N.J. Admin. Code § 10:87-5.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 10:87-5.9 - Identification of income exclusions

(a) Only the following shall be excluded from household income; no other income shall be excluded:

1. Any gain or benefit, which is not in the form of money payable directly to the household shall be excluded, including non-monetary or in-kind benefits such as meals, clothing, public housing or produce from a garden;

2. A payment made in money on behalf of a household shall be considered a vendor payment when a person or organization outside of the household used its own funds to make a direct payment to either the household's creditors or a person or organization providing a service to the household. For example, if a relative or friend who is not a household member pays the household's rent directly to the landlord, the payment is considered a vendor payment and is not counted as income to the household.

i. Rent or mortgage payments made to landlords or mortgagees by HUD, or by any State or local housing authority, are vendor payments and are excluded.

ii. Payments by a government agency to a child care institution to provide day care for a household member are excluded as vendor payments.

iii. Payments of money which are not made to a third party, but are made directly to a household, are counted as income and are not excluded as vendor payments.

iv. Moneys which are legally obligated and otherwise payable to the household but which are diverted by the provider of the payment to a third party for a household expense shall be counted as income and not excluded as a vendor payment. The distinction is whether or not the person or organization making the payment of behalf of the household is using funds which otherwise would have to be paid to the household. Such funds include wages earned by a household member and therefore owed to the household, a public assistance grant to which the household is legally entitled, support and alimony payments in amounts which legally must be paid to a household member, and student educational assistance that is provided on behalf of the household to a third party for living expenses.

(1) If any employer, agency, former spouse, or other person who owes these funds to a household diverts them instead to a third party to pay for a household expense, these payments shall be counted as income to the household. Diverted educational assistance payments made to the household for living expenses shall also be counted.

(2) If an employer, agency, former spouse, or other person makes payments for household expenses to a third party from funds not owed to the household, these payments shall be considered as vendor payments and thus excluded. Examples are as follows:

(A) Example A: Wages earned by the household member that are garnished or diverted by an employer and paid to a third party for a household's expenses, such as rent, shall be considered income. However, if the employer pays a household's rent directly to the landlord in addition to paying the household its regular wages, this rent payment shall be considered a vendor payment and thus excluded. In addition, if the employer provides housing to an employee, the value of the housing shall not be counted as income.

(B) Example B: All or part of a public assistance grant which would normally be provided in a money payment to the household, but which was diverted to third parties or to a protective payee for purposes such as managing a household's expenses, shall be considered income to the household. However, payments by the CWA that would not normally be provided in a money payment to the household, and that are over and above normal public assistance grants, shall be considered as a vendor payment and thus excluded if they are made directly to a third party for a household expense. This rule applies even if the household has the option of receiving a direct cash payment.

(C) Example C: Money deducted or diverted from a court-ordered support or alimony payment (or other binding written support or alimony agreement) to a third party for a household expense shall be considered as income. However, payments specified by the court order or other legally binding agreement to go directly to the third party rather than to the household, and support payments not required by a court order or other legally binding agreement (including payments in excess of the amount specified in a court order or written agreement) which are paid to a third party rather, than the household shall be considered as a vendor payment and thus excluded, even if the household agrees to the arrangement.

v. An emergency PA or GA payment provided to a third party on behalf of a household containing a migrant or seasonal farmworker shall be treated as an excluded vendor payment, provided that the farmworker is in the jobstream;

3. Utility allowance payments, rebates and reimbursements to the individual, the utility or the landlord are excluded from countable income.

i. When a public housing authority receives a household's HUD utility allowance and applies it toward the household's rent, the "net" rent that the household must pay shall be considered the rental expense for NJ SNAP purposes. The HUD utility allowance, in this case, shall not be considered when determining (per 10:87-5.10(a)7 iv(6)) whether the household is entitled to a HCSUA or LUA;

