Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
There are seven deductions from income. No other deductions are
allowed.
(A)
Standard
Deduction. The standard deduction varies according to household
size. No household receives more than the standard deduction for a household
size of six. The standard deductions are posted at
http://www.mass.gov/dta. Paper
copies are available upon request.
(B)
Earned Income
Deduction. 20% of gross monthly earned income is allowed as a
deduction. No additional deductions from earned income shall be made. Excluded
earned income and any portion of income earned under a wage supplementation or
support program attributable to public assistance shall not be allowed as a
deduction.
This deduction shall not be allowed in determining an
overissuance if the household fails to report earned income in a timely manner
and the failure to report the income is the basis for the claim.
(C)
Excess Medical
Deduction. A household that includes an elderly or disabled
individual, as defined in
106 CMR
361.210: Elderly or Disabled
Individuals, is allowed a medical deduction when the elderly or
disabled individual incurs monthly unreimbursed medical expenses above $35 a
month. No other household members are eligible for this deduction, unless they
are also elderly or disabled. Special diets are not an allowable medical
expense. The amount of the allowable deduction is based on the amount verified,
in accordance with
106
CMR 364.450(A). The
following deductions are allowed:
|
Medical Expense Verified |
Amount of Deduction |
|
$35/month or under |
$0 |
|
Over $35.00 to $190/month |
$155 |
|
Medical Expense Verified |
Amount of Deduction |
|
Over $190/month |
Actual amount over $35 |
Allowable medical expenses include:
(1) Medical and dental care, including
psychotherapy and rehabilitation services provided by a licensed practitioner
or other qualified health professional;
(2) Hospitalization (inpatient or outpatient)
or nursing home care in a State-recognized facility and nursing care. Payments
made by the household for someone who was a SNAP household member immediately
before entering a hospital or nursing home are an allowable deduction under 106
CMR 364.400(C);
(3)
Over-the-counter medical medication, including insulin, when approved by a
licensed practitioner or other qualified health professional; and the cost of
medical supplies, sickroom equipment (including rental) or other prescribed
equipment;
(4) The cost of
prescription drugs prescribed by a licensed practitioner, including the cost of
postage and delivery for mail order medications and/or medical
supplies;
(5) Health and
hospitalization insurance policy premiums. The premiums for health and accident
policies payable in lump sum settlements for death or dismemberment and the
premiums for income maintenance policies such as those that continue mortgage
and loan payments while the beneficiary is disabled are not
deductible;
(6) Medicare premiums
and co-payments;
(7) Any
cost-sharing or spend-down expenses incurred by MassHealth
recipients;
(8) Dental services,
dentures, dental adhesives, hearing aids and batteries, and
prosthetics;
(9) Securing and
maintaining a Seeing Eye dog, hearing dog or service animal, including the cost
of food and veterinarian bills;
(10) Eye glasses, contact lenses, lens
supplies and other vision aids or treatments prescribed by a physician skilled
in eye disease or by an optometrist;
(11) Reasonable cost of public or private
transportation and lodging to obtain medical treatment, medications, medical
supplies or services. The allowable rate for transportation shall be the
federal mileage reimbursement rate; and
(12) Maintaining an attendant, homemaker,
home health aide, housekeeper or child care services which are necessary due to
age, infirmity, or illness. When these services can qualify as either a medical
or a dependent care deduction, the expense is treated as a medical deduction.
In addition to the actual expense of these services, an amount equal to a
one-person SNAP benefit allotment shall be deducted if the household furnishes
a majority of meals to the individual providing the service. The allotment for
this meal-related deduction is that in effect at the time the household is
given the deduction. If the allotment amount changes during a certification
period, the total deduction amount must be updated to reflect the new allotment
amount no later than the household's next scheduled recertification.
(D)
Dependent Care
Deduction. The actual costs of the care of a child or other
dependent necessary for a household member to search for, accept or continue
employment, comply with the SNAP Employment & Training Program requirements
found at
106 CMR
362.310: SNAP Employment and Training
Program, or to attend training or education preparatory to employment
are deductible.
(E)
Child Support Deduction. Legally obligated child
support payments paid by a household member to or for a non-household member,
which are verified in accordance with
106 CMR
361.610(J): Legal
Obligation and Actual Child Support Payments, are allowed as a
deduction. Households that fail or refuse to obtain necessary verification of
their legal obligation or of their child support payments shall have their
eligibility and benefit level determined without consideration of this
deduction.
Legally obligated child support payments paid by a household
member to a third party (e.g., a landlord or utility company)
on behalf of the non-household member in accordance with the support order
shall be included as part of the child support deduction. Payments that are
made by the household to obtain health insurance for their children shall also
be included as part of the child support deduction.
The Department shall allow a deduction for amounts paid toward
arrearages, even for households without a payment history.
Alimony payments made to or for a non-household member shall
not be included in the child support deduction.
(F)
Homeless Shelter/Utility
Deduction.
(1) Households in
which all members are homeless and reside in a homeless facility, as defined by
106 CMR 360.030, that
incur or reasonably expect to incur any shelter and/or utility expenses during
a month shall be eligible for the homeless shelter/utility deduction. The
homeless shelter/utility deduction amount is posted at
www.mass.gov/dta. This amount is
indexed to inflation and will be adjusted by the United States Department of
Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS).
