Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Income averaging:
(1)
Optional income averaging: Income received by a household may be
averaged at the household's option (See
8.139.500.10 NMAC) except as
specified below.
(2)
Mandatory income averaging: Averaging is mandatory for income
received under the following circumstances:
(a) contract or self/employment
income;
(b) educational
monies.
B.
Rounding off: Calculations shall be rounded to the nearest dollar.
Figures between one cent and forty/nine cents are rounded down; figures between
50 cents and 99 cents are rounded up. When adding gross amounts received
weekly, biweekly or semi/monthly to arrive at the monthly income, cents are
retained until the total monthly amount is determined; the total monthly amount
is rounded as the final step. Cents resulting from the computation of the
twenty percent earned income deduction are rounded before being subtracted from
earned income. Cents are retained in the computation of shelter and medical
expenses until the final step.
C.
Ineligible or disqualified household members: An ineligible or
disqualified household member shall not be included when:
(1) determining the maximum food stamp
benefit amount for the household's size;
(2) comparing the household's monthly income
with the income eligibility standards; or
(3) comparing the household's resources with
the resource eligibility limits.
(4)
Intentional program violation (IPV)
or work disqualified:(a) The income
and resources of individuals disqualified for IPV or noncompliance with E&T
work requirements shall be counted in their entirety.
(b) A household's allowable deductions for
earned income, medical expenses, dependent care expenses, excess shelter
expenses, and the standard deduction continue to apply to the remaining
household members.
(c) HSD shall
make sure that a household's food stamp benefit amount is not increased as a
result of the disqualification of one or more members.
(5)
Ineligible alien or SSN
disqualified:(a)
Resources: Resources of ineligible aliens, or individuals
disqualified for failure or refusal to apply for or provide a social security
number, shall be counted in their entirety.
(b)
Income and deductions of ineligible
aliens:(i) Income belonging to the
ineligible alien shall be counted on a pro rata basis to remaining eligible
household members. The prorated share is calculated by first subtracting any
allowable exclusions from the ineligible alien's income, then dividing the
income evenly by all household members, including the excluded member(s). The
result is multiplied by the number of eligible household members to determine
countable income.
(ii) The twenty
percent earned income deduction is applied to the countable income attributed
to the remaining eligible household members.
(iii) The allowable expense(s) either billed
to or paid by the ineligible alien shall be allowed in its entirety as a
household expense.
(c)
Income and deductions for ABAWD or SSN disqualified individuals:
(i) Income belonging to an individual
disqualified because of ABAWD status or failure or refusal to provide a social
security number shall be counted on a pro rata basis to remaining eligible
household members. The prorated share is calculated by first subtracting any
allowable exclusions from the disqualified member's income, then dividing the
income evenly by all household members, including the excluded member(s). The
result is multiplied by the number of eligible household members to determine
countable income.
(ii) The twenty
percent earned income deduction is applied to the countable income attributed
to the remaining household members.
(iii) The portion an allowable expense either
paid by or billed to a disqualified individual(s) is divided evenly among all
household members, including the disqualified individual(s). All but the
disqualified individual's share is counted as a deductible expense for the
remaining household members.
(6)
Reduction/termination during
certification period: When an individual is excluded or disqualified
during the certification period, the caseworker shall determine the eligibility
of the remaining household members based on information already in the case
record.
(7)
Excluded for IPV
disqualification: If a household's benefits are reduced or terminated
during the certification period because one of its members was disqualified for
an IPV, the caseworker shall notify the remaining household members of changes
in eligibility and food stamp benefit amount at the same time the excluded
member is notified of the disqualification. The household is not entitled to an
adverse action notice but may request a fair hearing to contest the reduction
or termination of benefits, unless it has already had a fair hearing on the
amount of the claim as a result of consolidation of the administrative
disqualification hearing with the fair hearing.
(8)
Excluded for other causes:
If a household's benefits are reduced or terminated during the certification
period because one or more of its members is an ineligible alien, is
disqualified for failure to comply with E&T work requirements, disqualified
for failing or refusing to apply for or provide a social security number, the
caseworker shall issue an adverse action notice informing the household of the
individual's ineligibility, the reason for the ineligibility, the eligibility
and benefit amount of the remaining member(s), and the actions the household
must take to end the disqualification.
D.
Non-household members:
(1)
Income and resources: The
income and resources of non-household members, such as certain students,
roomers, and boarders, are not considered available. Cash payments from a
non-household member to the household shall be counted as income (Subsection E
of 8.139.520.8 NMAC). Vendor payments
(Subsection D of
8.139.520.9 NMAC) shall be excluded
as income.
(2)
Deductible
expenses: If a household shares deductible expenses with a non-household
member, only the amount actually paid or contributed by the household is
deductible as an expense. If the payments or contributions cannot be
differentiated, the expenses shall be divided evenly among individuals actually
paying or contributing to the expense; only the household's pro rata share is
deducted.
(3)
Combined income
of household/non-household members: When the earned income of one or
more household members and the earned income of a non-household member are
combined as one wage, the income for the household shall be determined as
follows.
(a) If the household's share can be
identified, it is counted as earned income.
(b) If the household's share cannot be
identified, the caseworker shall divide the earned income among all those whom
it was intended to cover and count a prorated share to the household.
E.
Self/employed
household: The following guidelines shall be used to determine
eligibility and food stamp benefit amount for self/employed households,
including those households that own or operate commercial boarding houses.
(1)
Averaging self/employment
income:(a)
Annualizing:
(i) Households which by contract or
self/employment derive their annual income in a period of time shorter than one
year shall have income averaged over a 12 month period, provided that the
income from the contract is not received on an hourly or piecework
basis.
