16 Del. Admin. Code § 20000-20210
Interest income may be excluded if it meets the definition and limits of infrequent or irregular income. It is included in patient pay amount calculation.
Rental income is paid as compensation for the use of real or personal property. Rental deposits used to pay rental expenses become income at the point of use. Rental income is unearned income unless it is earned income from self employment (a real estate broker, or anyone in the business of renting properties). Therefore, rental payments received by those individuals would be considered earned income.
Gross rental receipts less allowable expenses paid in the same taxable year. The net amount is unearned income. Allowable expenses include but are not limited to:
| property taxes | |
| interest payments on mortgage | |
| incidental repairs | |
| advertising for tenants | |
| landscaping/lawn maintenance/snow removal | |
| utilities |
These include the principal portion of a mortgage payment and capital expenditures. A capital expenditure is an expense for an addition or increase in the value of property which is subject to depreciation. For allowable income expenses (e.g., whether it is an incidental repair or a capital expenditure) refer to IRS Publication 527 or call the IRS.
Subtract deductible expenses paid in a month from gross rent received in the same month. If deductible expenses exceed gross rent in a month, subtract the excess expenses from the next month's gross rent and continue doing this as necessary until the end of the tax year in which the expenses are paid. Do not carry excess expenses over to other tax years nor use them to offset other income.
The individual's most recent Federal tax return including schedules will help identify past expenses and estimate future rental income. Estimate net rental income for the next 12 months deducting only predictable expenses (utilities, interest, payments, taxes, etc).
Divide net rental income equally among joint owners. If the gross rent is split between two joint owners before expenses are paid, deduct expenses paid by the applicant/recipient from their portion of the gross rent.
For rooms rented out in an individual's single residence, prorate allowable expenses based on the number of rooms designated for rent compared to the number of rooms in the house. Do not count bathrooms as rooms in the house. Count basements and attics in the number of rooms only if they have been converted to living spaces (i.e., recreation rooms). For example, a Waiver client rents out a room in his house to his cousin. The house has 6 rooms excluding the bathroom. The allowable expenses (mortgage interest, utilities, etc.) are for the whole house. Only 1/6 of the allowable expenses is deducted from the gross rent.
Royalties are payments to the holder of a copyright or patent. Royalties earned by an individual in connection with any publication of his or her work (for example, a manuscript, magazine article, artwork, etc.) are earned income.
Royalties may also be paid to the owner of a mine, oil well, timber tract, or other resource, for extraction of a product, including proceeds from the direct sale of the product. Royalty compensation may be expressed as a percentage of receipts from using the property or as an amount per unit produced. Some documents verifying royalty payments will provide both a gross and a net payment amount. When the difference between the gross and the net figures is due to income taxes withheld or windfall profit tax deductions, use the gross figure when determining income. When the difference between the gross and net figures represents a production or severance tax (most oil royalties will be reduced by this tax), use the net figure when determining income.
The U.S. dollar value of a payment made in foreign currency, less expenses, is income.
Black Lung benefits are paid to miners and their survivors under the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (FMSHA). They are unearned income. Benefits under Part B of the FMSHA are paid by the Social Security Administration and benefits under Part C of the FMSHA are paid by the Department of Labor. In general, Part B benefits are paid on the third of the month while Part C benefits are paid on the fifteenth of the month.
Both Part B and C benefits may be reduced by offsets and liens. Countable income will be the amount paid after application of an offset (such as workers compensation or work deductions) but before the collection of any garnishments or overpayments.
The Department of Veteran Affairs has numerous programs which make payments to veterans and their families.
Pension payments are unearned income based on a combination of service and a nonservice-connected disability or death. All VA pension payments (except those resulting from Aid and Attendance or Housebound Allowance, paid on the basis of a Medal of Honor or paid under a special act of Congress) are based on need and do not receive the $20 general income exclusion.
The Veterans' Benefits Act of 1992 (Public Law 101-508) enacted October 1, 1992, limits VA Improved Pensions for a veteran and a surviving spouse (with no children) residing in Medicaid nursing facilities. The VA Improved Pension is limited to $90 a month and is not counted as income in the eligibility or post-eligibility process. There is not interaction between the reduced pension and the personal needs allowance. If the veteran has income from other sources that is considered countable for the purposes of post-eligibility, perform the post-eligibility calculations to determine the amount of the veteran's liability to his or her cost of care.
Compensation payments are unearned income based on service-connected disability or death. Compensation payments made to a veteran, spouse, child or widow(er) are non-needs based and do receive the $20 general income exclusion. Compensation payments to a surviving parent of a veteran are based on need and as such do not receive the $20 general income exclusion.
VA pays an allowance to veterans, spouses of disabled veterans and surviving spouses who are in regular need of the aid and attendance of another person or who are housebound. These allowances do not meet the definition of income because they are assistance for medical and social services. The payments are not included in the post eligibility calculation. Aid and Attendance payments may be used for whatever purpose the veteran wishes without penalty. The veteran is free to make this income available to the community spouse.
A clothing allowance is not income and is not included in the post eligibility calculation.
Unreimbursed expenses which exceed 5% of the maximum annual VA payment rate are considered unusual. Effective 7/1/94, payments for unusual medical expenses do not meet the definition of income and are not included in the post eligibility calculation. The veteran is required to use these payments for medical expenses.
Support payments are considered unearned income to the child. One-third of the support payment is excluded as income in the eligibility determination. The entire support payment is included in the post eligibility calculation.
Alimony is an allowance made by a court from the funds of one spouse to the other spouse in connection with a suit for separation or divorce. Alimony is unearned income.
A prize is generally something won in a contest, lottery or game of chance. A prize is unearned income. Do not subtract gambling losses from gambling winnings in determining countable income.
The workers' compensation payment less any expenses incurred in getting the payment is unearned income. Any portion of an award or payment that the authorizing or paying agency designates for medical expenses or legal or other expenses attributable to obtaining the award is not income. The expenses may be past, current, or future. The payments designated for such expenses may be received in a lump sum or as a continuing payment.
Vacation pay is considered earned income even if donated to the individual by co-workers.
Sick pay is either wages or unearned income. Sick pay is earned income if received within 6 months after stopping work. To determine the 6-month period after stopping work: begin with the first day of nonwork, include the remainder of the calendar month in which work stops, and include the next 6 full calendar months. For example, if an individual stops work on May 5, the 6-month period begins on May 6 and runs through November 30.
Any sick payments made more than 6 months after work stops are unearned income.
An inheritance is cash, a right or a noncash item received as the result of someone's death. An item is not income until it has a value that can be used for food, clothing, or shelter. An inheritance is unearned income in the first month it has value and can be used.
Indemnity Benefit Payments are a fixed amount of money payable to the insured individual when he or she becomes an inpatient of a hospital or a nursing facility. If the benefit payments are made directly to a facility, they are not income since they are not received by the individual. Amounts paid to a facility for purposes other than medical care are considered income if the money is available to the individual to use for food, clothing or shelter. An insurance payment made directly to an individual is considered income unless it is restricted to the purchase or reimbursement of medical services. Indemnity plans which are restricted to the purchase or reimbursement of medical services are a potential third party liability resource. Insurance payments which are countable income must be included in the posteligibility patient pay calculation. If the policy limits the benefits to medical care, the premium for the indemnity insurance plan may be deducted or "protected" from income in the patient pay calculation.
Repealed 07/01/06)
16 Del. Admin. Code § 20000-20210
10 DE Reg. 143 (07/01/06)