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TAFDC - Non-Countable Assets - Massachusetts

The following are not countable assets for TAFDC purposes. Their possession has no effect on eligibility.

(A) Highway Relocation assistance payments, Urban Renewal Assistance payments, disaster relief payments used for relocation, and payments from private agencies used for relocation;

(B) The filing unit's principal place of residence and the undivided land on which it rests;

(C) The first $10,000 of the fair market value and the first $5,000 of equity value of one vehicle, provided it is used primarily for the transportation of the filing unit;

(D) Household belongings such as furniture, appliances, household decorations, linens and cookware; personal belongings such as jewelry, books and toys, even if of more than usual value;

(E) Property to which the filing unit has no ready access, such as property the ownership of which is the subject of legal proceedings (probate, divorce suits, etc.), and irrevocable trust funds that were placed in trust 12 months or longer before application for TAFDC;

(F) Home produce grown or preserved by the filing unit for its own consumption;

(G) Food Stamps;

(H) A loan verified by a written document, signed by the borrower and the lender, that expresses the borrower's intent to repay and the conditions of repayment, the terms of which specify the purpose of the loan and preclude its use to meet current living costs;

(I) Any grant or scholarship to a student, the terms of which preclude its use to meet current living costs;

(J) Any grant or loan to an undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under any program administered by the U.S. Secretary of Education;

(K) Student financial assistance provided under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 or under the Bureau of Indian Affairs Education Assistance programs; or student financial assistance for attendance costs, such as, but not limited to, tuition, fees, equipment or books, under programs developed pursuant to the Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act;

(L) Assets of any member of the household:

(1) who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments;

(2) for whom state and/or federal foster-care maintenance payments are made, including the child of the foster child when the foster-care maintenance payment includes the child; or

(3) for whom state and/or federal adoption assistance is provided except when the person is included as a member of the assistance unit in accordance with 106 CMR 204.305(E)(3);

(M) Lands held in trust for Native Americans; property purchased with payments made to Native Americans under Public Laws 92-254, 93-134, 94-540 and 94-114; and funds distributed to, or held in trust for, members of any Indian tribe pursuant to a judgment of the Indian Claims Settlements or the Secretary of the Interior under Public Laws 94-114, 93-134, 96-420, 97-458, 98-64 and 102-71;

(N) For each member of the Assistance Unit:

(1) one burial plot, and

(2) the value of a prepaid funeral arrangement, not to exceed $1,500; A prepaid funeral arrangement may include a contract with a funeral director or a separately identifiable trust fund. Use of any portion of this asset for any purpose other than funeral or burial arrangements shall render the balance of the asset countable under the provisions of 106 CMR 204.120.

(O) Real Estate that is not the principal residence of the assistance unit, but which the assistance unit is making a good faith effort to sell, provided:

(1) The owner of the real estate signs an agreement on a form specified by the Department to repay from the net proceeds of the sale the amount of TAFDC benefits received while the real estate was owned by the assistance unit. The amount of the repayment shall be the net proceeds from the sale or the amount of TAFDC benefits paid, whichever is less. The net proceeds of the sale, when added to all other countable assets at the time of the sale, must exceed $2500 for repayment to occur.

(2) The real estate may be excluded for no more than six months from the date of the signing of the agreement specified in 106 CMR 204.140(O)(1).

(3) A good faith offer to sell shall be defined as an offer to sell at or about fair market value by methods including, but not limited to, listing with a licensed real estate salesperson or through a newspaper or other type of advertisement. The good faith offer must be verified. Verification shall be by a copy of a newspaper advertisement, letter from a licensed real estate salesperson, or other appropriate document(s).

(4) If the assistance unit becomes ineligible during the six-month period for categorical or financial reason(s) other than ownership of real estate, or if the assistance unit fails to sell the real estate at the end of six months, assistance shall be terminated, and all TAFDC benefits paid shall be treated as an overpayment.

(5) A recipient who fails to report acquisition of a piece of real estate, other than that used as the principal residence, within 10 days of taking title to the real estate, has been overpaid between the date title was acquired and the date the ownership of the real estate was reported to the Department, provided that the equity value of the real estate when added to the total of all other countable assets exceeds $2500. The Department must pursue recovery in accordance with 106 CMR 706.200 et seq.;

(P) Any portion of a Workers' Compensation, property damage, personal injury, Compensation to Victims of Violent Crimes Act, death settlement or award, except for compensation for lost wages, that is received as a reimbursement for specified item(s) and used to pay for such item(s). See 106 CMR 204.240(B) for verification;

(Q) Property that is essential to employment or self-employment shall include, but is not limited to, work-related equipment such as tools of a tradesperson, machinery of a farmer, and property such as farm land. Income derived from such property shall be countable;

(R) Earned income credits (EIC), whether received as an advance payment or as part or all of an income tax refund, in the month of receipt and the following month;

(S) Payments to eligible individuals of Japanese ancestry or their survivors under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and payments to eligible Aleuts (who were former residents of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands) or their survivors under the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act in accordance with Public Law 100-383;

(T) Agent Orange Settlement Fund payments made to Vietnam veterans or their survivors, in accordance with Public Law 101-201, effective January 1, 1989;

(U) The value of public-assistance cash benefits for the remainder of the cyclical month of issuance. If any or all of the money from such cash benefit(s) is retained beyond the cyclical month of issuance, the amount of money retained becomes a countable asset, except as specified in 106 CMR 706.210 for the correction of an underpayment;

(V) Payments made under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990;

(W) Payments credited to an escrow account under the Family Self-Sufficiency Program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when the filing unit lacks the legal ability to use the money for its support and maintenance;

(X) TAFDC cash benefits resulting from a correction of an underpayment or a fair hearing decision, in the month of receipt and the following month; and

(Y) The Individual Asset Account maintained for the individual until receipt of such funds by the individual upon termination of Full Employment Program employment as specified in 106 CMR 207.180(D).

Additional Information

The regulations for the Transitional Aid program (106 CMR 203-208) are available in PDF format (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) at http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=eohhs2subtopic&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Government&L2=Laws%2c+Regulations+and+Policies&L3=Transitional+Assistance+Regulations&L4=106+CMR+203-208+Transitional+Aid+to+Families+with+Dependent+Children&sid=Eeohhs2

See Also:

TAFDC - Assets

TAFDC - Financial Eligibility

TAFDC - Overview - Massachusetts

Source

106 CMR 204.140, available in PDF format (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) at:
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dta/g_reg_204.pdf

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