(ii) Annualizing shall not
apply to seasonal or migrant farm workers.
(iii) Self/employment income representing a
household's annual income shall be averaged over a 12 month period, even if the
income is received within only a short period of time.
(iv) The self/employment income shall be
annualized even if the household receives income from other sources in addition
to self/employment.
(v)
Self/employed households include, but are not limited to, school employees,
sharecroppers, and farmers. Tenured teachers who may not actually have a signed
contract shall have their income considered on this basis.
(vi) For self/employed households that
receive their annual income in a short period of time, an initial certification
period is assigned to bring the household into the annual cycle.
(vii) Households which receive their annual
income from self/employment and have no other source of income may be certified
for up to 12 months.
(b)
Anticipated income:(i) If the
average annualized amount or self/employment income received on a monthly basis
does not accurately reflect a household's actual circumstances because it has
experienced a substantial increase or decrease in business, self/employment
income shall be calculated on anticipated earnings.
(ii) Income shall not be calculated based on
previous income (e.g., income tax returns) if a self/employed household has
experienced a substantial increase or decrease in business.
(c)
Projected income:
If a household's self/employment enterprise has been in existence for less than
one year, the income from self/employment shall be averaged over the period of
time the business has been in operation. The resulting monthly amount shall be
projected for the coming year. If the business has been in operation for such a
short time that there is insufficient information to make a reasonable
projection, the household shall be certified for short periods of time until
the business has been in operation long enough to make a longer
projection.
(d)
Seasonal
income: Self/employment income which is intended to meet the household's
needs for only part of the year shall be averaged over the period of time the
income is intended to cover.
(2)
Determining monthly self/employment
income:(a) For the period of time over
which self/employment income is averaged, the caseworker shall add all
self/employment income, including capital gains, exclude the cost of producing
the self/employment income, and divide the self/employment income by the number
of months over which the income shall be averaged.
(b) A capital gain is defined as proceeds
from the sale of capital goods or equipment. Capital gains are counted in full
as income to determine self/employment income.
(c) For households with self/employment
income calculated on an anticipated basis, the caseworker shall add any capital
gains the household anticipates receiving in the next 12 months, beginning with
the date the application is filed. The resulting amount is counted in
successive certification periods during the 12 months, except that a new
average monthly amount is calculated if the anticipated amount of capital gains
changes.
(3)
Determining net self/employment income:
(a) A household's total self/employment
income, minus the allowable costs of producing the income, shall be counted as
gross income to the household. The gross self/employment income shall be added
to any other earned income.
(b) The
total monthly gross earned income, after allowing the twenty percent earned
income deduction, is added to all monthly unearned income to determine income
eligibility.
(c) For households
anticipating income, the cost of producing income is calculated by anticipating
allowable costs of producing the self/employment income.
(d) Expenses exceeding self/employment income
shall not be deducted from other income.
(e) If a self/employment enterprise is a
farming or ranching operation, expenses exceeding self/employment income may be
offset against any other countable household income, provided that the farming
or ranching operation grosses or is anticipated to gross at least $1,000
annually.
(4)
Allowable costs: Allowable costs of producing self/employment
income include, but are not limited to:
(a)
identifiable costs of labor, stock, raw material, seed and
fertilizer.
(b) payments on the
principal of the purchase price of income/producing real estate and capital
assets, equipment, machinery, and other durable goods;
(c) interest paid to purchase
income/producing property;
(d)
insurance premiums, and taxes paid on income/producing property;
(e) transportation costs necessary to produce
self employment income, such as farmers carrying grain to elevators, or trips
to obtain needed supplies, are allowable costs of doing business; costs are
allowed at twenty-five cents per mile;
(f) payment of gross receipts
taxes.
(5)
Costs
not allowed: In determining net self/employment income, the following
shall not be allowed as a cost of doing business:
(a) net losses from previous
periods;
(b) federal, state, and
local personal income taxes, money set aside for retirement purposes, and other
work/related personal expenses (such as transportation to and from work), since
these expenses are accounted for by the twenty percent earned income deduction
(Paragraph (3) of Subsection E of
8.139.520.10 NMAC);
(c) charitable contributions and
entertainment; and
(d)
depreciation.
F.
Boarders:
(1) Individuals paying a reasonable amount
for room and board shall be excluded from a household when determining the
household's eligibility and food stamp benefit amount.
(2) Payments from a boarder shall be counted
as self/employment income.
(3)
Household income eligibility is determined as follows.
(a) Income from a boarder includes all direct
payments to the household for room and meals, including contributions for
shelter expenses.
(b) Shelter
expenses paid by a boarder directly to someone outside the household shall not
be counted as income. Such payments are considered vendor payments and are not
used to determine reasonable compensation (Paragraph (4) of Subsection C of
8.139.400.11 NMAC), or as a shelter
expense for the household.
(4) After determining the income received
from a boarder, the caseworker shall exclude the portion of the boarder payment
which is a cost of doing business. The cost of doing business is equal to
either of the following, provided that the amount allowed as a cost of doing
business does not exceed the payment the household receives from the boarder
for lodging and meals:
(a) the amount of the
maximum food stamp allotment for a household size that is equal to the number
of boarders (Subsection E of
8.139.500.8 NMAC); or
(b) the actual documented cost of providing
room and meals if the actual cost exceeds the appropriate maximum food stamp
allotment; if actual costs are used, only separate and identifiable costs of
providing room and meals to boarders are excluded.