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VA TANF - Gross Countable Income

Gross countable income is all earned and unearned income of all members of your TANF Assistance Unit except that income which is explicitly disregarded. (To see the list below of Earned Income Disregards and Other Disregards, skip to Income Disregards.)

Gross countable income is used in determining both your TANF Financial Eligibility, and your TANF grant amount.

Earned Income

Your earned income is not your "take home pay". It is your gross pay before any payroll deductions, and it is the gross pay you actually receive. If you receive an advance on next month's pay, therefore, it counts in this month's gross earnings.

If you are self-employed, your gross earned income means the total income received, minus the business expenses directly related to producing the goods or services. However, business expenses do not include:

·      Net losses from previous periods;

·      Federal, state, and local taxes;

·      Money set aside for retirement purposes;

·      Personal expenses, entertainment expenses, and personal transportation;

·      Depreciation of equipment, machinery, or other capital investments necessary to the self-employment enterprise.

Unearned Income

In determining your eligibility or the amount of assistance your TANF Assistance UnitVA TANF - Assistance Unit receives, all other regular income received or anticipated to be received by members of the assistance unit must be counted in the month in which it is received, except that specifically disregarded (as listed below), such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Auxiliary Grants and TANF Match Payments. (Note that Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits are countable.)

Deemed Income

Income of others not included in the TANF Assistance Unit may be deemed as available to the family. There are specific policies for:

·      Stepparents

·      Sponsored Aliens

·      Minor Parents

·      Ineligible Alien Parents

Disregarded Earned Income

The first two items listed below are disregarded during the 185% eligibility screening. All five disregards are deducted from earned income when calculating either the TANF assistance amount or the VIEW assistance amount:

1. WIA Payments: All payments issued under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), including Job Corps payments.

2. Child/Student Earnings: Earned income of any eligible child who is a student.

3. Standard Deduction: A standard deduction, the same amount used in the standard deduction for the Food Stamp program, is subtracted from the gross earned income of individuals in the Assistance Unit.

Assistance Unit Standard Deduction
(effective October 1, 2011)

1-3 members   $147
4 members   $155
5 members   $181
6 or more members  $208

4. 20% Deduction of the Remaining Earned Income: After applying the disregards in items 1-3, deduct 20% of the remaining earned income, including profit produced by self-employment.

5. Incapacitated Adult/Child Care Expenses: Up to $175 per month for the care of each child, age 2 and older or incapacitated adult, or $200 for each child under 2 can be deducted by a full-time wage earner (defined as 30 hours or more per week, or 120 hours or more per month). Part-time workers can deduct the anticipated cost not to exceed $120 per month for each child or incapacitated adult.

NOTE: Incapacitated Adult/Child Care expenses can only be deducted when the adult or child is a member of the TANF Assistance Unit. So expenses for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients may not be deducted.

Other Disregarded Income

The following income must be disregarded for members of the assistance unit, for parents not included in the assistance unit, or for anyone whose income is used in determining eligibility or the amount of assistance. Income that is disregarded under the following provisions must not be counted in determining the need for assistance of any individual under any other federal assistance program:

1. Home produce of the assistance unit utilized for their own consumption.

2. The value of food coupons under the Food Stamp Program.

3. The value of foods donated under the U.S.D.A. Commodity Distribution Program, including those furnished through school meal programs.

4. Any payment received under Title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.

5. Any benefits received under Title VII, Nutrition Program for the Elderly, of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.

6. Money received for educational purposes.

7. Training allowances (transportation, books, required training expenses and motivational allowances) provided by Vocational Rehabilitation for persons participating in Vocational Rehabilitation Programs. The disregard is not applicable to the allowances provided by VR to the family of the participating individual.

8. Any portion of an Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment and/or Auxiliary Grant.

9. Payments to VISTA Volunteers under Title I, when the monetary value of such payments is less than minimum wage as determined by the Director of the action office, and payments for services of reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses made to individual volunteers serving as foster grandparents, senior health aides, or senior companions, and to persons serving in the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Active Corps of Executives (ACE) and Americorps VISTA.

NOTE: This disregard does not apply to payments to participants in Americorps USA and Americorps NCCC. These programs are under the authority of the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, which contains no requirement to disregard payments to participants applying for or receiving TANF.

10. The Veterans Administration educational amount for the caretaker 18 or older is to be disregarded when it is used specifically for educational purposes. Any additional money included in the benefit amount for dependents is to be counted as income to the assistance unit.

