Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Anticipating income: In determining a household's eligibility and SNAP benefit
amount ISD shall use income already received by the household during the
certification period and any income the household and ISD are reasonably
certain shall be received during the remainder of the certification period.
(1) If the amount of income or date of
receipt is uncertain, that portion of the household's income that is uncertain
shall not be counted.
(2) If the
exact amount of the income is not known, that portion of the income which can
be anticipated with reasonable certainty shall be considered income.
(3) In cases where the receipt of income is
reasonably certain but the monthly amount may fluctuate, a household may choose
to average its income.
B. Income received during any past 30-day
consecutive period that includes 30 days prior to the date of application
through the date of timely disposition shall be used as an indicator of the
income that is and shall be available to the household during the certification
period.
(1) Past income is not used as an
indicator of income anticipated for the certification period if changes in
income have occurred or can be anticipated during the certification
period.
(2) If income fluctuates to
the extent that a single four-week period does not provide an accurate
indication of anticipated income, a longer period of past time can be used if
it gives a more accurate indication of anticipated fluctuations in
income.
(3) Income already received
is not used and verification is obtained from the income source, if the
household and ISD decide that income already received by the household is not
indicative of income expected to be received in future months.
C. Simplified reporting: A
household filing an interim report form is subject to the income methodology
specified at
8.139.500.9 NMAC.
D. Income anticipated during the
certification period shall be counted only in the month it is expected to be
received, unless the income is averaged.
E. Use of conversion factors: Whenever a full
month's income is anticipated and is received on a weekly or biweekly basis,
the income shall be converted to monthly amount as follows:
(1) income received on a weekly basis is
averaged and multiplied by four;
(2) income received on a biweekly basis is
averaged and multiplied by two;
(3)
averaged income shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar prior to
application of the conversion factor; amounts resulting in $0.50 or more are
rounded up; amounts resulting in $0.49 or lower are rounded down.
F. Held wages:
(1) Wages withheld at the request of an
employee shall be considered income to a household in the month the wages would
otherwise have been paid by the employer.
(2) Wages withheld by the employer as a
general practice, even in violation of the law, shall not be counted as income
to a household, unless the household anticipates that it will ask for and
receive an advance.
(3) If a
household anticipates asking for and receiving income from wages that were
previously withheld by the employer as a general practice, the income shall be
counted to determine eligibility.
G. Earned income:
(1) Earned income shall be anticipated based
on income received when the following criteria are met:
(a) the applicant and ISD are reasonably
certain the income amounts received are indicative of future income and
expected to continue during the certification period; and
(b) the anticipated income is based on income
received from any consecutive past 30-day period that includes 30 days prior to
the date of application through the date of timely disposition of the
application.
(2) When
the applicant and ISD determine that the income received is not indicative of
future income that will be received during the certification period, a longer
period of time may be used if it will provide a more accurate indicator of
anticipated income.
(3) Provided
the applicant and ISD are reasonably certain the income amounts are indicative
of future income, the anticipated income shall be used for the month of
application and the remaining months of the certification period.
H. Unearned income:
(1) Unearned income shall be anticipated
based on income received when the following criteria are met:
(a) the applicant and ISD are reasonably
certain the income amounts received are indicative of future income and
expected to continue during the certification; and
(b) the anticipated income is based on income
received from any consecutive past 30-day period that includes 30 days prior to
the date of application through the date of timely disposition of the
application.
(2) When
the applicant and ISD determine that the income received is not indicative of
future income that will be received during the certification period, a longer
period of time may be used if it will provide a more accurate indicator of
anticipated income.
(3) Provided
the applicant and ISD are reasonably certain the income amounts are indicative
of future income, the anticipated income shall be used for the month of
application and the remaining months of the certification period.
(4) Households receiving state or federal
assistance payments, such as Title IV-A, GA, SSI or social security payments on
a recurring monthly basis are not considered to have varied monthly income from
these sources simply because mailing cycles may cause two payments to be
received in one month.
I. Income received more frequently than
weekly: The amount of monthly gross income paid more frequently than weekly
(i.e., daily) is determined by adding all the income received during the past
four weeks. The gross income amount is used to anticipate income in the
application month and the remainder of the certification period. Conversion
factors shall not be applied to this income.
J. Income received less frequently than
monthly: The amount of monthly gross income paid less frequently than monthly
is determined by dividing the total income by the number of months it is
intended to cover. ISD shall carefully explain to the household how the monthly
income was computed and what changes might result in a reportable change.
Documentation shall be filed in the case record to establish clearly how the
anticipated income was computed.
K.
Use of conversion factors: Whenever a full month's income is anticipated but is
received on a weekly or biweekly basis, the income shall be converted to
monthly amount as follows:
(1) income received
on a weekly basis is averaged and multiplied by four;
(2) income received on a biweekly basis is
averaged and multiplied by two;
(3)
averaged income shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar prior to
application of the conversion factor; amounts resulting in $0.50 or more are
rounded up; amounts resulting in $0.49 or lower are rounded down.
L. Known changes in income for
future months at application:
(1) At
application or recertification, it shall be determined if any factors affecting
income will change in future months. Such factors include a new income source,
termination of income, or increases or decreases in income.
(2) Income is considered only when the amount
of the income and the date it will be received are reasonably
certain.
(3) In the event that a
change is known for future months, benefits are computed by taking into account
the change in income.
M.
Averaging income over the certification period:
(1) All households may choose to have their
income averaged. Income is usually not averaged for destitute households
because averaging would result in assigning to the month of application income
from future periods which is not available for its current food
needs.
(2) To average income, ISD
uses a household's anticipation of income fluctuations over the certification
period. The number of months used to arrive at the average income need not be
the same as the number of months in the certification period.
(3) Contract income: Households which, by
contract, derive their annual income in a period of less than one year shall
have that income averaged over a 12-month period, provided that the income is
not received on an hourly or piecework basis.
(a) Contract income includes income for
school employees, farmers, self-employed households, and individuals who
receive annual payments from the sale of real estate.
(b) These procedures do not include migrant
or seasonal farm worker households.
(4) Educational monies: Households receiving
scholarships, deferred educational loans, or other educational grants shall
have such income, after exclusions, averaged over the period for which it is
provided. All months which the income is intended to cover shall be used to
average income, even if the income is received during the certification period.
If the period has elapsed completely, the educational monies shall not be
considered income.
N.
Using exact income: Exact income, rather than averaged income, shall be used
if:
(1) the household has chosen not to
average income;
(2) income is from
a source terminated in the application month;
(3) employment has just begun in the
application month and the income represents only a partial month;
(4) in the month of application, the
household qualifies for expedited service or is considered a destitute, migrant
or seasonal farm worker household; or
(5) income is received more frequently than
weekly, (i.e., daily).
