INTENT

To allow for certain deductions when determining a household’s income.

POLICY

All sources of income available to household members are considered when determining eligibility and the monthly benefit amount. “Deductions” are amounts taken off individual income types.

“Allowable income deductions” are amounts that are not included when determining the income of the household. These amounts are deducted from the gross amount for each income type available to a household to determine the associated net income amount.

Note
Allowable income deductions are not the same as Income Exemptions. Income exemptions are applied after allowable income deductions have been applied. Both calculations for each income type are needed before program eligibility and monthly benefits can be determined.

Allowable income deductions are outlined in the following policies:

• Employment and Self-Employment Income policy;
• Room and Board / Rental Income Deductions policy; and the
• Income Deducted at Source to Repay Other Programs policy.
  
  

In addition to the circumstances addressed in the policies above, some other income types received by an applicant/recipient could be subject to “mandatory deductions”. A “mandatory deduction” is a deduction that is required and that a person cannot opt out of. These situations are case-specific.

If the recipient can substantiate that a portion of an income type is subject to a mandatory deduction, that amount is considered to be an “allowable income deduction” and the amount will not be included for the purpose of establishing eligibility and benefits.

Notes

• In cases of garnishments from employment income and income deducted at source to repay other programs, these deductions are only considered allowable deductions for one month. See the Employment and Self-Employment Income and Income Deducted at Source to Repay Other Programs policies for details.