4. A WFNJ payment, which is not made directly to the household, but paid to a third party on behalf of the household to pay a household expense, shall be considered an excludable vendor payment and not counted as income to the household, if the payment is for:

i. Medical assistance;

ii. Child care assistance;

iii. WFNJ emergency assistance (including, but not limited to housing and transportation payments) for migrant or seasonal farmworker households while they are in the job stream;

iv. WFNJ/GA housing assistance from a State or local housing authority;

v. WFNJ/GA assistance which cannot be made directly to the household in the form of cash; or

vi. WFNJ emergency and special assistance provided to a third party on behalf of a household, which is not otherwise specifically excluded from countable income. To be considered emergency or special assistance under this provision, the assistance must be provided over and above the normal WFNJ grant, or cannot be provided as part of the WFNJ grant;

5. Cash donations based on need which were received on or after February 1, 1988 from private nonprofit charitable organizations that do not exceed $ 300.00 in a Federal fiscal year quarter;

6. Any income in the certification period which is received too infrequently or irregularly to be reasonably and anticipated but not in excess of $ 30.00 in a calendar quarter, shall be excluded;

7. Educational loans on which payment is deferred, grants, work study, scholarships, fellowships, veteran's educational benefits and the like shall be excluded, provided it meets the criteria at 10:87-5.11;

8. All loans, including loans from private individuals, as well as commercial institutions, are excluded from income. Educational loans in which repayment is deferred shall be excluded in accordance with 10:87-5.11. Any loan on which repayment must begin within 60 days after receipt of the loan shall not be considered a deferred repayment loan.

i. Reverse mortgages are considered loans and are therefore excluded as income. However, once these funds are placed in an account, they become an available resource;

9. Reimbursements for past or future expenses shall be excluded to the extent that they do not exceed actual expenses and do not represent a gain or benefit to the household. Reimbursements for normal household living expenses, such as rent or mortgage payments, personal clothing or food eaten at home are a gain or benefit and are not excluded.

i. In order to be excluded, reimbursements must be provided specifically for an identified expense other than normal living expenses and used for the purpose intended. When a reimbursement, including a flat allowance, covers multiple expenses, each expense does not have to be separately identified as long as none of the reimbursement covers normal living expenses.

ii. That amount of a reimbursement which exceeds the actual incurred expenses shall be counted as unearned income. However, reimbursements shall not be considered to exceed actual expenses unless the provider or the household indicates the amount is excessive.

iii. Examples of excludable reimbursements that are not considered to be a gain or benefit to the household are:

(1) Reimbursements or flat allowances for job or training related expenses such as travel, per diem, uniforms, and transportation to and from the job or training site. Reimbursements which are provided over and above the basic wages for these expenses are excluded; however, these expenses, if not reimbursed, are not otherwise deductible. Reimbursements for travel expenses incurred by migrant workers are also excluded.

(2) Reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers incurred in the course of their work.

(3) Medical or dependent care reimbursements.

(4) Reimbursements received by households to pay for services provided by Title XX of the Social Security Act (social services).

(5) Any allowance a county agency provides no more frequently than annually for children's clothes when the children enter or return to school or day care, provided the county agency does not reduce the monthly WFNJ/TANF payment for the month in which the school clothes allowance is provided. County agencies are not required to verify attendance at school or day care.

(6) Reimbursements made to the household at 10:87-10.15 for expenses necessary for participation in an education component under the NJ SNAP ETP.

iv. The following shall not be considered as excludable reimbursements:

(1) No portion of benefits provided under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, to the extent that such benefits are attributed to an adjustment for work-related or child care expenses (except for payments or reimbursements for such expenses made under an employment, education or training program initiated under Title IV-A after September 19, 1988) shall be considered excludable; and

(2) No portion of any educational assistance that is provided for normal living expenses (room and board) shall be considered a reimbursement excludable;

10. Arrearages on child support and alimony payments made to the household from a non-household member in the form of a one-time payment shall be excluded as unearned income and treated as a lump-sum payment in accordance with 10:87-6.9(d)2;

11. Money received and used for the care and maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who is not a household member shall be excluded.

