Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 13 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Division 40 - Family Support Division › Chapter 2 - Income Maintenance › Section 13 CSR 40-2.050 - Definition of Earned Income

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment removes the Temporary
				  Assistance program from the rule, since that program has its own definition of
				  earned income under 13 CSR
				  40-2.310(4).
(1) In applying the earned income exemptions,
				as stated in section
				209.240,
				RSMo, to an applicant for, or a recipient of, Supplemental Aid to the Blind and
				as stated in section
				208.010,
				RSMo for an applicant for or recipient of MO HealthNet for the Aged, Blind, and
				Disabled (MHABD), the following definition of earned income will be used:
(A) The term earned income encompasses income
				in cash or in kind earned by a needy individual through the receipt of wages,
				salary, commissions, or profit from activities in which s/he is engaged as a
				self-employed individual or an employee. The earned income may be derived from
				his/her own employment, such as business enterprise or farming, or derived from
				wages or salary received as an employee. It includes earnings over a period of
				time for which settlement is made at one (1) given time, as in the instance of
				sale of farm crops, livestock, or poultry. In considering income from farm
				operation, the option available for reporting under Social Security Disability
				Income, namely the cash receipts and disbursements method, that is, a record of
				actual gross, of expenses and of net, is an individual determination and is
				acceptable also for public assistance. With reference to commissions, wages, or
				salary, the term earned income means the total amount, irrespective of personal
				expenses, such as income tax deductions, lunches, and transportation to and
				from work. With respect to self-employment, the term earned income means the
				total profit from business enterprise, farming, and the like, resulting from a
				comparison of the gross income received with the business expenses, that is,
				total cost of the production of the income. Personal expenses, such as income
				tax payments, lunches, and transportation to and from work, are not classified
				as business expenses;
(B) The
				definition shall exclude the following from earned income: Returns from capital
				investment with respect to which the individual is not him/herself actively
				engaged, as in a business (for example, under most circumstances, dividends and
				interest would be excluded from earned income); and benefits (not in the nature
				of wages, salary or profit) accruing as compensation or reward for service or
				as compensation for lack of employment (for example, pensions and benefits such
				as United Mine Worker's benefits or veterans benefits); and
(C) With regard to the degree of activity,
				earned income is income produced as a result of the performance of services by
				a recipient; in other words, income which the individual earns by his/her own
				efforts, including managerial responsibilities, would be properly classified as
				earned income, such as management of capital investment in real estate.
				Conversely, for example, in the instance of capital investment where the
				individual carries no specific responsibility, such as where rental properties
				are in the hands of rental agencies and the check is forwarded to the
				recipient, the income would not be classified as earned income. In households
				where a Supplemental Aid to Blind or MHABD claimant is entitled to an income
				exemption and where other persons are receiving other types of assistance, the
				exempted income also shall be disregarded in determining the need of the other
				persons for public assistance.