[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6126-6129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01873]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6410-N-01]


Federally Mandated Exclusions From Income--Updated Listing

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner; and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community 
Planning and Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD's regulations provide for HUD to periodically publish in 
the Federal Register a notice that lists sources of income specifically 
excluded by any Federal statute from consideration as income for 
purposes of determining eligibility or benefits in a HUD program. HUD 
last published a notice that listed federally mandated exclusions from 
consideration of income on May 20, 2014. This notice replaces the 
previously published version, adds new exclusions, and removes 
exclusions that are now codified in HUD regulations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For Multifamily Housing programs: 
Jennifer Lavorel, Director, Program Administration Office, Office of 
Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight, telephone number 202-402-
2515. For other Section 8 programs administered under 24 CFR part 882 
(Moderate Rehabilitation) and under part 982 (Housing Choice Voucher): 
Ryan Jones, Director, Housing Voucher Management and Operations 
Division, Office of Public and Indian Housing, telephone number 202-
402-2677. For Public Housing Programs administered under part 960: 
Kymian Ray, Director, Public Housing Management and Occupancy Division, 
Office of Public and Indian Housing, telephone number 202-402-2065. For 
Indian Housing Programs: Heidi Frechette, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Office of Native American Programs, Office of Public and Indian 
Housing, telephone number 202-401-7914. For the HOME Investment 
Partnerships Program and the Housing Trust Fund Program, Virginia 
Sardone, Director, Office of Affordable Housing Programs, Office of 
Community Planning and Development, at 202-708-2684, Room 7160; Rita 
Harcrow, Director, Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, Office of Community 
Planning and Development, at 202-402-5374, Room 7248; Jessie Kome, 
Director, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Office of Community 
Planning and Development, at 202-402-5539, Room 7282. The mailing 
address for each office contact is Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410. With the 
exception of the telephone number for the PIH Information Resource 
Center, these are not toll-free numbers. HUD welcomes and is prepared 
to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as 
well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn 
more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit 
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
    Please note: Members of the public who are aware of any other 
Federal statutes that require certain income sources to be excluded 
from income or asset calculations in HUD programs, but are not 
mentioned in the notice, should submit information about the statute 
and the benefit program to one of the persons listed in the ``For 
Further Information Contact'' section above. Members of the public may 
also submit this information to the Regulations Division, Office of 
General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban

[[Page 6127]]

Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under several HUD programs (Mortgage 
Insurance and Interest Reduction Payment for Rental Projects under 24 
CFR part 236; Section 8 Housing Assistance programs; Public Housing 
programs); HOME Investment Partnerships Program under 24 CFR part 92; 
Housing Trust Fund under 24 CFR part 93; Housing Opportunities for 
Persons With AIDS under 24 CFR part 574, the definition of income 
excludes amounts of other benefits specifically excluded by Federal 
law.

Background

    Certain HUD programs require income and asset calculations to 
determine eligibility and levels of assistance. Some HUD programs are 
required by statute to perform income and asset determinations and 
other HUD programs apply these requirements administratively through 
regulations, notices, contract agreements, etc. Any HUD program that 
requires income calculations for these purposes must not consider 
sources or amounts of income that are specifically excluded by Federal 
law. The purpose of this notice is to update the list of income and 
asset sources required by Federal law to be excluded from consideration 
in HUD programs.

Changes to the Previously Published List

    HUD last published in the Federal Register a notice of federally 
mandated exclusions from income on May 20, 2014, at 79 FR 28938. 
Today's notice replaces the previously published version by adding four 
new income exclusions and correcting existing exclusions to identify 
where amounts are excluded from consideration as assets in HUD 
programs.
    (1) Corrects an exception to payments, including for supportive 
services and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, for volunteers 
under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, listed as exclusion 
(2);
    (2) Adds the amount of any refund (or advance payment with respect 
to a refundable credit) issued under the Internal Revenue Code is 
excluded from income and assets for a period of 12 months from receipt 
(26 U.S.C. 6409), listed as exclusion (14);
    (3) Adds allowance paid to children of certain Thailand service 
veterans born with spina bifida (38 U.S.C. 1822), listed as exclusion 
(17);
    (4) Corrects the exclusion of income applicable to programs under 
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
(NAHASDA) (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) to more accurately capture the 
language of 25 U.S.C. 4103(9), listed as exclusion (23);
    (5) Corrects that any assistance, benefit, or amounts earned by or 
provided to the individual development account are excluded from 
income, as provided by the Assets for Independence Act, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 604(h)(4)), listed as exclusion (25);
    (6) Corrects that the first $2,000 of per capita payments are also 
excluded from assets unless the per capita payments exceed the amount 
of the original Tribal Trust Settlement proceeds and are made from a 
Tribe's private bank account in which the Tribe has deposited the 
settlement proceeds (25 U.S.C. 117b(a), 25 U.S.C. 1407), listed as 
exclusion (26);
    (7) Adds the value of, distributions from, and certain 
contributions to Achieving Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts 
established under the ABLE Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-295.), listed as 
exclusion (28); and
    (8) Adds assistance received by a household from payments made 
under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program pursuant to the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260), and the 
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2), listed as exclusion 
(29).

