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State Supplemental Payment - Countable Income - Oklahoma

In the State Supplemental Payments (SSP) program, the term income is defined as that gross gain or gross recurrent benefit which is derived from labor, business, property, retirement and other benefits, and many other forms which can be counted on as currently available for use on a regular basis. When an individual's income is reduced due to recoupment of an overpayment or garnishment, the gross amount before the recoupment or garnishment is counted as income.

Income Disregards and Inclusions

In determining countable income, many types of income are disregarded. For example, Food Stamps coupons, educational grants and scholarships, loans, Indian payments distributed on a per capita basis by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), housing subsidies, and income that is set aside under a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) that has been approved by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

On the other hand, included as income are all retirement and disability benefits, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) advance payments or refunds, and payments under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) or its successor.

For a full list of the income disregards and inclusions, and detailed information about calculating countable income, see OAC 317-35-5. It is available on-line at OK Department of Human Services Policy

Calculating Countable Income

Countable income means the total unearned income plus the net earned income. The net earned income is gross earned minus $20 general income exclusion, minus $65 work exclusion, minus one-half of the remainder.

When determining countable income for the purpose of calculating eligibility and the State Supplemental Payment (SSP) amount, the amount of your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit is included. For eligibility purposes, the sum of the SSI cash benefit and the countable income must be less than the amount shown on DHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

See: State Supplemental Payment - Financial Eligibility.

The amount of the SSP payment is the result of subtracting the sum of the SSI cash benefit and countable income from the Schedule VII.A amount (subject to the payment maximum). See: State Supplemental Payment - Calculating the Payment Amount.

Special exclusions for blind individuals

Any blind individual who is employed may deduct the general income exclusion and the work exclusion from the gross amount of earned income. After the application of these exclusions, one-half of the remaining income is excluded. The actual work expense is then deducted from the remaining half to arrive at the amount of countable income.

If this blind individual has a spouse who is also eligible due to blindness and both are working, the amount of ordinary and necessary expenses attributable to the earning of income for each of the blind individuals may be deducted. Expenses are deductible as paid but may not exceed the amount of earned income.

To be deductible, an expense need not relate directly to the blindness of the individual, it need only be an ordinary and necessary work expense of the blind individual. Such expenses fall into three broad categories:

· transportation to and from work;

· job performance; and

· job improvement.

See Also:

State Supplemental Payment - Eligibility

State Supplemental Payment - Non-Financial Eligibility

State Supplemental Payment - Financial Eligibility

State Supplemental Payment - Overview

SSI State Supplement - Oklahoma

Source

OAC 340:15-1 at OK Department of Human Services Policy

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