(2) Households in which all members are
homeless and reside in the home of another that incur or reasonably expect to
incur any shelter and/or utility expenses during a month shall also be eligible
for the homeless shelter/utility deduction. Households that receive this
deduction are not entitled to either the shelter deduction provided at 106 CMR
364.400(G) or the Standard Utility Allowance provided at 106 CMR 364.400(G)(2)
since the homeless shelter/utility deduction already includes both shelter and
utility costs.
(3) Households in
which all members are homeless and reside in the home of another in accordance
with
106 CMR 360.030 that
verify shelter and/or utility expenses greater than the homeless
shelter/utility deduction shall be eligible for both the shelter deduction and
the applicable Standard Utility Allowance.
(G)
Shelter
Deduction. A deduction is allowed for monthly shelter expenses and
utility costs in excess of 50% of the household's income after all the above
deductions have been allowed. This shelter deduction amount is posted at
www.mass.gov/dta. Paper copies are
available upon request. This limit on the shelter deduction amount does not
apply if the household contains a member who is elderly or disabled in
accordance with
106 CMR
361.210: Elderly or Disabled
Individuals.
(1)
Shelter
Expenses.
(a) Continuing charges
for the shelter occupied by the household, including rent and mortgage
payments, or other continuing charges leading to the ownership of shelter, such
as loan repayments for the purchase of a mobile home, including interest on
such payments, or condominium fees;
(b) Property taxes, state and local
assessments, and insurance on the structure itself, but not the separate
expense of insuring furniture or personal belongings;
(c) Shelter expenses as described in 106 CMR
364.400(G)(1)(a) and (b) for a home not actually occupied by the household
because of employment or training away from home, illness, or abandonment of
the home due to natural disaster or casualty loss.
Shelter expenses for a vacated home shall be included in the
shelter deduction if the household intends to return to the home, the current
occupants of the home, if any, are not claiming a shelter deduction for SNAP
purposes, and the home is not leased or rented during the absence of the
household;
(d) One-time
deposits shall not be included as shelter costs; and
(e) Charges for repair of a home
substantially damaged in a natural disaster such as a fire or flood are allowed
as a shelter deduction unless the repair charge has been, or will be reimbursed
by private or public relief agencies, insurance companies or any other
source.
(2)
Utility Costs. A household that incurs utility costs
separately and apart from its rent or mortgage is eligible for a utility
allowance. A standard utility allowance (SUA) will be used in calculating the
Shelter Deduction for the household, even in the event that actual expenses
exceed the mandated amount. The applicable SUA will be determined based on the
type of utility costs incurred by the household. There are three SUAs. The SUA
amounts are listed at
106 CMR
364.945.
Only one of the following SUAs applies to any household based
on the type of utility costs incurred by the household as described in 106 CMR
364.400(G)(2)(a) through (c):
(a)
Heating/Cooling Standard Utility Allowance. The
heating/cooling standard utility allowance applies to a household that incurs
heating or cooling costs separate and apart from its rent or mortgage and that
is billed for heating or cooling costs on a regular basis. The Heating/Cooling
SUA includes the following expenses: heating; cooling; cooking fuel;
electricity; water; sewerage; garbage and trash collection; the basic fee for
one telephone and tax; and the initial utility installation fee.
A household living in a public housing unit that has central
meters and that charges the household for excess heating or cooling costs shall
be permitted to use this allowance.
A household that incurs electricity costs to power an electric
blower that distributes heat or cooling from an oil or gas furnace shall not be
permitted to use this allowance.
Recipients of energy assistance payments made under the LIHEAA
of 1981 are entitled to use the heating/cooling SUA because they are deemed to
have incurred out-of-pocket energy expenses.
A household that receives indirect energy assistance payments,
made under a program other than LIHEAA, but continues to incur out-of-pocket
heating expenses during any month covered by the certification period, is still
eligible to use the heating standard utility allowance. A household that
receives energy assistance payments (other than LIHEAA) shall have its energy
assistance payments prorated over the entire heating season that the payments
are intended to cover to determine whether the household incurs any
out-of-pocket heating expenses;
(b)
Nonheating Standard Utility
Allowance. The Nonheating Standard Utility Allowance applies to a
household that does not qualify for the the Heating/Cooling SUA because it
incurs no heating or cooling costs separate from its rent or mortgage. The
Nonheating SUA includes the following expenses: cooking fuel; electricity;
water; sewerage; garbage and trash collection; the basic fee for one telephone
and tax; and the initial utility installation fee, if applicable; or
(c)
Telephone Standard Utility
Allowance. The Telephone Standard Utility Allowance applies to a
household that incurs a telephone cost but none of the following costs separate
from its rent or mortgage: heating or cooling; cooking fuel; electricity;
water; sewerage; and garbage and trash collection. The telephone SUA includes
the basic fee for one telephone and tax, and the initial utility installation
fee, if applicable.
(3)
Treatment of the Standard Utility Allowance in Shared Living
Situations. If a household lives with another SNAP household or
households, each household that contributes to utility costs shall be entitled
to the full applicable SUA.
(4)
Standard Utility Allowance for Unoccupied Homes.
Households that also incur utility expenses for a home that is unoccupied
because of employment or training away from home, illness or abandonment caused
by a natural disaster or casualty loss, will only be allowed one standard
utility allowance, whichever is highest.
