Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Division 20 - Division of County Operations
Rule 016.20.95-012 - Food Stamp Basis of Issuance Tables
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
STANDARD DEDUCTION
6210 Farm Loss Deduction
The losses from a farming enterprise operated by a household member may be deducted from the household's other countable income. FSC 5640.1 contains instructions for applying the Farm Loss deduction.
6300 The Standard Deduction
A uniform standard deduction is mandated by Federal law and is applied to all households regardless of size, type of income or household composition. See Appendix D for the current standard deduction.
The standard deduction is applied in the following manner on the Food Stamp Authorization document, EMS-233, when there is both earned and unearned income in the household.
Example - The household has one member with gross earnings of $795. Two members each receive an AFDC grant of $142. The calculations which follow are based on deduction amounts in effect 10-1-95.
When there is only earned income in the food stamp budget, the gross income (field 51) will consist of the amount calculated as the net earned income in field 37.
Example: The household reports only earned income of $795. The caseworker calculates the earned income deduction as $159 and $636 as the net earned income in field 37. $636 will be entered as the total income in field 51 and the $138 standard deduction will be subtracted from this figure ($636 - $138 = $498) to obtain the adjusted gross income in field 53.
When there is only unearned income in the food stamp budget, the gross income (field 51) will consist of the amount calculated as the total unearned income in field 49.
Example: The household reports only unearned income of two AFDC checks. They total $284. $284 will be entered as the gross income in field 51 and the $138 standard deduction will be subtracted from this figure ($284 - $138 = $146) to obtain the adjusted gross income in field 53.
6400 The Dependent Care Deduction
Dependent care costs are payments for the actual care of a child or other dependent person (e.g. an incapacitated adult). Payments are deductible only when necessary for a household member to:
The dependent care deduction will include costs such as baby sitter or day care fees or the cost of an attendant for an incapacitated adult.
Dependent care costs may not exceed a maximum allowable amount determined by Federal law. See Appendix D to this manual for the current maximum allowable amount.
Example - (Based upon the maximum al1owable amount of $175 per dependent effective 9/1/94.) A household reports that a member is employed. This member has two children aged 2 and older. The member pays $45 per week per child to a day care center.
Calculated prospectively, dependent care costs would be $45 x 4.334 = $195 per child reduced to the maximum allowable amount of $175 per dependent. ($175 X 2 = $350 total dependent care costs.)
When a household member receives two telephone bills (e.g., one from Southwestern Bell and one from AT&T), the worker will examine both bills to determine the total allowable basic fees and taxes on such fees. Basic fees will include charges for line access (including mileage charges) and for leasing of equipment for one telephone. Long distance charges are not allowable. Fees to companies specializing in reduced rate long distance call service are not allowable. When a household has "Lifeline Service", charges for local calls in excess of the number permitted will not be allowable. The reduced basic service fees such households incur will be allowable.
In order to include the costs of a home temporarily unoccupied by the owners, all four of the following criteria must be met:
The household must be incurring these shelter costs;
The household must intend to return to the home;
The home must not be leased or rented during the absence of
the owners; and
If there are occupants currently in the home, these
occupants must not be claiming the shelter costs for food
stamp purposes.
Verification. If a household claims expenses for a temporarily unoccupied home, the worker will verify the household's actual utility expenses for the unoccupied home in every case and will not use the standard utility allowance.
If the household verifies its actual costs are higher than $143, the household may use its actual costs rather than the standard.
If a homeless household has difficulty in obtaining traditional types of verification - e.g., rent receipts or receipts for utility bills, the caseworker may use collateral contact to verify actual shelter costs. Or, in the case that a homeless household has declared shelter costs which are comparable to costs incurred by other homeless households, no verification need be required. (Example, a household resides in a shelter with a basic charge known to the county office.)
6620 Explanation of the Utility Standard
The utility standard is a predetermined amount which eligible households may elect to use in their food stamp budget to calculate their total shelter costs. When the utility standard is used in the budget, no actual utility costs are considered regardless of whether the costs are more or less than the standard amount.
There are restrictions on which households may elect to use the utility standard. There are restrictions on how often eligible households may switch from using the utility standard to using actual costs even if the actual costs exceed the standard amount.
