Get Latest WorkWORLD

Excess Shelter Deduction - SNAP (Food Stamps)

In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), a household may deduct excess shelter costs that are more than half of the household's income after the other deductions. Households which contain an elderly or disabled member are eligible for the Uncapped Shelter Deduction. Other households face a cap on the deduction amount.

NOTE: This deduction will be calculated by WorkWORLD for you based on the information you provide. When responding to the WorkWORLD questions, enter the entire amount of these expenses, if any, before any caps in order to have WorkWORLD correctly calculate your actual expenses.

Shelter costs include the following:

·        Continuing charges for the shelter occupied by the household, including rent, mortgage, or other continuing charges leading to the ownership of the shelter such as loan repayments for the purchase of a mobile home, including interest on such payments;

·        Property taxes, state and local assessments, and insurance on the structure itself, but not separate costs for insuring furniture or personal belongings;

·        Cost of heating and cooking fuel; cooling and electricity, water and sewerage, garbage and trash collection fees; the basic service fee for one telephone, including tax on the basic fee; and fees charged by the utility provider for initial installation of the utility (one-time deposits are not included as shelter costs);

·        Shelter costs for the home if temporarily not occupied by the household because of employment or training away from home, illness, or abandonment caused by a natural disaster or casualty loss (for costs of a home vacated by the household to be included in the household's shelter costs, the household must intend to return to the home; the current occupants of the home, if any, must not be claiming the shelter costs for SNAP purposes; and the home must not be leased or rented during the absence of the household); and

·        Charges for the repair of the home which was substantially damaged or destroyed due to a natural disaster such as a fire or flood. Shelter costs shall not include charges for repair of the home that have been or will be reimbursed by private or public relief agencies, insurance companies, or from any other source.

When determining the shelter costs of a household that shares housing with others, only that portion of the rent and utilities paid by the household are counted.

Some states use mandatory standard utility allowances instead of actual household utility costs. Other states allow you to decide if you would like to use actual utility expenses or the standards established by the state.

The Excess Shelter Deduction is used to calculate your household's net income, and in fact, it reduces your household's net income. By reducing the amount of net income that is counted when determining whether a household meets the net income test or when calculating the level of benefits for a household, this deduction allows households to have higher incomes and still qualify for benefits. In addition, it allows a household to receive higher benefits.

WorkWORLD™ Help/Information System

   Share/Save: Click the button or link at left to select your favorite bookmark service and add this page.

This is one topic from the thousands available in the WorkWORLD™ software Help/Information System.
Complete information about the software is available at: http://www.WorkWORLD.org