans and Grants: See below for TANF and GA differences in excluding student loans and grants.

·      Payments for Others' Share of Household Expenses: A cash payment made to the TANF unit responsible for household bills by those living in the household who are not included in the Assistance Unit for their share of the common household expenses.

·      Any bona fide loan including loans for current living expenses. The following criteria must be met to ensure that the loan is bona fide:

1. Written agreement between you and the individual or establishment engaged in the business of making loans to repay the money within a specified time.

2. If the loan is obtained from an individual or establishment not normally engaged in the business of making loans, obtain one of the following:

a. Borrower's acknowledgement of obligation to repay; or

b. Borrower's expressed intent to repay either by pledging real or personal property or anticipated income; or

c. A written statement detailing borrower's plans to repay the loan when future anticipated income is received.

·      Non-recurring lump sum payment: Money received in the form of a non-recurring lump sum payment is to be counted as a resource in the month received unless specifically excluded from consideration as a resource by other Federal law or regulations.

·      Incentives and Reimbursements: Incentive payments or reimbursement for training-related expenses derived from participation in Institutional and Work Experience Training or special work projects.

·      WIC Benefits: Benefits received under the nutrition program for the elderly or the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Program.

·      Disaster Assistance: Federal major disaster and emergency assistance provided to individuals and families and comparable disaster assistance provided by State, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations under P.L. 100-707.

"Emergency" means any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.

"Major Disaster" means any natural catastrophe which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance to supplement the efforts of available resources of states, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby.

·      VISTA Stipends: All payments received under the VISTA program unless the value of the payment when adjusted to reflect the number of hours worked is equal to or greater than the minimum wage currently in effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In that case the income is treated as earned income and the earned income disregards are deducted from it.

·      Volunteer Program Reimbursements: Payments of supportive services or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made to individual volunteers serving as foster grandparents, senior health aides, or senior companions, and to persons serving in services corps of retired executives and active corps of executives, and any other program under Title II and III pursuant to Section 418 of P.L. 93-113.

·      Relocation Assistance: Income received under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.

·      Tribal Payments: Payments distributed per capita to or held in trust for members of any Indian tribe under Public Law 92-254, P.L. 93-134, or P.L. 94-540.

·      Tribal Funding: Receipts distributed to members of certain Indian tribes which are referred to in Section 5 of P.L. 94-114.

·      Japanese Internment Restitution: Restitution made to United States' citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who were interned during World War II pursuant to Title I. of P.L. 100-383.

·      Aleut Restitution: Restitution made by any Aleut who was relocated by authority of the United States from his or her home village on the Pribilof Islands or the Aleutian Islands during World War II pursuant to Title II of P.L. 100-383.

·      Agent Orange Settlements: Payments made from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any other fund established pursuant to the settlement in the In Re Agent Orange product liability litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E. D. N. Y.).

·      Alaska Natives Settlements: Tax-exempt portions of payments made pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, P.L. 92-203.

·      Experimental Housing Payments: Payments of Experimental Housing Allowance Program made under annual contributions contracts entered into prior to January 1, 1975, under Section 23 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended.

·      Census Income: Income received from the Census Bureau April 01, 2000 through December 31, 2000.

TANF Exclusion: Grants and Loans to Students

Do not count Financial Assistance received from school grants, scholarships, vocational rehabilitation payments, Workforce Investment Act payments, educational loans, and other loans that are expected to be repaid as income for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program purposes. Also exclude from TANF other financial assistance received that is intended for books, tuition, or other self-sufficiency expenses.

GA Exclusion: Grants and Loans to Students

Grants and loans to undergraduate students for educational purposes that are made or insured by programs administered by the United States Commissions of Education are disregarded. These include Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOG), Supplemental Education Opportunity Educational Grants (SEOG), National Direct Student Loans (NDSL), Guaranteed Student Loans (GSL), all funds provided under the National Defense Education Act, and earnings from federally financed college work-study.

For other grants, loans, or unearned income that is contingent upon attending a school, college, university, or course of vocational training, that part that is available for current living expenses is counted as income. To determine the amount that is available, subtract expenses for tuition, books, fees, equipment, special clothing needs, transportation to and from school, and childcare necessary to attend school from the amount of the loan, grant, or other benefit. Divide the balance by the number of months the income is intended to cover to determine budgetable monthly income.

NOTE: When a student’s financial aid package includes both loans and grants that are completely disregarded and those that are countable after expenses are deducted, determine countable income as follows:

1. Compare expenses to disregarded loans or grants.

2. If expenses are less than or equal to disregarded funds, all other grants and loans are budgeted as unearned income.

See also:

DE Unearned Income

DE Earned Income

DE Earned Income Disregards

DE TANF - Income Eligibility

DE TANF - Resource Eligibility

DE GA - Financial Eligibility

DE DSS - Application Procedures

DE DSS - Change Reporting Requirements

DE DSS - Contact Information

Source:

DSS Policy Manual (Sect. 4004, 4005, and 4006)

Back to:

DE TANF - Financial Eligibility

DE TANF Overview

DE Division of Social Services - Overview

DE Benefit Information System Overview

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