Applying Income Deductions Allowable deductions for the SNAP Program.

7 Income Deductions  Earned Income Deduction  Standard Deduction  Medical Deduction  Dependent Care Deduction  Legally Obligated Child Support  Homeless Standard Deduction  Shelter Deduction Details are on the following slides...

Non-Deductible Expenses Do NOT allow income deductions for:  Amounts that will be reimbursed  Amounts paid as a vendor payment  Payments made to another HH member  Medical expenses for household members who are not elderly or disabled  Any portion of a bill carried forward from past billing periods, even if included in most recent billing and paid by the household

Earned Income Deduction  Deduct 20% of the gross countable earned income.  KAMES automatically applies this deduction, when you enter earnings. $1000 x.20 $ Example : If earnings are $1000, the deduction is $

Standard Deduction A Standard Deduction is allowed for all households, depending on the number of members on the case.  These amounts are subject to change! Go to the KAMES Eligibility Tables and locate the current amounts for the Standard Deduction.

Medical Deduction  Allow a deduction of any expenses totaling more than $35 for elderly or disabled members.  Also allow a deduction for a previous household member, if a current member is still responsible for their medical bills.

Do NOT Allow a Deduction for:  Any expense that will be reimbursed.  Any expense previously used in the SNAP case as a deduction.  Interest added when a bill is paid with a credit card  Surcharges or fees added to insurance premiums by insurance companies.  Any expenses listed in Vol. II, MS MS 5440

Allowable Medical Expenses  Allowable Medical Expenses are listed in Vol. II, MS MS 5430  Follow that link to the online policy manual and review Allowable Medical Expenses for SNAP.

Dependent Care Deduction  Deduct costs for care of a child or other dependents when necessary for a household member to seek, accept or continue employment, training or education preparatory to employment.  Policy for Dependent Care is in Volume. II, MS MS 5450

Do NOT Allow a Deduction for:  Dependent care costs which are reimbursed through other programs, such as:  Employment Training Programs  Child care disregard in KTAP budget  Expenses paid by CCAP  Payments to another HH member.  Payments for Kindergarten education.

Calculating Dependent Care  Average the prior 2 months’ amounts, or verify anticipated amounts, if changing.  Manually Convert to a monthly amount.  Round to whole dollar amounts when dividing between children, so that the system counts the correct amount.

Rounding Example Client pays $50 per week for 2 children:  Convert to monthly : $50 x 13  3 = $ ($217)  Divide between 2 kids : $217  2 = $ per child We usually enter actual amounts, and let KAMES round. But in this case, the system would count $1 too much after rounding both amounts up.

Rounding Example Continued...  In order to get KAMES to count $217 per month, enter $ on one child’s member screen, and $ on the other.  Be cautious when dividing amounts between 2 or more members, so that KAMES counts the correct monthly total.

Child Support Deduction  Allow a child support deduction for members who are legally obligated to pay, and are verified as paying, child support for an individual living outside the household.  Everything about the Child Support Deduction is found in Vol. II, MS MS 5510

A Deduction IS Allowed for:  Amounts collected from income such as Unemployment Insurance intercept, salary garnishment, and income tax refund intercept, etc.  For amounts collected through tax intercept, allow the HH the option of using a one-time deduction, or averaging it over the cert period.

Do NOT Allow a Deduction for:  Payments made to individuals in the same household  Payments that are not legally obligated (Voluntary support)  Obligated Support amounts that are not currently being paid.  Payments are alimony or spousal support  Payments are made in accordance with a property settlement

Child Support Verification In order to use the Child Support Deduction, the individual must provide verification of:  The Legal Obligation (Proof that they are legally required to pay support.)  The amounts actually paid (Usually the prior 3 months payments, if representative of ongoing payments.)

Homeless Standard Deduction  A homeless standard allowance choice is available for homeless households who incur shelter expenses, in lieu of a deduction for shelter expenses.  Homeless households which reasonably expect to incur a shelter expense for rent or utilities are allowed to use the homeless standard allowance.

Homeless or Shelter Deduction?  Homeless individuals have the option to use actual rent expenses and utility deductions instead of the Homeless Standard, if actual expenses are higher.  If they decide to use actual rent and utility standards, shelter expenses must be verified.

Homeless Standard Amount  The Homeless Standard Deduction is subject to change each year.  Go to the KAMES Eligibility Tables, and locate the current Homeless Standard Deduction amount.

Shelter Deduction Deduct monthly shelter costs in excess of 50% of household’s income after all other appropriate deductions are given.

Example:  Income remaining after allowing all deductions (Standard, Earnings, Medical, Dep. Care, and Child Support) is $1000.  We would allow a Shelter Deduction for any expenses exceeding $500 (50%)  If the total Shelter expense is $750, we would allow a deduction of $250.

Shelter Deduction Maximum  The Shelter Deduction amount cannot exceed the maximum unless the HH contains an elderly or disabled member.  Go to the KAMES Eligibility Tables, and locate the current Shelter Deduction Maximum.

More on Shelter Later... Please return to BlackBoard, and complete the Allowable Deductions and Dependent Care Activity.