Ohio Administrative Code › Title 5101:4 - Division of Food Stamps › Chapter 5101:4-4 - Resource Eligibility Standards › Section 5101:4-4-31 - Food assistance: anticipating income

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) What is the general standard for
			 anticipating income?
For the purpose of determining the supplemental nutrition
				assistance program (SNAP) assistance group's eligibility and monthly benefit,
				the county agency shall take into account the income already received by the
				assistance group during the certification period and any anticipated income the
				assistance group and the county agency are reasonably certain will be received
				during the remainder of the certification period. When the amount of income
				that will be received or when it will be received is uncertain, the county
				agency shall not count that portion of the assistance group's income that is
				uncertain. When the exact amount of the income is not known, that portion of it
				that is anticipated with reasonable certainty is considered income. In cases
				where the receipt of income is reasonably certain but the monthly amount may
				fluctuate, the county agency must average income.
(B) How is income anticipated?
Income received during the past thirty days shall be used as an
				indicator of the income that is and will be available to the assistance group
				during the certification period. However, the county agency shall not use past
				income as an indicator of income anticipated for the certification period if
				changes in income have occurred or can be anticipated. When income fluctuates
				to the extent that a thirty-day period alone cannot provide an accurate
				indication of anticipated income, the county agency and the assistance group
				may use a longer period of past time when it will provide an accurate
				indication of anticipated fluctuations in future income. Similarly, when the
				assistance group's income fluctuates seasonally, it may be appropriate to use
				the most recent season comparable to the certification period, rather than the
				last thirty days, as one indicator of anticipated income. The county agency
				shall exercise particular caution in using income from a past season as an
				indicator of income for the certification period. In many cases of seasonally
				fluctuating income, the income also fluctuates from one season in one year to
				the same season in the next year. However, in no event shall the county agency
				automatically attribute to the assistance group the amount of any past income.
				The county agency shall not use past income as an indicator of anticipated
				income when changes in income have occurred or can be anticipated during the
				certification period.
(C)
			 When is income anticipated for the month received?
Income anticipated during the certification period shall be
				counted as income only in the month it is expected to be received, unless the
				income is averaged as described in paragraph (I) or (J) of this rule.
				Nonrecurring lump-sum payments are counted as a resource starting in the month
				received and not counted as income.
(D) How is income anticipated when an
			 assistance group is steadily employed?
In cases where the assistance group name is steadily employed,
				income from the previous month is usually a good indicator of the amount of
				income that can be anticipated in the month of application and subsequent
				months. When information supplied by the assistance group or a collateral
				contact indicates that future income will differ from the previous month's
				income, the county agency will use such information to make a reasonable
				estimate of anticipated income. The method used to determine income shall be
				fully documented in the case file.
(E) How are hourly and piecework wages
			 anticipated?
When income is received on an hourly wage or piecework basis,
				weekly income may fluctuate when the wage earner works less than eight hours
				some days or is required to work overtime on others. In this case the county
				agency should consult with the assistance group to determine the normal amount
				of income to be expected as a result of one week's work and when this is
				reasonably certain to be available during the certification period. This amount
				should be used to determine monthly income.
(F) Are withheld wages treated as income?
Wages held at the request of the employee shall be considered
				income to the assistance group in the month the wages would otherwise have been
				paid by the employer. However, wages held by the employer as a general
				practice, even when in violation of law, are not counted as income to the
				assistance group, unless the assistance group anticipates that it will ask for
				and receive an advance or that it will receive income from wages that were
				previously held by the employer as a general practice and were, therefore, not
				previously counted as income by the county agency. Advances on wages shall
				count as income in the month received only when reasonably anticipated.
(G) How is monthly or semimonthly
			 income of varying amounts anticipated?
An assistance group receiving income on a recurring monthly or
				semimonthly basis shall not have its monthly income varied merely because of
				changes in mailing cycles or pay dates or because weekends or holidays cause
				additional payments to be received in a month.
