Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 301 - SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) RULES › FS-300's › 300 - ASSET ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS › Section 144-301-300-FS 333-2 - Asset Exclusions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1.
GENERAL RULE
The value of the following assets are not counted. (These
						assets are considered "excluded").
A.
					 the home in which the household lives and the surrounding lot, if not separated
					 by property owned by someone else,
B. the home and lot which is temporarily
					 unoccupied because of employment, job training, illness, or disaster if the
					 household intends to return,
C. the
					 lot on which the household plans to build, or is building their primary
					 residence if the household
does not
already own (or is
					 buying) their home,
D. vehicles
					 used as the household's home,
E.
					 assets with cash value not accessible to the household, such as:
(1) property in probate, or property which is
					 inaccessible due to legal action;
EXCEPTION:
this exclusion does not apply to
						jointly owned vehicles if the household member has possession of, or use of,
						the jointly owned vehicle. (See Section
						333-3.)
(2) real property which the
					 household is making a good faith effort to sell at a reasonable price;
NOTE:
A "good faith effort to sell" must be
						verified through documentation that: the property is offered for sale in a
						major newspaper, through a real estate broker, or other comparable venue; and
						the household has not declined a reasonable offer.
(3) installment contracts for the sale of
					 property (including vehicles), if the agreement is producing income consistent
					 with its fair market value. Fair market value and consistent income may be
					 determined by contacting local realtors, assessors, etc. Treatment of income
					 from installment contracts is found in Section
					 555-3.
(4) certain jointly held assets (Section
					 333-1(3))
					 that cannot be subdivided and the joint owner will not agree to sell;
(5) irrevocable trusts when:
(a) The agreement is not likely to
					 cease;
(b) No household member has
					 power to revoke or change it;
(c)
					 The trustee is either a court, institution, etc. not under control of a
					 household member or is an individual appointed by a court which has imposed
					 limitations on the use of funds;
(d) Investments made on behalf of the trust
					 do not involve or assist any business or corporation under the direction or
					 influence of a household member; and
(e) The funds held in trust-
(i) were established by a non-household
					 member, or
(ii) are used solely for
					 trust investments or to pay the educational or medical expenses of
					 beneficiaries.
F. non-liquid assets that cannot be sold or
					 disposed of for a significant return.
The sale or disposition of a resource is not considered
						to provide a significant return if it is unlikely to yield $1,500 or more,
						after estimated costs of sale or disposition and taking into account the
						ownership interest of the household.
Exceptions:
(1) vehicles, and
(2) homes, including mobile homes, used
					 primarily for vacation purposes.
G. household goods - such as furniture,
					 appliances, and gift cards;
H.
					 personal effects - such as clothing, jewelry and non-fungible assets;
I. prepaid funeral contracts, burial space,
					 and the value of one bona fide funeral agreement per household
					 member;
J. life
					 insurance;
K. pension
					 funds;
L. taxed-preferred
					 retirement accounts, as described from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code,
					 below:
(1) Section
					 401, Traditional Defined-
					 Benefit Plan
(2) Section
					 401(a),
					 Cash Balance Plan
(3) Section
					 401(a),
					 Employee Stock Ownership Plan
(4)
					 Section 401(a),
					 Keogh Plan
(5) Section
					 401(a),
					 Money Purchase Pension Plan
(6)
					 Section 401(a),
					 Profit-Sharing Plan
(7) Section
					 401(a),
					 Simple 401(k)
(8) Section
					 401(a),
					 401(k)
(9) Section
					 403(a),
					 403(a)
(10) Section
					 403(b),
					 403(b)
(11) Section
					 408 IRS, Individual
					 Retirement Arrangement (IRA)
(12)
					 Section 408(p),
					 Simple retirement account IRA
(13)
					 Section 408(k),
					 Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP)
(14) Section
					 408A IRS, Roth
					 IRA
(15) Section
					 408A IRS, myRA
(16) Section
					 457(b),
					 Eligible 457(b) Plan
(17) Section
					 501(c),
					 501(c)
					 18 Plan
(18) Section
					 8439 of Title 5 USC,
					 Federal Thrift Savings Plan
M. vehicles which are totally exempt (Section
					 333-3) ;
N. income producing real property - if the
					 property is annually producing income consistent with its fair market value,
					 even if only used on a seasonal basis;
O. tools and equipment necessary for
					 employment - even if the person is not currently employed, the tools and
					 equipment need not be producing income consistent with the fair market
					 value;
P. Property, including
					 licensed vehicles, essential to self-employment farming for one year from the
					 date self-employment farming was terminated.
Q. government payments - to restore a home
					 damaged in a disaster, provided the funds are restricted to this purpose;
NOTE:
Payments from
						private insurance settlements are counted.
R. assets which have been prorated as income,
					 such as -
(1) student income from grants and
					 loans;
(2) self-employment
					 income;
(3) contract
					 income;
S. livestock -
					 used to produce income or intended for family consumption;
T. Indian lands - held jointly with the
					 Tribe;
U. assets excluded by
					 Federal statute including, but not limited to -
(1) payments excluded by Congressional action
					 (examples - the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement or The Agent Orange
					 Settlement Fund),
(2) payments to
					 Indian Tribal members regarding sub-marginal land held in trust by the
					 U.S.,
(3) The Special Supplemental
					 Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits,
(4) reimbursement from Uniform Relocation
					 Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970,
(5) payments received from The Job Training
					 Partnership Act (JTPA),
(6)
					 payments from LIHEAP (Section
					 999-1),
(7) Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
					 retroactive tax and utility cost subsidy; and
(8) Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE)
					 accounts, established under Sec.
					 529A of the Internal
					 Revenue Code of 1986.
V.
					 The assets of any household member who receives Supplemental Security Income
					 (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Parents as Scholars
					 (PaS);
W. A federal earned income
					 tax credit received either as a lump sum or as payments under section
					 3507 of the Internal
					 Revenue Code for the month of receipt and the following month for the
					 individual and that individual's spouse;
X. Any federal, state, or local earned income
					 tax credit received by any household member for 12 months, provided the
					 household was participating in SNAP at the time they received the earned income
					 tax credit and provided the household participates continuously during that
					 12-month period. Breaks in participation of one month or less due to
					 administrative reasons, such as delayed recertification, shall not be
					 considered as nonparticipation in determining the 12-month period;
Y. Matching awards of Savings Offer Success
					 (SOS) made by Rural Opportunities, Inc. (ROI) to households that participate in
					 their program;
NOTE:
The individual's contribution are
						counted.
Z. Funds in the
					 Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) Family Self-Sufficiency
					 Program (FSS) escrow accounts;
AA.
					 Family Development Accounts or Separate Identifiable Accounts set up as
					 authorized by state law 20-A M.R.S. §
												10982 of up to the
					 $10,000 cap and any accrued interest;
BB. Federal Thrift Savings accounts as
					 provided in Sec.
					 8439, Title 5, U.S.C.;
					 and
CC.  Education savings accounts
					 established under Sec.
					 529 (qualified tuition
					 program), and Sec.
					 530 (Coverdell education
					 savings) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.