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Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Gross Household Income Exclusions - Massachusetts

Certain kinds of income are excluded when determining gross household income for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP):

·      Gifts that are not regularly recurring.

·      Amounts (including lump sums), which are specifically received for the cost of medical care, or which are made to compensate for personal injury or damage to or loss of property under health, accident or liability insurance, worker's compensation, judgments or settlements of claims. These payments may not be in compensation for loss of income for a period when the recipient was or would be a tenant.

·      Amounts of educational scholarships or stipends for housing paid by a non-household member for a student at an educational institution, including amounts paid for these purposes to part-time students, whether paid directly to the student or the educational institution, and amounts paid by the United States Government to a veteran for use in paying tuition, fees, or the cost of books.

·      Special pay made to a member of the armed forces on account of service in a war zone.

·      Relocation payments made pursuant to state or federal law.

·      Payments received from the Social Security Administration program known as the Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS), provided that the recipient fulfills all PASS program requirements.

·      The value of food stamps.

·      Payments received by participants or volunteers in programs pursuant to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973.

·      The increased amount of income earned from employment by one or more household members if the increase in earned income otherwise would result in a rent increase, provided that: (1) the household’s income has been derived, at least in part, from Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Assistance to the Elderly, Disabled and Children Program (EAEDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or successor program for each of the previous 12 months; (2) the household’s increased earned income has been accompanied by a decrease in the amount of TAFDC, EAEDC, SSI, SSDI or public assistance from a successor program; and (3) at the commencement of this exclusion the recipient of such public assistance would have remained eligible for such assistance if the income had not been earned. This earned income exclusion is in effect for one continuous 12- month period, regardless of any changes or gaps in employment during that period. This exclusion may be used by the tenant when a household member has procured either full or part-time employment. It is within the tenant’s sole discretion whether or when to exercise this one-time earned income exclusion.

·      Payments for a household member to participate in a bona fide employment training program that has been approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development or is sponsored or administered by a government agency, to cover costs related to training or employment, such as transportation, program fees, books, or child care (during training). This exclusion does not apply to wages received through programs for training for employment, such as wages from on-the-job training.

·      Wages and/or salary earned by a full-time student, for the duration of the time the student is in pursuit of an undergraduate degree or enrolled in a diploma or certificate-granting program, or wages earned by an unemancipated minor.

·      Income of a live-in personal care attendant (PCA), who is not a family member, who is paid for the fair value of his or her services to a household member with a disability and whose income is not available for the needs of any household member. The PCA is required to substantiate that he or she receives wages for the fair value of his or her services and that the income is not available for the needs of any household member.

·      Inheritances and life insurance proceeds. This exclusion does not apply to post-death interest paid on inheritances or insurance proceeds.

·      At the discretion of the local housing authority, with respect to an unemployable disabled veteran whose disability occurred in connection with military service, all but $1,800 of the annual amount received by the unemployable disabled veteran from the United States Government on account of such disability; if the local housing authority excludes all but $1,800 of such amount, no deductions may be applied against that $1,800.

·      A return of capital on sale or transfer of an investment or of other real or personal property.

·      Wages and/or salary earned by a tenant age 62 or older, or other household member age 62 or older, not to exceed the total amount which would have been earned by a person working 20 hours per week at the minimum wage.

For more information, see:

Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Overview - Massachusetts

Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Household - Massachusetts

Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Gross Household Income Overview - Massachusetts

Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Gross Household Income Deductions - Massachusetts

Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) - Countable Income - Massachusetts

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