Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Income sources considered. Income may be received periodically or
at irregular intervals. All income, unless specifically excluded, per Oklahoma
Administrative Code (OAC)
340:40-7-12,
is considered in determining monthly gross income. Income is classified as
earned or unearned income.
(b)
Earned income. Earned income is the total money a person receives
from wages, salary, commission, or profit from activities he or she engages in
as a self-employed person or as an employee.
(1)
Wages. Wages include total
money earned for work performed as an employee including armed forces pay,
commissions, tips, piece-rate payments, longevity payments, and cash bonuses
before deductions, such as taxes, bonds, pensions, union dues, credit union
payments, or cafeteria plans are subtracted.
(A) Countable military personnel wages
include any allowance included on the earnings statement, except the Basic
Allowance for Housing (BAH).
(B)
Only the portion of the cafeteria plan the client controls, including any
excess benefit allowance payments, is counted as income.
(C) Reimbursements for expenses, such as a
uniform allowance or transportation costs, other than daily commuting, are
subtracted from the gross income.
(D) Payments made for annual leave, sick
leave, or severance pay are considered earned income during the month such
income is received, whether paid during employment or at employment
termination.
(E) Wages that are
garnished or diverted and paid to a third party are also counted as income.
(2)
S
corporations. When a household member is a shareholder in an S
corporation, he or she may receive profits from the business in three ways; as
a salary, as a profit share of the business, or both. Both types of income are
reported on the household member's personal income tax return. Salary income is
considered as earned income and profit share income is considered as unearned
income, per (c)(11) of this Section.
(3)
Self-employment.
Self-employment income is calculated based on procedures listed in (A) through
(H) of this subsection.
(A)
Persons
considered self-employed. A person is considered self-employed when:
(i) he or she declares himself or herself to
be self-employed;
(ii) there is an
employer/employee relationship and the employer does not withhold income taxes
or Federal Insurance Contributions Act, even when required to do so by law; or
(iii) the employer withholds taxes
and the person provides proof he or she files taxes as self-employed.
(B)
Records used
and income calculation. The worker uses the records described in (i)
through (iii) of this subparagraph to calculate income. When the person reports
a loss instead of a profit on the business, the worker does not deduct the loss
from other household income.
(i) When the
person filed a federal income tax return for self-employment income for the
most recent year, whether the person's income is derived from his or her own
business or from working for an employer, the worker uses the gross
self-employment income shown on the person's federal income tax return. The
worker subtracts 50 percent of the income for claimed business expenses, and
divides the income by 12 or, when the self-employment income was received for
less than the full calendar year, by the number of months the business has
existed or the number of months since the person started working for the
employer. The worker verifies the person's start date with the employer when
the person states he or she has not worked for the employer for at least 12
months.
(ii) When the person did
not file an income tax return for the most recent tax year for his or her own
business, the worker calculates self-employment income by using the person's
business records for the last 12 months or the number of months the business
has existed when less than 12 months. When the client declares business
expenses, the worker subtracts 50 percent of the gross self-employment income
to arrive at the net profit.
(iii)
When the person works for an employer, did not file a federal tax return as
self-employed, and receives earnings from an employer, the person must provide
proof of the last 12 months of income from the employer. The worker divides the
gross income by 12 or the number of months the person worked for the employer
to determine monthly income. When the person declares business expenses, the
worker subtracts 50 percent of the gross self-employment income before dividing
the income by the applicable number of months to determine monthly income.
(C)
Profit
sharing. Households who operate S corporations, general or limited
partnerships, or limited liability companies (LLC) may receive profit sharing
that is reported on the household's personal income tax return.
(i) S corporation profit sharing is
considered unearned profit-sharing income. Refer to OAC 340:40-7-11(b)(2) and
(c)(11) for information regarding S corporations.
(ii) Partnerships are unincorporated
businesses with two or more partners. When a household member is a partner in a
business, he or she is considered self-employed and not one of the business's
employees. Each partner receives a profit share from the business. When a
business is considered a:
(I) general
partnership or LLC with a member-manager, each partner's share of the business
income is shown as self-employment income on his or her federal income tax
form; or
(II) limited partnership
or other LLC member, each partner's share of the business income is shown as
self-employment income or unearned profit-sharing income on his or her federal
income tax form.
(D)
Monthly self-employment
income. Self-employment income received on a monthly basis is normally
averaged over a 12-month period. When the averaged amount does not accurately
reflect the household's actual monthly circumstances because the household
experienced a substantial increase or decrease in income, the worker calculates
the self-employment income based on anticipated earnings.
(E)
Seasonal self-employment.
Self-employment income intended to meet the household's needs for only part of
the year is averaged over the time period it is intended to cover.
(F)
Annualized self-employment
income. Self-employment income that represents a household's annual
support is averaged and annualized over a 12-month period, even when the income
is received in a short time period.
(i) When
the average annualized amount does not accurately reflect the person's actual
monthly circumstances because the person experienced a substantial increase or
decrease in income, the worker calculates the self-employment income on
anticipated earnings.
(ii) The
worker does not calculate self-employment income on the basis of prior
earnings, such as income tax returns, when an increase or decrease of business
has occurred.
(iii) When the person
received the self-employment income for less than 12 months, the worker
averages the income over the applicable number of months and projects the
monthly amount for the coming year.
(G)
Rental property income.
Rental property is considered self-employment income.