6621 Determining Which Households Mav Choose to Use the Utility Standard
Generally, a household is entitled to elect to use the standard if it incurs a cost for its primary source of heating or an air conditioning cost separate from its rent or mortgage payment. (See "Specific Costs" below for further explanation). The regularity of the heating and/or air conditioning costs is not a factor in determining whether the household may elect to use the standard as long as the household has costs during the season(s) that correspond to the billed periods. In both examples below the household is entitled to elect the utility standard.
Example 1 - A household does not have an air conditioner but incurs a cost for butane gas used for space heaters throughout the house. The space heaters are the household's primary source of heat.
Example 2 - A household rents an apartment where all utilities are furnished except electricity and that household uses an electric powered air conditioner.
Households billed only for phone, water, sewer, garbage, or any combination of these, are not entitled to elect to use the utility standard. Households not entitled to elect to use the utility standard may claim any actual utility costs incurred separately from rent or mortgage payments.
See FSC 6625 - 6626.2 when determining entitlement to the standard for a household which receives a utility assistance check.
CURRENT STANDARDS Current Standard Deductions
|
TvDe of Deduction |
Amount |
Effective Date |
|
1. Earned Income |
20% |
5-01-86 |
|
2. Standard |
$138 |
10-01-95 |
|
3. Utility Standard |
$166 |
10-01-95 |
|
4. Homeless Household Shelter Estimate |
$143 |
10-01-95 |
|
5. Maximum Shelter |
$247 |
10-01-95 - 12-31-96 |
|
6. Maximum Dependent Care |
||
|
Per Dependent - Under Age |
||
|
Two |
$200 |
9-01-94 |
|
Per Dependent - Age Two |
||
|
and Older |
$175 |
9-01-94 |
Current SSI Maximum Payments
|
TvDe of Payment |
Amount |
Effective Date |
|
SSI Only - Individual |
$458 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSI Only - Couple |
$687 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSA/SSI - Individual |
$478 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSA/SSI - Couple |
$707 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSI Only - Individual - Reduced |
$305.34 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSI Only - Couple - Reduced |
$458 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSA/SSI - Individual - Reduced |
$325.34 |
1-01-95 |
|
SSA/SSI - Couple - Reduced |
$478 |
1-01-95 |
Current Medicare Premium - $46.10 (Part B only)
FSC APPENDIX J10/1/95
FSMO CERTIFIED MAIL LIST
The Food Stamp Online System selects allotments which will be sent certified mail. The County Office is unable to force cases into certified mail delivery. The criteria for certified mail issuance are based on statistics which identify high risk areas for mail loss as well as high dollar allotments. This appendix contains a listing of each county and the criteria in each used to select certified mail cases. (Refer to FSC 14230 for Issuance Via Certified Mail.)
|
COUNTY |
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFIED MAIL ISSUANCE |
|
01-1 Arkansas-1 |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments of $239 and above for zip code 72042. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
01-2 Arkansas-2 |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments of $239 and above for zip code 72160. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
02-1 Ashley |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
03-1 Baxter |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
04-1 Benton |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
05-1 Boone |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
06-1 Bradley |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
07-1 Calhoun |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
08-1 Carroll |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
09-1 Chicot |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
10-1 Clark |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
11-1 Clay |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
12-1 Cleburne |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
13-1 Cleveland |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
14-1 Columbia |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 71753. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
15-1 Conway |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
16-1 Craighead |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 72401. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
17-1 Crawford |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
18-1 Crittenden |