(H) When should actual income be used instead
			 of converted income?
When a full month's income is anticipated and income is
				received on a weekly or biweekly basis, the county agency shall determine
				monthly income by multiplying weekly amounts by 4.3 and biweekly amounts by
				2.15. In one-month certifications, income on less than a monthly basis may be
				computed by using the actual income that is to be received. When income that
				was received on a weekly or biweekly basis has stopped, actual income (not
				converted) is used.
(I) When
			 is income averaged?
Except for destitute assistance groups, income received on a
				monthly basis but whose amount fluctuates from month-to-month and income
				received less often than monthly must be averaged. Income shall not be averaged
				for a destitute assistance group since doing so would result in assigning to
				the month of application income from future periods which is not available to
				the assistance group for its current food needs. To average income, the county
				agency shall use the assistance group's anticipation of income fluctuations
				over the certification period. (For example, an assistance group receives one
				hundred dollars every other month, fifty dollars per month income may be used.)
				The number of months used to arrive at the average income need not be the same
				as the number of months in the certification period. An average must be
				recalculated at recertification and in response to changes in income, in
				accordance with paragraph (K)(1) of rule
				5101:4-7-01
				of the Administrative Code, and the county agency shall inform the assistance
				group of the amount of income used to calculate the allotment. Conversion of
				income received weekly or biweekly in accordance with paragraph (H) of this
				rule does not constitute averaging.
(J) How is contract or self-employment income
			 anticipated?
Assistance groups which, by contract or self-employment, derive
				their annual income in a period of time shorter than one year shall have that
				income averaged over a twelve-month period, provided the income from the
				contract is not received on an hourly or piecework basis. These assistance
				groups may include school employees, share croppers, farmers, and other
				self-employed assistance groups. However, these provisions do not apply to
				migrant or seasonal farm workers. Contract income which is not the assistance
				group's annual income and is not paid on an hourly or piecework basis shall be
				prorated over the period the income is intended to cover.
(K) What expenses are included in income
			 deductions?
Deductible expenses include only the costs described in rule
				5101:4-4-23
				of the Administrative Code.
(L) What types of expenses are not allowed as
			 deductions?
(1) Any expense, in whole or in
			 part, covered by educational income which is excluded income as defined in rule
			 5101:4-4-13
			 of the Administrative Code.
(2) Any
			 expense covered by excluded reimbursements as described in rule
			 5101:4-4-13
			 of the Administrative Code (including reimbursements under employment and
			 training programs) or vendor payments (except an energy assistance payment made
			 under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended). For
			 example, the portion of rent covered by excluded vendor payments is not
			 calculated as part of the assistance group's shelter costs. In addition, an
			 expense which is covered by an excluded vendor payment that has been converted
			 to a direct cash payment under the approval of a federally authorized
			 demonstration project are not deductible.
(3) The portion of an allowable medical
			 expense which is not reimbursable is to be included as part of the assistance
			 group's medical expenses. When the assistance group reports an allowable
			 medical expense at the time of certification but cannot provide verification at
			 that time, and when the amount of the expense cannot be reasonably anticipated
			 based upon available information about the recipient's medical condition and
			 public or private medical insurance coverage, the assistance group is to have
			 the nonreimbursable portion of the medical expense considered at the time the
			 amount of the expense or reimbursement is reported and verified.
(4) An utility expense which is reimbursed or
			 paid by an excluded payment, including the department of housing and urban
			 development (HUD) or the farmers home administration (FMHA) utility
			 reimbursements as described in rule
			 5101:4-4-13
			 of the Administrative Code, are not deductible. Expenses are to only be
			 deductible when the service is provided by someone outside of the assistance
			 group and the assistance group is responsible for the expense. For example, a
			 dependent care deduction is not allowed when another assistance group member
			 provides the care, or compensation for the care is provided in the form of an
			 in-kind benefit, such as food.