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(Revised 11/1/07 ML #3115)
(N.D.A.C. 75-02-01.2-45)
The following types of unearned income will be considered neither income nor assets and are disregarded:
Adoption Assistance Payments/Subsidized Adoption Payments -- Adoption assistance is considered complementary assistance on the basis that it is for a different purpose than TANF or for items not included in the Standard of Need and therefore is exempt in determining eligibility and benefit amount for TANF. Subsidized adoptive children cannot be included in the TANF benefit until the adoption decree is final. Once the adoption decree is final, the adoptive child must be included in the TANF benefit. However, when the child is included in the TANF benefit, the adoption assistance payment is not counted as income to the household.
Agent Orange Settlement Program -- Pursuant to Public Law 101-201, Agent Orange settlement payments are not considered income or assets for TANF.
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act – As provided by Public Law 92-203, any tax exempt portions of payments made as a result of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
AmeriCorps Payments – The education awards for college tuition or loan repayment and the living allowances are exempt from consideration. Eligible individuals for the AmeriCorps income will include students at least 17 years old who have or agree to get a high school diploma and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Child and Adult Food Program -- The program provides cash reimbursement for meals and snacks to licensed families who provide day care in their homes.
Combat Pay - TANF will disregard any additional monies received by a household as the result of the deployment of a service member to a designated combat zone.
TANF count the gross income for all adult members of the household unit and considers the entire income of the parent temporarily away from home, including a parent in military service.
To determine the amount of service member's income that will be disregarded, compare the amount received before deployment and the amount the received after the deployment. The difference between the two amounts is the amount that will be disregarded.
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Example: |
Dad was making $1,000 gross pay before deployment to a combat zone. He now is receiving $1,400. Disregard the additional $400. |
Combat Zone Tax Exclusion Areas
Executive Order 12744 (effective January 17, 1991
Arabian Sea Portion that lies North of 10 degrees North Latitude and West of 68 degrees East Longitude
Bahrain
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Oman
Iraq
Kuwait
Persian Gulf
Qatar
Oman
Red Sea
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Direct Support of EO 12744
Turkey effective January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2005
Israel effective January 1 - July 31, 2003
Eastern Med effective March 19 - July 31, 2003
Jordan effective March 19, 2003
Egypt effective March 19 - April 20, 2003
Executive Order 13239 (effective September 19, 2001
Afghanistan
Direct Support of EO 13239
Pakistan effective September 19, 2001
Tajikistan effective September 19, 2001
Jordan effective September 19, 2001
Incirlik AFB effective September 21, 2001 - December 31, 2005
Kyrgyzstan effective October 1, 2001
Uzbekistan effective October 1, 2001
Phillipines (only troops w/orders that reference OEF) effective January 9, 2002
Yemen effective April 10, 2002
Djibouti effective July 1, 2002
Somalia effective January 1, 2004
Executive Order 13119 (effective March 24, 1999)
Public Law 105-21 Establishing Kosovo as Qualified Hazardous Duty Area (March 24, 1999)
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro)
Albania
The Adriatic Sea
The Ionian Seas north of the 39th parallel
Public Law 104-117 Establishing a Qualified Hazardous Duty Area (November 1995)
Bosnia
Herzegovina
Croatia
Macedonia
Crime Victim Compensation – Crime victim compensation is disregarded as income and an asset.
Donated Food -- The value of foods donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (surplus commodities).
Earned Income Credit -- Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refunds are disregarded as earned and unearned income, but are considered an asset beginning the second month following month of receipt.
Family Home Care – The Family Home Care Program provides Medicaid eligible persons, who have been determined to need a level of services provided by long term care facilities, with the option of receiving such services at home under Medicaid. Payment for home care services may be made to either the aged or disabled person receiving the services or to the provider of the services. In either instance, the payment is disregarded for TANF if the service is provided by a non-member of the TANF household. If the services are provided by a member of the TANF household, payments are considered earned income if employed by an agency or self-employment if a Qualified Service Provider, and subject to the standard employment expense allowance and employment incentives.
Family Subsidy Payment -- The Family Subsidy Program is a resource to families who maintain a developmentally disabled child at home but incur extraordinary financial obligations. Modest monthly payments to eligible households are intended to offset such expenses as therapy, counseling, respite and day care, related transportation and special clothing, equipment and diets.
Foster Care Payments – Foster care payments are considered complementary assistance and disregarded in determining eligibility or the amount of the TANF benefit. The foster child cannot be included in the TANF household.
General Assistance – General Assistance paid by voucher on behalf of a TANF household by the county social service office or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Any General Assistance paid by cash or check directly to a TANF household from the county social service board or Bureau of Indian Affairs must be treated as unearned income.
