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Unearned Income - Section 8

Annualizing Your Income

When determining your family's financial eligibility for Section 8 assistance and the amount that you have to pay for rent and utilities, your Public Housing Agency (PHA) uses your annual income. If your income is not expected to be stable for the entire next year, the PHA may annualize your current income by multiplying your current monthly income by 12. If so, the PHA would then re-determine your annual income when (and if) your monthly income later changes.

When answering WorkWORLD's questions about your annual income, if your income is not expected to remain stable, you should follow the procedure used by your PHA in annualizing your income. If you do not know what that procedure is, assume that the PHA multiplies your current monthly income by 12. If you later find that your PHA uses a different method, then revise your answers using your PHA's method.

Types of Unearned Income

For purposes of determining both your family's eligibility for Section 8 assistance and the amount that you have to pay for rent and utilities, your PHA takes into account the following types of unearned income: (Enter into WorkWORLD the total of all unearned income for every member of your family.

NOTE: WorkWORLD asks about dividends, interest and other income from assets separately. Do not include such income as Unearned Income. (See Income from Assets for information about asset income.)

·      Periodic Benefits: The full amount of periodic amounts received from Social Security, annuities, insurance policies, retirement funds, pensions, disability or death benefits, and other similar types of periodic receipts, including a lump-sum amount or prospective monthly amounts for the delayed start of a periodic amount;

·      Payments in Lieu of Earnings: Unemployment and disability compensation, worker's compensation and severance pay;

·      Welfare assistance: If the welfare assistance payment includes an amount specifically designated for shelter and utilities that is subject to adjustment by the welfare assistance agency in accordance with the actual cost of shelter and utilities, see Welfare Benefits as Unearned Income for details on how such income is handled by WorkWORLD.

NOTE: If you receive Tenant-Based Section 8 assistance and your welfare assistance has been reduced because of fraud or non-compliance with a requirement to participate in an Economic Self-Sufficiency program, then the reduced amount may be counted as income. See Welfare Benefits Reduced as Sanction for details.

·      Periodic and determinable allowances: Alimony and child support payments, and regular contributions or gifts received from organizations or from persons not residing in the dwelling

Exclusions from Unearned Income:

Your PHA excludes the following types of unearned income. However, you should enter into WorkWORLD all of your family's unearned income. (After you have entered the total amount of all your family's unearned income as described above, WorkWORLD asks you about exclusions. WorkWORLD subtracts your exclusion amounts, if any, from your gross unearned income in calculating your Section 8 eligibility and rent payments.)

NOTES below indicate each of the rare types of income that WorkWORLD does not ask about. If you have such income, it should be included in your total family unearned income, and you should include it as an exclusion in answer to the question about other "Income Excluded by Statute."

·      Lump-sum additions to family assets: Inheritances, insurance payments (including payments under health and accident insurance and worker's compensation), capital gains and settlement for personal or property losses;

·      Foster Care: Payments received for the care of foster children or foster adults (usually persons with disabilities, unrelated to the tenant family, who are unable to live alone);

·      Medical Expense Reimbursement: Amounts received by the family that are specifically for, or in reimbursement of, the cost of medical expenses for any family member;

·      Live-in Aide: Income of a Live-In Aide.

·      Student Aid: The full amount of student financial assistance paid directly to the student or to the educational institution;

·      HUD Training: Amounts received under training programs funded by HUD;

·      Income Included in a PASS: Amounts received by a person with a disability that are disregarded for a limited time for purposes of Supplemental Security Income eligibility and benefits because they are set aside for use under a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS).

·      Reimbursements: Amounts received by a participant in other publicly assisted programs which are specifically for or in reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred (special equipment, clothing, transportation, child care, etc.) and which are made solely to allow participation in a specific program;

·      Training Stipends: Incremental earnings and benefits resulting to any family member from participation in qualifying State or local employment training programs (including training programs not affiliated with a local government) and training of a family member as resident management staff. Amounts excluded by this provision must be received under employment training programs with clearly defined goals and objectives, and are excluded only for the period during which the family member participates in the employment training program;

·      Temporary, nonrecurring or sporadic income (including gifts);

·      Nazi Reparations: Reparation payments paid by a foreign government pursuant to claims filed under the laws of that government by persons who were persecuted during the Nazi era;

NOTE: WorkWORLD does not ask about this type of excluded income. If you have such income, enter it in answer to the question about other "Income Excluded by Statute."

·      Adoption Assistance: Adoption assistance payments in excess of $480 per adopted child;

·      Deferred SSI or SSDI: Deferred periodic amounts from supplemental security income and social security benefits that are received in a lump sum amount or in prospective monthly amounts.

·      Property Tax Refunds: Amounts received by the family in the form of refunds or rebates under State or local law for property taxes paid on the dwelling unit;

NOTE: WorkWORLD does not ask about this type of excluded income. If you have such income, enter it in answer to the question about other "Income Excluded by Statute."

·      DD Assistance: Amounts paid by a State agency to a family with a member who has a developmental disability and is living at home to offset the cost of services and equipment needed to keep the developmentally disabled family member at home; or

·      Other Federally Excluded Amounts: Amounts specifically excluded by any other Federal statute from consideration as income for purposes of determining eligibility or benefits under a category of assistance programs that includes assistance under any program to which the exclusions set forth in 24CFR5.609(c) apply. A notice will be published in the Federal Register and distributed to PHAs and housing owners identifying the benefits that qualify for this exclusion. Updates will be published and distributed when necessary.

NOTE: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is available at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/.

For information about all of the types of income that are excluded (earned and unearned) when determining your Gross Non-Excluded Income, see: Income Exclusions for Section 8.

See Also:

Earned Income - Section 8

Income from Assets

Income Exclusions for Section 8

Financial Eligibility for Section 8

Tenant Rent

Family Rent to Owner

Source:

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 24CFR5.609

Back to:

Section 8 Housing Overview

Federal Rent Assistance

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