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Excluded Resources - SNAP (Food Stamps)

In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), some assets are not included when determining if a household meets the resource test.

NOTE: On June 18, 2008, Congress enacted Public Law 110-246, The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA). Section 4100 includes a provision that renames the Food Stamp Program the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" or SNAP and renames the Food Stamp Act of 1977 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, effective October 1, 2008. State agencies may continue to use state-specific program names.

Additionally, Section 4104(b) contains a provision that excludes all tax-preferred education accounts (e.g., 529 Plans and Coverdell Accounts [also see the Educational Program Accounts topic for more information]) and retirement accounts (e.g., IRAs) from countable resources in determining SNAP eligibility. It excludes any funds in a plan, contract, or account described in sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, 457(b), and 501(c)(18) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the value of funds in a Federal Thrift Savings Plan account as provided for in 5 U.S.C. 8439. It also provides for the exclusion of any successor retirement accounts that are exempt from Federal taxes. This provision takes effect on October 1, 2008.

Some types of assets that are not included are:

·        the household's home and lot,

·        household and personal goods,

·        the cash value of life insurance,

·        earmarked assets (i.e., payments the household must use for a certain purpose or be subject to legal sanction if the funds are not used for the intended purpose),

·        Earned Income Tax Credit refunds, if within 12 months of receiving the refund,

·        funeral contracts,

·        pensions,

·        mortgages,

·        burial lots,

·        income-producing properties,

·        land contracts,

·        business loan-related assets,

·        assets used for self-support/employment,

·        real property and other assets which annually produce income consistent with their fair market value,

·        certain vehicles such as vehicles used at least 50% of the time to produce income, and

·        deeds of trust and other property agreements if they produce income consistent with their fair market value.

Assets are also excluded if their cash value is not accessible to the household. Some examples of inaccessible assets are:

·        property in probate,

·        security deposits,

·        real property for sale,

·        irrevocable trust funds, and

·        assets unlikely to produce a significant amount of funds if sold.

If your household resides in Vermont and includes a TANF recipient, read the topic "Asset Exclusion (Vermont) - SNAP (Food Stamps)" for information about excluding the assets resulting from earned income.

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