i. If the intended beneficiaries of a single payment are both household and nonhousehold members, any identifiable portion of the payment intended and used for the care and maintenance of the nonhousehold member shall be excluded. If the nonhousehold member's portion cannot be readily identified, the payment shall be evenly prorated among intended beneficiaries and the exclusion applied to the nonhousehold member's pro rata share or the amount actually used for the nonhousehold member's care and maintenance, whichever is less.

ii. A foster care payment or a kinship payment shall not be considered as income to the household when the foster child or kinship child for whom that payment is intended is treated as a boarder and not included in the household, even when the household receives the payment directly.

iii. When one household is responsible for the payment of the rent, but shares the residence with a second household and receives a partial payment to pay the landlord from that second household, the household that actually pays the rent is not to have that partial payment considered as income;

12. Earned income (as defined at 10:87-5.4 ) of students (as defined at 10:87-10.2(b)3 ) under 18 years of age shall be excluded. This exclusion will continue to apply during temporary interruptions in school attendance due to semester or vacation breaks; provided the child's enrollment will resume following the break.

i. If the child's earnings or amount of work performed cannot be differentiated from that of other household members, the total earnings shall be prorated equally among the working members and the child's pro rata share excluded.

ii. Individuals are considered children for the purposes of this provision if they are under the parental control of another household member;

13. The income, either earned or unearned, of an ineligible student as defined at 10:87-2.3(a)2 i, shall be excluded.

14. Moneys received in the form of nonrecurring lump-sum payments including, but not limited to, income tax refunds, rebates or credits; retroactive lump-sum Social Security, SSI, public assistance, railroad retirement benefits or other payments; lump-sum insurance settlements; or refunds of security deposits on rental property or utilities, shall be excluded. Such payments will be counted as resources in the month received in accordance with 10:87-4.3(a), unless excluded by 10:87-4.8(a)17.

i. Any SSI benefits that are direct deposited into an SSI Dedicated Account shall be treated as a nonrecurring lump-sum payment, and are excluded from countable income, even if the funds are disbursed from the account. Interest earned in the account, however, shall be treated as income for NJ SNAP purposes.

ii. An Early Employment Initiative (EEI) payment is treated as a lump sum payment and shall be excluded. (See also 10:87-4.1(b) for persons categorically eligible);

15. The cost of producing self-employment income shall be excluded. The procedures for computing the cost of producing self-employment income are described at 10:87-7.3;

16. Any income that is specifically excluded by any other Federal statute from consideration as income for the purpose of determining eligibility for the NJ SNAP program shall be excluded. The following qualify under this provision:

i. Reimbursements from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970 ( Public Law 91-646 ).

ii. Payments received under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (Public Law (92-203).

iii. Any payment to volunteers under Title II (RSVP, Foster Grandparents and so forth) of the Domestic Volunteer Services Act of 1973 ( Public Law 93-113 ), as amended, shall be excluded. Payments to volunteers under Title I of that Act (including payments from such Title I programs as VISTA, University Year for Action and the Urban Crime Prevention Program) shall be excluded for those individuals receiving NJ SNAP benefits or PA at the time they joined the Title I program, except that households that were receiving an income exclusion for VISTA or other Title I subsistence allowance at the time of conversion to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. §§ 2011 et seq.), shall continue to receive an income exclusion for VISTA for the length of their volunteer contract in effect at the time of conversion. Temporary interruptions in NJ SNAP participation shall not alter the exclusion once the initial determination has been made. New applicants who were not receiving public assistance or NJ SNAP benefits when they joined VISTA shall have these volunteer payments included as earned income.

iv. Income derived from certain submarginal land of the United States that is held in trust for certain Indian tribes ( Public Law 94-114 ).

v. Payments of relocation assistance to members of the Navajo and Hopi Tribes under Public Law 93-531.

vi. Earned income tax credits:

(1) Earned income tax credits received as a result of Public Law 95-600, the Revenue Act of 1978, which are received before January 1, 1980; and

(2) Earned income tax credits received either as a lump-sum or as payments under Section 3507 of the Internal Revenue Code.