Updated List of Federally Mandated Exclusions From Income

    The following updated list of Federally mandated income exclusions 
supersedes the notice published in the Federal Register on May 20, 
2014. The exclusions listed below apply to income only, except where 
HUD states that the exclusion also applies to assets. Actual income 
earned from an excluded asset may be included in income if it is not 
deposited into an account that is disregarded and excluded under one of 
the below authorities. If an amount is in an excluded account, like an 
Independent Development Account or an ABLE account, then the statute or 
the regulations associated with that income/asset exclusion will 
dictate what portion of the income earned off the amount, if any, is to 
be included in the family's income. Please note that exclusions (13) 
and (23) have provisions that apply only to specific HUD programs):
    (1) The value of the allotment provided to an eligible household 
under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2017(b)). This exclusion 
also applies to assets;
    (2) Payments, including for supportive services and reimbursement 
of out-of-pocket expenses, for volunteers under the Domestic Volunteer 
Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5044(f)(1), 42 U.S.C. 5058), are 
excluded from income except that the exclusion shall not apply in the 
case of such payments when the Chief Executive Officer of the 
Corporation for National and Community Service appointed under 42 
U.S.C. 12651c determines that the value of all such payments, adjusted 
to reflect the number of hours such volunteers are serving, is 
equivalent to or greater than the minimum wage then in effect under the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) or the minimum 
wage, under the laws of the State where such volunteers are serving, 
whichever is the greater (42 U.S.C. 5044(f)(1)). This exclusion also 
applies to assets;
    (3) Certain payments received under the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(c)). This exclusion also applies to 
assets;
    (4) Income derived from certain submarginal land of the United 
States that is held in trust for certain Indian tribes (25 U.S.C. 
5506). This exclusion also applies to assets;
    (5) Payments or allowances made under the Department of Health and 
Human Services' Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (42 U.S.C. 
8624(f)(1)). This exclusion also applies to assets;
    (6) Income derived from the disposition of funds to the Grand River 
Band of Ottawa Indians (Pub. L. 94-540, section 6). This exclusion also 
applies to assets;
    (7) The first $2000 of per capita shares received from judgment 
funds awarded by the National Indian Gaming Commission or the U.S. 
Claims Court, the interests of individual Indians in trust or 
restricted lands, and the first $2000 per year of income received by 
individual Indians from funds derived from interests held in such trust 
or restricted lands. This exclusion does not include proceeds of gaming 
operations regulated by the Commission (25 U.S.C. 1407-1408). This 
exclusion also applies to assets;
    (8) Amounts of student financial assistance funded under title IV 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070), including awards 
under Federal work-study programs or under the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
student assistance programs (20 U.S.C. 1087uu). For section 8 programs 
only (42 U.S.C. 1437f), any financial assistance in excess of amounts 
received by an individual for tuition and any other required fees and 
charges under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.), from private sources, or an institution of higher education (as 
defined under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)), shall 
not be

[[Page 6128]]