(H)
Room and board income.
Payments from roomers or boarders are considered self-employment when the
roomer or boarder pays a reasonable amount.
(4)
On-the-job training (OJT).
OJT income from regular employment is considered earned income. This includes
OJT provided, per Section 3(44) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), for persons 19 years of age and older. This does not include classroom
or institutional training or WIOA-sponsored intern assignments, even when an
hourly amount is paid for such training, per OAC
340:40-7-12(25)(G).
(5) Title I payments of Domestic Volunteer
Services Act (DVSA). Payments under Title I of the DVSA of 1973 as amended, per
Public Law 93-113, are considered earned income unless excluded, per OAC
340:40-7-12.
(6)
Children's earnings. A minor
parent's earned income is treated as adult earned income. Earnings of other
children 17 years of age and younger who are under an adult household member's
parental control are excluded, per OAC
340:40-7-12.
(7)
Sale of whole blood or
plasma. The sale of whole blood or blood plasma is considered as earned
income.
(8)
Training
allowances. Training allowances from vocational or rehabilitative
programs recognized by federal, state, or local governments, such as the work
incentive program, are considered as earned income to the extent they are not a
reimbursement. Training allowances received under WIOA are excluded.
(c)
Unearned income.
Unearned income is income a person receives for which the person does not put
forth any daily, physical labor. Types of income listed in (1) through (11) of
this subsection are considered unearned income.
(1)
Assistance payments.
Assistance payments include state means-tested programs, such as Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), including Supported Permanency benefits,
State Supplemental Payment (SSP) to the aged, blind, or disabled, and Refugee
Resettlement Program (RRP) cash assistance.
(2)
Pensions, disability, and Social
Security benefits. Annuities, pensions, retirement benefits, disability
benefits from either government or private sources, or Social Security survivor
benefits are considered unearned income.
(A)
When a minor child receiving Social Security benefits no longer lives with the
payee receiving the Social Security benefits, only the portion of the child's
Social Security benefit used to meet the minor child's needs is considered
income. This may include cash given directly to the minor child or money paid
to a third party for the minor child's room and board.
(B) The parent or caretaker or, when
appropriate, the minor child must take action to become the payee within the
12-month eligibility period, per OAC
340:40-7-9(d).
When the parent, caretaker, or minor child does not take action by renewal, the
worker counts the total Social Security benefit as income.
(3)
Supplemental Security Income
(SSI). SSI is considered unearned income.
(4)
Unemployment and workers'
compensation. Income from unemployment insurance benefits or workers'
compensation is counted as unearned income.
(5)
Child support, court-ordered or
third party paid child care, and alimony. Child support, child care
payments, and alimony payments, whether court-ordered or voluntary, made
directly to the household from non-household members are counted as unearned
income.
(A) Child care payments paid directly
to the child care provider are not considered countable child support income.
(B) When the non-custodial parent
reports he or she pays a portion of the client's family share copayment to the
child care provider, it is not considered countable child support income.
(C) When the non-custodial parent
or another third party, such as an employer, makes a payment to the child care
provider in addition to the client's copayment, it is considered an additional
copayment. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) subtracts the additional copayment
from the subsidy payment OKDHS owes to the child care provider.
(D) Any other payment made to a third party
for a household expense is considered as countable child support income when a
court order directs the payment be made to the household. Payments for medical
support are excluded.
(6)
Veterans' compensation, pensions, or military allotments.
Disability compensation, military allotments, servicemen dependent allowances,
and similar payments are considered unearned income.
(7)
Contributions. Appreciable
cash contributions recurrently received are considered unearned income except
when the contribution is not made directly to the client. To be appreciable, a
contribution must exceed $30 per calendar quarter per person.
(8)
Dividends, interest, minerals, and
royalties. Dividends, interest income, income from minerals, royalties,
and similar sources are considered unearned income. When income from these
sources is received irregularly or in varied amounts, it is averaged over 12
months. Income from royalties is treated as unearned, self-employment income,
subject to (b)(2) of this Section.
(9)
Lump sum payments. Recurring
lump sum payments, including income from earnings, are averaged over the period
they are intended to cover.
(10)
Irregular income. Income received irregularly that exceeds $30 per
calendar quarter is considered income unless it is from an excluded income
source specifically mentioned at OAC
340:40-7-12.
Countable irregular income is averaged over 12 months.
(11)
Profit sharing. When a
household member is a shareholder in an S corporation or a partner in a limited
partnership or an LLC, he or she may receive a distribution or profit share of
the business. This is considered as unearned income.
Added at 17 Ok Reg 25, eff 10-1-99 (emergency); Added at
17 Ok Reg 1244, eff 6-1-00 ; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 3583, eff 10-1-00 (emergency)
; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 1236, eff 5-11-01 ; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1757, eff
6-14-02 ; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 530, eff 1-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 20 Ok
Reg 2048, eff 7-1-03 ; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2800, eff 8-1-03 (emergency);
Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2916, eff 8-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1377,
eff 7-1-04 ; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1364, eff 9-1-04 ; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1872,
eff 7-1-06 ; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 2184, eff 7-1-07 ; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 21,
eff 10-1-09 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1220, eff 6-1-10 ; Amended at 28
Ok Reg 831, eff 6-1-11 ; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 787, eff 7-1-12 ; Amended at 30
Ok Reg 1352, eff 7-1-13