Allotments of $120 and above for households in zip code 72301. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
19-1 Cross |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
20-1 Dallas |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
21-1 Desha |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
22-1 Drew |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
23-1 Faulkner |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
24-1 Franklin |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
25-1 Fulton |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
26-1 Garland |
Maximum allotments for 1 person households and allotments or $120 and above for zip codes 71901 and 71913. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
27-1 Grant |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
28-1 Greene |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
29-1 Hempstead |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
30-1 Hot Spring |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
31-1 Howard |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
32-1 Independence |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
33-1 Izard |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
34-1 Jackson |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
35-1 Jefferson |
Allotments of $100 and above for households in zip code 71601, 71602, 71603, 71611. AIT allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
36-1 Johnson |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
36-1 Lafayette |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
38-1 Lawrence |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
39-1 Lee |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 72360. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
40-1 Lincoln |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
41-1 Little River |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
42-1 Logan-1 |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
43-1 Logan-2 |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
43-1 Lonoke |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
44-1 Madison |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
45-1 Marion |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
46-1 Miller |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 75502. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
47-1 Mississippi-1 |
Allotments of $120 and above for zip codes 72315 and 72316. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
47-2 Mississippi-2 |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 72370. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
48-1 Monroe-1 |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
48-2 Monroe-2 |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
49-1 Montgomery |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
50-1 Nevada |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
51-1 Newton |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
52-1 Ouachita |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 71701. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
53-1 Perry |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
54-1 Phillips |
Allotments of $120 and above for zip code 72390. Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments of $239 and above for zip code 72342. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
55-1 Pike |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
56-1 Poinsett |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of.$313 and up. |
|
57-1 Polk |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
58-1 Pope |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
59-1 Prairie |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
60-1 Pulaski-1 |
Allotments of $120 and above for zip codes 72202, 72204, 72206, and 72209. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
60-2 Pulaski-2 |
Allotments of $120 and above for zip codes 72114. Allotments for 2 person households and allotments of $239 and above for zip code 72117. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
61-1 Randolph |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
62-1 Saline |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households and allotments or $239 and above for zip code 72015. All allotments in county of $314 and up are also certified. |
|
63-1 Scott |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
64-1 Searcy |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
65-1 Sebastian |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
66-1 Sevier |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
67-1 Sharp |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
68-1 St. Francis |