11. Foster Care payments received by anyone in the assistance unit.

12. All payments issued under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), including Job Corps payments.

13. Income tax refunds (including Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments and refunds). These exempt tax credits include federal earned income tax credits and state earned income tax credits.

14. Any payment made under the Fuel Assistance Program.

15. The value of supplemental food assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. This includes all school meal programs; the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program; the child care food program; and U.S.D.A. reimbursement payments to day care providers which are authorized by the National School Lunch Act.

NOTE: If you are a day care provider, then money paid to you under the National School Lunch Act to serve meals to children other than your own is countable.

16. All federal, state, or local government rent and housing subsidies and utility payments.

17. Any funds distributed to, or held in trust for, members of any Indian tribe under Public Law 92-254, 93-134, 94-540, 98-64, 98-123, 98-124 or 97-458. Additionally, interest and investment income accrued on such funds while held in trust, and purchases made with such interest and investment income are disregarded.

18. The following of distributions received from a Native Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 100-241):

a. Cash (including cash dividends on stock received from a Native Corporation) to the extent that the total received does not exceed $2,000 per individual per calendar year;

b. Stock (including stock issued or distributed by a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock);

c. A partnership interest;

d. Land or an interest in land (including land or an interest in land received from a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock); and

e. An interest in a settlement trust.

19. Income derived from certain sub-marginal land of the United States which is held in trust for certain Indian tribes (Public Law 94-114).

20. In determining eligibility for assistance, the first $50 of total child or child and spousal support payments received by the assistance unit is to be disregarded.

21. Payments sent to the recipient by the State that are identified as disregarded support.

22. Federal major disaster and emergency assistance provided under the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988 and disaster assistance provided by state and local governments and disaster assistance organizations (Public Law 100-707).

23. Payments received by individuals of Japanese ancestry under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and by Aleuts under the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act (Public Law 100-383).

24. Payments by VIEW for support services such as transportation, uniforms, child care, etc.

25. Any payment received from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any other fund established in response to the Agent Orange product liability litigation.

26. Payment received by individuals under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426).

27. Funds received pursuant to the Maine Indians Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-420); and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act (Public Law 102-171).

28. Funds paid to an escrow account established under the Family Self-Sufficiency Program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

29. Student financial assistance received under Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance programs.*

30. Interest earned or appreciation in value on a savings or investment account for the purpose of self-sufficiency.

31. Up to $2,000 per year of income received by individual Indians, which are derived from leases or other uses of individually-owned trust or restricted lands.

32. All bona fide loans, regardless of the intended use. This includes loans obtained for any purpose, and may be from a private individual as well as from a commercial institution. Interest earned on the proceeds of a loan while held in a savings account, checking account, or other financial instrument will be counted as unearned income in the month received.

33. Income, including support, received by or on behalf of a child ineligible for TANF due to the family cap provision.

34. Payments received by victims of Nazi persecution under Public Law 103- 286.

35. Matching contributions deposited in an Individual Development Account (IDA) or on the applicant/recipient's behalf in a parallel account maintained by the organization administering the IDA program.

36. Income received by children who are in a VIEW period of ineligibility.

37. Interest income of less than an average of $10 per month.

38. TANF Match Payments issued to TANF recipients based on current support collected by the Division of Child Support Enforcement.

39. Any veteran benefits received by children born with spinal bifida, who are natural children of individuals who served in Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975.

40. Payments received from the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund established under Public Law 105-369.

41. Allowances, earnings, and payments to individuals participating in programs under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA).

42. Any amount received by or made available to household members for deployment or service in a combat zone will not count as income for TANF purposes unless the payment was received before the deployment. This exclusion includes items such as, but not limited to, incentive pay for hazardous duty, special pay for imminent duty or hostile fire duty or certain reenlistment bonuses, or special pay for certain occupational or educational skills.

See Also:

VA TANF - Assistance Unit

VA TANF - Grant Amount Calculations

VA TANF - Time Limit

VA TANF-UP - Overview

VA TANF-UP - Assistance Unit

VA VIEW - Overview

VA VIEW - Exemption Criteria

VA VIEW - Time Limit

VA VIEW - Grant Amount Calculations

Back To:

VA TANF - Financial Eligibility

VA TANF - Eligibility

VA TANF - Overview

VA Benefit Information System Welcome and Introduction

Sources:

VA TANF Policy Manual 305.1.A.1, 305.3 A and B, 305.4.A

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