Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 23 - Division of Medicaid › Part 104 - Income › Chapter 13 - Income That Counts Under IRS Rules - FCC Programs › Rule 23-104-13.1 - Income That Counts

Current through June 25, 2024
A. The following is
				not an exhaustive list of the types of income that counts but is meant to cover
				the types most commonly encountered If not addressed herein, IRS tax rules
				provide the governing policy.
1. Employee
				Compensation includes all things received in payment for personal services,
				such as wages, salaries, commissions, fees, bonuses, tips, severance pay, sick
				pay paid by an employer while out on sick leave and back pay awards. Employment
				income that counts is the gross income prior to any payroll
				deductions.
2. Volunteer Income.
				The treatment of income received as a volunteer is as follows:
a) Peace Corp - living allowances paid to the
				volunteer for housing, utilities, supplies, food and clothing are not counted
				as income. Countable wages includes allowances paid to a spouse and minor
				children while the volunteer is a volunteer leader training in the U.S.; living
				allowances designated as basic compensation; leave allowances and readjustment
				allowances.
b) VISTA (Volunteers in
				Service to America) - meal and lodging allowances paid to the volunteer are
				counted as wages.
c) AmeriCorps
				education awards and living allowances are countable income.
d) National Senior Service Corps programs,
				includes the RSVP or Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Foster Grandparent
				Program, and Senior Companion Program. Income received for supportive services
				or reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses are not counted as
				income.
3. Military Pay
				- payments received as a member of a military service are wages. Military
				retirement benefits are treated as pensions. Allowances, such as a basic
				allowance for housing or subsistence, are generally not taxable income and do
				not count as income.
4.
				Self-Employment - for IRS purposes, an individual is considered to be
				self-employed if the individual has a trade or business as a sole proprietor,
				an independent contractor, is a member of a partnership that carries on a trade
				or business or is otherwise in business for himself/herself, including a
				part-time business. Self-employment is business income less allowable business
				expenses that results in a net profit or loss. Net profit counts as income.
				Annualize the income to arrive at a monthly countable amount provided the
				business has been in existence for a twelve (12) month period. Annualize even
				if the income is received over a short period of time during the year unless
				the business is designed to be seasonal, such as a summer business that
				operates only three (3) months out of the year. Such business income would be
				averaged over the period of time the business covers. If a business has been in
				existence less than a full taxable year, average over the period of time the
				business has been in existence.
a) Partnership
				income - each partner's distributive share of profit counts as self-employment
				income which is annualized.
5. Rental Income - countable income includes
				the net proceeds after allowing all IRS allowed deductions for rental
				income.
6. Farm Income farm income
				that counts is the net earnings or profit that remains after allowing all IRS
				allowed business expenses involved in raising livestock, poultry or fish or
				from the growing of fruits or vegetables. Farm income is annualized or averaged
				over the time the farming business operates, as appropriate.
7. Royalties from copyrights, patents and
				oil, gas and mineral properties are taxable income and therefore
				countable.
8. Unemployment
				Compensation - all unemployment compensation benefits are countable as
				income.
9. Retirement, Survivors
				and Disability Insurance (RSDI) or benefits paid by the Social Security
				Administration are only partially taxable as income under certain conditions
				but are fully countable as income for insurance affordability
				programs.
10. Alimony payments
				received are countable as income to the divorced or separated spouse receiving
				the payment.
11. Annuities -
				payments from annuities are countable as income.
12. Pensions and Retirement benefits are
				countable as income, including pensions paid by any private, municipal, county,
				state or federal plan.
13. Estate
				and trust income is countable income when distributed or when it should have
				been distributed, regardless of whether it was actually distributed.
14. Gambling, Lotteries and Raffle Winnings -
				cash winnings are countable income in the month received.
15. Jury duty pay is countable as
				income.
16. Alternative trade
				adjustment assistance (ATAA) payments received from a state agency under the
				Demonstration Project for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance for Older
				Workers is countable as income.
17.
				Interest income, including tax-exempt interest, is countable under MAGI
				rules.
18. Disability benefits
				received through an accident or health insurance plan the IRS rules for
				counting such benefits are as follows:
a) If
				both the individual and the employer paid the premiums for the plan, only the
				amount received for disability that is due to the employer's payments is
				countable as income,
b) If the
				individual paid the entire cost of the plan, the payments are not countable as
				income,
c) If the premiums of a
				plan were paid through a cafeteria plan and the amount of the premium was not
				taxable income to the individual, the premiums are considered paid by the
				employer and the disability payments are countable as income.