Allotments of $100 and up. |
|
69-1 Stone |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
70-1 Union |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
71-1 Van Buren |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
72-1 Washington |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
73-1 White |
Maximum allotments for 2 person households as well as allotments of $313 and up. |
|
74-1 Woodruff |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
|
75-1 Yell |
Allotments of $314 and up. |
In each county, cases are selected for certified mail issuance if the client has been authorized two mail losses in a six month period.
Non-Categorically Eligible
Exhibit A
DIVISION OF ECONOMIC AND MEDICAL SERVICES __Food Stamo Basis of Issuance
|
REGULAR HOUSEHOLDS |
* * * |
AGED - DISABLED HOUSEHOLDS |
|||||||
|
HOUSEHOLD SIZE |
*PRETEST INCOME |
MAXIMUM NET INCOME |
MAXIMUM COUPONS |
MINIMUM **COUPONS |
165% INCOME LIMIT |
HOUSEHOLD SIZE |
MAXIMUM NET INCOME |
MAXIMUM COUPONS |
MINIMUM **COUPONS |
|
1 |
810 |
623 |
119 |
10** |
1028 |
1 |
623 |
119 |
10** |
|
2 |
1087 |
836 |
218 |
10** |
1380 |
2 |
836 |
218 |
10** |
|
3 |
1364 |
1040 |
313 |
2 |
1732 |
3 |
1040 |
313 |
2 |
|
4 |
1642 |
1263 |
397 |
18 |
2084 |
4 |
1263 |
397 |
18 |
|
5 |
1919 |
1476 |
472 |
29 |
2436 |
5 |
1476 |
472 |
29 |
|
6 |
2196 |
1690 |
566 |
59 |
2788 |
6 |
1690 |
566 |
59 |
|
7 |
2474 |
1903 |
626 |
55 |
3140 |
7 |
1903 |
626 |
55 |
|
8 |
2751 |
2116 |
716 |
81 |
3492 |
8 |
2116 |
716 |
81 |
|
9 |
3028 |
2330 |
806 |
107 |
3844 |
9 |
2330 |
806 |
107 |
|
10 |
3307 |
2544 |
896 |
132 |
4196 |
10 |
2544 |
896 |
132 |
|
11 |
3585 |
2758 |
986 |
158 |
4548 |
11 |
2758 |
986 |
158 |
|
12 |
3863 |
2972 |
1076 |
184 |
4900 |
12 |
2972 |
1076 |
184 |
|
13 |
4141 |
3186 |
1166 |
210 |
5252 |
13 |
3186 |
1166 |
210 |
|
14 |
4419 |
3400 |
1256 |
236 |
5604 |
14 |
3400 |
1256 |
236 |
|
15 |
4697 |
3614 |
1346 |
261 |
5956 |
15 |
3614 |
1346 |
261 |
|
16 |
4975 |
3828 |
1436 |
287 |
6308 |
16 |
3828 |
1436 |
287 |
|
17 |
5253 |
4042 |
1526 |
313 |
6660 |
17 |
4042 |
1526 |
313 |
|
18 |
5531 |
4256 |
1616 |
339 |
7012 |
18 |
4256 |
1616 |
339 |
|
19 |
5809 |
4470 |
1706 |
365 |
7364 |
19 |
4470 |
1706 |
365 |
|
20 |
6087 |
4684 |
1796 |
390 |
7716 |
20 |
4684 |
1796 |
390 |
|
21 |
6365 |
4898 |
1886 |
416 |
8068 |
21 |
4898 |
1886 |
416 |
|
22 |
6643 |
5112 |
1976 |
442 |
8420 |
22 |
5112 |
1976 |
442 |
|
23 |
6921 |
5326 |
2066 |
468 |
8772 |
23 |
5326 |
2066 |
468 |
|
24 |
7199 |
5540 |
2156 |
494 |
9124 |
24 |
5540 |
2156 |
494 |
|
25 |
7477 |
5754 |
2246 |
519 |
9476 |
25 |
5754 |
2246 |
519 |
|
26 |
7755 |
5968 |
2336 |
545 |
9828 |
26 |
5968 |
2336 |
545 |
|
27 |
8033 |
6182 |
2426 |
571 |
10180 |
27 |
6182 |
2426 |
571 |
|
28 |
8311 |
6396 |
2516 |
597 |
10532 |
28 |
6396 |
2516 |
597 |
|
29 |
8589 |
6610 |
2606 |
623 |
10884 |
29 |
6610 |
2606 |
623 |
|
30 |
8867 |
6824 |
2696 |
648 |
11236 |
30 |
6824 |
2696 |
648 |
REGULAR HOUSEHOLD are subject to gross income pretest and the maximum net income. AGED/DISABLED households are subject only to the maximum net income limit for their household size. **MINIMUM COUPONS - For one and two-person households the minimum monthly allotment is $10. The minimum monthly coupon allotments for non-categorically eligible households are indicated by a D on the charts. ***INCAPACITATED/AGED - LIVING WITH OTHERS - See Policy FSC 1630 number 4. See reverse side for CATEGORICALLY ELIGIBLE households (Exhibit B).
|
CATEGORICAL |
||
|
HOUSEHOLD SIZE |
MAXIMUM 'coupons |
.MINIMUM '** COUPONS J |
|
1 |
1 !19 |
10** |
|
2 |
218 |
10** |
|
3 |
313 |
1**** |
|
4 |
397 ' |
1**** |
|
5 |
472 |
1**** |
|
6 |
566 |
1 |
|
7 |
626 |
1 |
|
8 |
716 |
1 |
|
9 |
806 |
1 |
|
10 |
896 |
1 |
|
11 |
986 |
1 |
|
12 |
1076 |
1 |
|
13 |
1166 |
1 |
|
14 |
1256 |
1 |
|
15 |
1346 |
1 |
|
16 |
1436 |
1 |
|
17 |
1526 |
1 |
|
18 |
1616 |
1 |
|
19 |
1706 |
1 |
|
20 |
1796 |
1 |
|
21 |
1886 |
1 |
|
22 |
1976 |
' 1 |
|
23 |
2066 |
1 |
|
24 |
2156 |
1 |
|
25 |
2246 |
1 |
|
26 |
2336 |
1 |
|
27 |
2426 |
1- |
|
28 |
2516 |
1 |
|
29 |
2606 |
1 |
|
30 |
2696 |
1 |
**' 1 and 2 - person households that are categorically eligible are entitled to at least $10.
****CATEGORICALLY ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS - These households do not have to meet regular households net income levels. Categorically eligible households with three or more . members will be entitled to benefits of at least $2 if the Thrifty Food Plan reduced by 30% of their net income is at least $1. ($1.00 allotments are automatically rounded to $2.00 before issuance.) See Categorically Eligible FSC Policy for details.
ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES ______Food Stamp Basis of Coupon Issuance