vii. Payments or allowances made under any Federal law for the purpose of energy assistance, except for payments made under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act. The Home Energy Assistance and HUD Utility Allowance programs qualify as excluded income under this provision, as do Federal or State one-time payments for either weatherization or the emergency repair and/or replacement of heating or cooling devices. A down payment followed by a final payment, upon completion of the work, shall be considered a one-time payment for purposes of this provision.

viii. Income derived from disposition of funds to the Grand River Band of the Ottowa Indians ( Public Law 94-540 ).

ix. Payments received by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation and the Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation from the Indian Claims Commission as designated under Public Law 94-443.

x. Payments to the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation or any of their members received pursuant to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 ( Public Law 96-420 ).

xi. Any allowances or payments provided to individuals participating in programs under the Job Training partnership Act of l982 ( Public Law 97-300 ) or AmeriCorps/National Community Service Corps (NCSC) Program. Earnings provided to individuals participating under JTPA on-the-job training programs shall be excluded if the participants are under 19 years of age and are under the parental control of another adult household member, and the programs are administered under Section 204 (5), Title II, of JTPA.

xii. Any allowances, earnings or payments provided to individuals under the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) enacted by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1987 ( Public Law 100-175 ). Programs funded by Title V moneys include, but are not limited to, Green Thumb, Inc., National Council on Aging, Inc. (NCOA), National Council of Senior Citizens' (NCSC) Senior Aide Program, and United Progress, Inc. (UPI).

xiii. Payments received under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 ( P.L. 100-383 ).

xiv. Amounts deemed necessary for the fulfillment of a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act.

xv. Transitional child care payments made under the Family Support Act of 1988 (JOBS).

xvi. Payments made under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act ( P.L. 100-426 ).

xvii. All payments from the Agent Orange Compensation Exclusion Act ( P.L. 101-201 ), retroactive to January 1, 1989. Payments made from the Agent Orange settlement fund under Section 10405 of P.L. 101-239 shall be excluded. Veteran's benefits authorized under the Agent Orange Act of 1991 ( P.L. 102-4 ) shall not be excluded by law.

xviii. Payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution ( P.L. 103-286 ) shall be excluded.

xix. Any payment made to an NJ SNAP ETP participant under 10:87-10.4(c)5 for costs that are reasonably necessary and directly related to participation in NJ SNAP ETP. These costs include, but are not limited to, dependent care costs, transportation or other expenses related to work, training or education, such as uniforms, personal safety items or other necessary equipment and books or training manuals. These costs shall not include the cost of meals away from home. The value of any dependent care services arranged under 10:87-10.4(c)6 would be excluded.

xx. Governmental foster care payments received by households with foster care individuals who are considered to be boarders under 10:87-2.3(b)6.

xxi. On-the-job training payments under the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program.

xxii. Payments made under the Crime Act of 1984 to victims of crime ( P.L. 103-322 ).

xxiii. Payments made under Section 421 of P.L. 104-204 for children of Vietnam veterans who are born with spina bifida.

xxiv. Payments made under Public Law 100-707, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to pay Disaster Unemployment Assistance to any individual unemployed as a result of a major disaster.

xxv. Payments under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005, Public Law 108-447, regarding any additional payment received by a member of the United States Armed Forces deployed to a designated combat zone. This additional payment shall be excluded from household income for the duration of the member's deployment if the additional pay is the result of deployment to or serving in a combat zone, and it was not received immediately prior to serving in the combat zone.

xxvi. Payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Public Law 109-64, which amended the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, mandates that payments made under NFIP, for flood mitigation activities, shall not be counted as income;

17. The amount that the representative payee withholds from the funds it receives on behalf of an SSI recipient shall not be counted as income to the SSI recipient for NJ SNAP purposes;

18. The pro-rata share of income of an ineligible alien (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-7.7(c) );

19. SNAP benefits from Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and

20. All legally obligated or court-ordered child support payments paid by a household member to, or on behalf of, a non-household member, including payments to a third party on behalf of the non-household member and amounts paid toward arrearages. Alimony payments made to or for a non-household member shall not be excluded as income.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:87-5.9

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 267(a), effective 2/6/2017