New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 248 - MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY - MEDICARE DRUG COVERAGE (CATEGORY 048)
Part 500 - INCOME AND RESOURCE STANDARDS
Section 8.248.500.17 - UNEARNED INCOME
Universal Citation: 8 NM Admin Code 8.248.500.17
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
Unearned income is all income that is not earned income. Unearned income is counted at the earliest of the following points: when received, when credited to the recipient, or when set aside for the recipient's use.
A. Unearned income includes, but is not limited to:
(1) social
security;
(2) railroad
retirement;
(3) veterans
benefits;
(4) temporary assistance
for needy families (TANF);
(5)
pensions;
(6) annuities;
(7) alimony and support payments;
(8) rents;
(9) workmen's compensation;
(10) in-kind support and
maintenance;
(11) death
benefits;
(12) royalties not
counted as earned income; and
(13)
dividends and interest not otherwise excluded under SSI rules.
B. Unearned income disregards:
(1) In-kind support and maintenance is any
food and shelter that is given to the applicant/spouse or received because
someone else pays for it. This includes room, rent, mortgage payments, real
property taxes, heating fuel, gas, electricity, water, sewage, and garbage
collection services. The maximum amount of income countable for in-kind support
and maintenance is limited to one third of the monthly SSI benefit rate for an
individual or a couple, if the applicant's spouse is counted, or the current
market value of the support, whichever is lower.
(2) When benefits are reduced for
overpayments or garnishments, count the gross benefit before
deductions.
(3) If part of a
payment reflects expenses the applicant/spouse incurred in getting the payment,
such as legal fees, damages, or medical expenses, incurred because of an
accident, reduce the payment by the amount of the expenses. Do not reduce the
payment by the amount of personal income taxes owed on the payment.
(4) Subtract from veterans benefits any
amount included in the payment for a dependent. If the applicant/spouse is the
dependent, count the portion of the benefit attributable to the dependent if
they reside with the veteran or receive their own separate payment from the
department of veteran affairs.
(5)
Subtract from death benefits the expenses of the deceased person's last illness
and death paid by the recipient.
C. Unearned income exclusions: The following types of unearned income are not considered for purposes of determining LIS eligibility:
(1) SSI benefits;
(2) any public agency's refund of taxes on
real property or food;
(3)
need-based assistance wholly funded by a state or one of its subdivisions,
including state supplementation of SSI benefits but not a federal/state grant
program such as TANF;
(4) any
portion of a grant, scholarship, fellowship, or gift used for paying tuition,
fees, or other educational expenses; any portion set aside or used for food,
clothing or shelter is countable;
(5) food which the applicant or their spouse
raise if it is consumed by them or their household;
(6) assistance received under the Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and assistance provided under any federal
statute because of a catastrophe which the president of the United States
declares to be a major disaster;
(7) Alaska longevity bonus payments made to
an individual who is a resident of Alaska and who, prior to October 1, 1985,
met the 25-year residency requirement for receipt of such payments in effect
prior to January 1, 1983, and was eligible for SSI;
(8) payments for providing foster care to a
child who was placed in the applicant's home by a public or private nonprofit
child placement or child care agency;
(9) any interest earned on excluded burial
funds and any appreciation in the value of an excluded burial arrangement which
are left to accumulate and become part of the separate burial fund;
(10) home energy assistance (any assistance
related to meeting the costs of heating or cooling a home);
(11) one-third of support payments made to or
for the applicant by an absent parent if the applicant is a child;
(12) the first $20 of any unearned income in
a month other than income in the form of in-kind support and maintenance
received in the household of another and income based on need;
(13) housing assistance-any assistance paid
with respect to a dwelling unit under:
(a) the
United States Housing Act of 1937;
(b) the National Housing Act;
(c) Section 101 of the Housing and Urban
Development Act of 1965;
(d) Title
V of the Housing Act of 1949; or
(e) Section 202(h) of the Housing Act of
1959;
(14) any interest
accrued on and left to accumulate as part of the value of an excluded burial
space purchase agreement;
(15) gift
of a domestic travel ticket received by the applicant or their spouse and not
converted to cash;
(16) payments
made to the applicant or their spouse from a fund established by the state to
aid victims of crime;
(17)
relocation assistance provided to the applicant or their spouse by the state or
local government that is comparable to relocation assistance provided under
title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition
Policies Act of 1970;
(18) hostile
fire pay received from one of the uniformed services;
(19) the first $60 of unearned income
received per calendar quarter that is received too irregularly or infrequently
to be counted as income; or
(20)
any dividends or interest earned on countable resources, any dividends or
interest earned on resources excluded under a federal statute other than the
Social Security Act, and any dividends or interest excluded under the Social
Security Protection Act of 2004.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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