considered income to that individual if the individual is over the age 
of 23 with dependent children (Pub. L. 109-115, section 327) (as 
amended)
    (9) Payments received from programs funded under Title V of the 
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056g);
    (10) Payments received on or after January 1, 1989, from the Agent 
Orange Settlement Fund (Pub. L. 101-201) or any other fund established 
pursuant to the settlement in In Re Agent Orange Product Liability 
Litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y.). This exclusion also applies to 
assets;
    (11) Payments received under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act 
of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-420 section 9(c)). This exclusion also applies to 
assets;
    (12) The value of any child care provided or arranged (or any 
amount received as payment for such care or reimbursement for costs 
incurred for such care) under the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858q);
    (13) Earned income tax credit (EITC) refund payments \1\ received 
on or after January 1, 1991, for programs administered under the United 
States Housing Act of 1937, title V of the Housing Act of 1949, section 
101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, and sections 
221(d)(3), 235, and 236 of the National Housing Act (26 U.S.C. 32(l)). 
This exclusion also applies to assets;
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    \1\ Please note: While this income exclusion addresses EITC 
refund payments for certain HUD programs, the exclusion in 26 U.S.C. 
6409 excludes Federal tax refunds more broadly for any Federal 
program or under any State or local program financed in whole or in 
part with Federal fund.
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    (14) The amount of any refund (or advance payment with respect to a 
refundable credit) issued under the Internal Revenue Code is excluded 
from income and assets for a period of 12 months from receipt (26 
U.S.C. 6409);
    (15) Payments by the Indian Claims Commission to the Confederated 
Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation or the Apache Tribe of the 
Mescalero Reservation (Pub. L. 95-433 section 2). This exclusion also 
applies to assets;
    (16) Allowances, earnings and payments to AmeriCorps participants 
under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12637(d));
    (17) Any allowance paid to children of Vietnam veterans born with 
spina bifida (38 U.S.C. 1802-05), children of women Vietnam veterans 
born with certain birth defects (38 U.S.C. 1811-16), and children of 
certain Korean and Thailand service veterans born with spina bifida (38 
U.S.C. 1821-22) is excluded from income and assets (38 U.S.C. 1833(c)).
    (18) Any amount of crime victim compensation that provides medical 
or other assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such 
assistance) under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 received through a 
crime victim assistance program, unless the total amount of assistance 
that the applicant receives from all such programs is sufficient to 
fully compensate the applicant for losses suffered as a result of the 
crime (34 U.S.C. 20102(c)). This exclusion also applies to assets;
    (19) Allowances, earnings, and payments to individuals 
participating in programs under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 
reauthorized as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 
(29 U.S.C. 3241(a)(2));
    (20) Any amount received under the Richard B. Russell School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(e)) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1780(b)), including reduced-price lunches and food under the Special 
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This 
exclusion also applies to assets;
    (21) Payments, funds, or distributions authorized, established, or 
directed by the Seneca Nation Settlement Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-503 
section 8(b)). This exclusion also applies to assets;
    (22) Payments from any deferred U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 
disability benefits that are received in a lump sum amount or in 
prospective monthly amounts (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(4));
    (23) Any amounts (i) not actually received by the family, (ii) that 
would be eligible for exclusion under 42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)(7), and (iii) 
received for service-connected disability under 38 U.S.C. chapter 11 or 
dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. chapter 13 (25 
U.S.C. 4103(9)(C)) as provided by an amendment by the Indian Veterans 
Housing Opportunity Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-269 section 2) to the 
definition of income applicable to programs under the Native American 
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) (25 U.S.C. 4101 
et seq.);
    (24) A lump sum or a periodic payment received by an individual 
Indian pursuant to the Class Action Settlement Agreement in the case 
entitled Elouise Cobell et al. v. Ken Salazar et al., 816 F.Supp.2d 10 
(Oct. 5, 2011 D.D.C.), for a period of one year from the time of 
receipt of that payment as provided in the Claims Resolution Act of 
2010 (Pub. L. 111-291 section 101(f)(2)). This exclusion also applies 
to assets;
    (25) Any amounts in an ``individual development account'' are 
excluded from assets and any assistance, benefit, or amounts earned by 
or provided to the individual development account are excluded from 
income, as provided by the Assets for Independence Act, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 604(h)(4));
    (26) Per capita payments made from the proceeds of Indian Tribal 
Trust Settlements listed in IRS Notice 2013-1 and 2013-55 must be 
excluded from annual income unless the per capita payments exceed the 
amount of the original Tribal Trust Settlement proceeds and are made 
from a Tribe's private bank account in which the Tribe has deposited 
the settlement proceeds. Such amounts received in excess of the Tribal 
Trust Settlement are included in the gross income of the members of the 
Tribe receiving the per capita payments as described in IRS Notice 
2013-1. The first $2,000 of per capita payments are also excluded from 
assets unless the per capita payments exceed the amount of the original 
Tribal Trust Settlement proceeds and are made from a Tribe's private 
bank account in which the Tribe has deposited the settlement proceeds 
(25 U.S.C. 117b(a), 25 U.S.C. 1407);
    (27) Federal assistance for a major disaster or emergency received 
by individuals and families under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Pub. L. 93-288, as amended) and 
comparable disaster assistance provided by States, local governments, 
and disaster assistance organizations (42 U.S.C. 5155(d)). This 
exclusion also applies to assets;
    (28) Any amount in an Achieving Better Life Experience (ABLE) 
account, distributions from and certain contributions to an ABLE 
account established under the ABLE Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-295.), as 
described in Notice PIH 2019-09/H 2019-06 or subsequent or superseding 
notice is excluded from income and assets; and
    (29) Assistance received by a household under the Emergency Rental 
Assistance Program pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2021 (Pub. L. 116-260, section 501(j)), and the American Rescue Plan 
Act of 2021

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(Pub. L. 117-2, section 3201). This exclusion also applies to assets.

Richard Monocchio,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
Julia R. Gordon,
Associate General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing--Associate 
Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner.
Marion M. McFadden,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-01873 Filed 1-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P