Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Human Services
Chapter 675 - ASSETS
Subchapter 4 - ASSETS TO BE EXEMPTED
Section 17-675-29 - Special provisions for the food stamp program - other excluded assets

(1) Household goods, such as appliances, furniture, and televisions;

(2) Personal effects, such as clothes, shoes, and jewelry not intended for investments;

(3) The cash value of life insurance policies;

(4) The cash value of pension plans or funds, except for Keogh plans which involve no contractual relationship with individuals who are not household members;

(5) Property which annually produces income consistent with its fair market value, even if only used on a seasonal basis;

(6) Property such as farm land and rental homes, except certain vacation homes, which is essential to the employment or the self-employment of a household member. Property essential to the self-employment of a household member engaged in farming shall continue to be excluded for one year from the date the household member stopped farming;

(7) Rental homes which are used by households for vacation purposes at some time during the year which annually produces income consistent with the home's fair market value. The equity value of a vacation home used part of the year by the household which does not produce income consistent with the home's fair market value shall be counted as a resource;

(8) Work related equipment, such as the tools of a tradesperson or the machinery of a farmer, which is essential to the employment or self-employment of a household member;

(9) Installment contracts or an agreement of sale for the sale of land or buildings if the contract or agreement is producing income consistent with its market value. The value of the property sold under contract or held as security in exchange for a purchase price consistent with the fair market value of that property is also excluded;

(10) Non-liquid assets against which a lien has been placed as a result of taking out a business loan and the household is prohibited by the security or lien agreement with the lien holder from selling the asset;

(11) Property, real or personal, to the extent that it is directly related to the maintenance or use of a vehicle excluded in subchapter 7;

(12) Any governmental payments which are designated for the restoration of a home damaged in a disaster, if the household is subject to a legal sanction if the funds are not used as intended. For example, payments include those made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Individual and Family Grant Program, or disaster loans or grants made by the Small Business Administration;

(13) Assets, such as those of students or self-employed persons, which have been prorated and counted as income;

(14) Monthly income including, but not limited to, learnings, SSI, or retirement, survivors, and disability insurance (RSDI) payments directly assigned to the banks. The income received for that month shall be excluded in determining the resource amount for that month;

(15) Indian lands held jointly with the tribe, or land that can be sold only with the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs;

(16) Any benefits received in the form of earned income tax credits (EITC) shall be considered as excluded assets in the first two months of the household's receipt of the EITC. The first two months are defined as the month of receipt and the following month. Any remaining balance that is still available to the household after these two months shall be considered countable assets to the household. Effective September 1, 1994, the EITC shall be considered as excluded assets for a period of twelve months from the month of receipt if the individual receiving the EITC is participating in the food stamp program when the EITC is received and participates continuously during the twelve month period. Breaks of one month or less due to administrative reasons, such as delayed recertification, shall not be considered as nonparticipation in determining the twelve month exclusion; (17) The assets of any household member who receives supplemental security income (SSI) benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, aid to the aged, blind or disabled under Title I, X, XIV, or XVI of the Social Security Act, or benefits under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (AFDC benefits); and

(18) Retirement funds in a plan, contract, or account, described in sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, 457(b), and 501(c)(18) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and the value of funds in a Federal Thrift Savings Plan count as provided in section 8439 of title 5, United States Code;

(19) Any successor retirement programs or accounts that are exempt from tax under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

(20) The value of any funds in a qualified tuition program described in section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or in a Coverdell education savings account under section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.