Housing Assistance Programs -- The value of any public rent or housing subsidy, which includes HUD Section 8, utility allowances, HUD Public Housing, other HUD Programs, and all state and local government housing subsidies.
Income Tax Refund -- Federal or state income tax refunds are disregarded as unearned income, but are considered an asset beginning the second month following month of receipt.
Individual Indian Monies (IIM) and Property Sales Treatment -- The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 provides that up to $2,000 per year of income received from Individual Indian trust or restricted lands shall not be counted as income. This includes leases on individually owned or restricted Indian lands. The income generally comes from interests in lands allotted to individual Indians many years ago. Income to individual Indians generated by these interests are likely to be small because many of the original interests are allotted lands which have been fractionalized over time due to the inheritance of multiple heirs over several generations. Income included in the accounts are payments from range unit leasing, farm leases, gravel pit contract, sales, etc. Any disregarded amounts retained by an individual after the month in which they are received would count as an asset. Funds in the IIM accounts that do not have a specific exclusion must be counted for TANF. Other moneys deposited in the accounts, such as inheritances, VA, SSA, SSI, gaming profits, etc. are not part of the $2,000 exclusion.
Beginning January 1, 2003, use client statement as accepted verification of the amount in an IIM account unless one of the following applies:
The amount is more than $2000 for the year;
The client statement information is questionable; or
The IIM account includes countable income such as inheritance, bonuses, and other income that is not derived from leases, trust, or restricted land.
Verification Options
We have three options by which verification may be obtained:
Request for verification of IIM account information using form SFN 413 -Individual Indian Monies Account. This form will need to be notarized per requirements of the United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, Office of Trust Funds Management. These releases are valid for one (1) year and must be renewed annually.
Individuals with IIM accounts receive statements from the Office of Trust Funds Management on a quarterly basis. A copy of this form may be requested from the recipient. However, the recipient will not receive the statement if the Office of Trust Funds Management does not have a current address.
The individual may obtain a statement of his or her IIM account directly from the Office of Trust Funds Management through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) by requesting the information in person or by making a telephone request. In both cases, the individual will need to know his or her account number and provide at least two forms of identification.
At the time of application, go back one year and look at IIM account. The counted income is pro-rated for the next year.
On-going cases, a review of the IIM account is required on a yearly basis, when a child turns 18 years of age, when adding an individual to a case, and when the amount in the account reaches the maximum allowable amount or is questionable. Any counted income is pro-rated over the year. SFN 413, "Individual Indian Monies Account," is used to obtain this information from the tribal agencies.
Indian Per Capita Funds – Per capita income payments are treated the same as non-recurring lump sum payments and will count in the asset limits beginning the second month following receipt if commingled with any other countable assets. Purchases with per capita funds are exempt but once the item is sold it loses its per capita status.
Indian Vocational Education Program (IVEP) Payments
Loans-- A loan from any source subject to a written documentation requiring repayment by a TANF household member.
Payments to Children of Vietnam Veterans Born with Spina Bifida
Payments Resulting from Disaster Declaration -- Exclude federal payments issued due to a presidential declaration of disaster Federal payments include, but are not limited to, grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). State and local governments, and disaster relief organizations such as Red Cross and Salvation Army, may also provide disaster assistance.
Payments to Volunteers – Payment for services or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses made to individual volunteers serving as foster grandparents, senior health aides or senior companions, persons serving in the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE), Active Corps of Executives (ACE), Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA), and any other programs under Titles I, II, and III of Section 418, Public Law 93-113.
Public Law 106-419 requires that allowances paid under this law to children of female Vietnam veterans who suffer from certain covered birth defects be excluded from assets and income in determining eligibility and level of benefits under any federal or federally assisted program. This statute provides for monthly allowances, based on the degree of disability suffered by the child. The amounts range from $100 to $1272 monthly.
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Settlement Payments -- Payment settlements as a result of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (P.L. 101-426) are exempt as long as settlement payments and accrued interest are kept separate and apart from countable assets. Commingling of funds renders the entire account non-exempt.
Rental and Utility Rebates and Deposit Refunds -- Rebates and deposits from rental and utility companies are considered an asset in the 2nd month following month of receipt.
Submarginal Lands -- Public Law 94-114 requires that the income derived from certain submarginal lands (low productivity; infertile) conveyed to Indian tribes and held in trust by the United States be exempt. The land addressed by this law is located on the Fort Totten and Standing Rock Indian Reservations.
Supplemental Food Assistance -- The value of any supplemental food assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the special food service program for children under the National School Lunch Act.
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) -- Program provides supplemental nutritious food as an adjunct to good health care to individuals who show a high nutritional risk because of inadequate nutrition and inadequate income.
Subsidized Guardianship Payments – The Subsidized Guardianship Project is a new program through Children and Family Services (CFS) that began in March 2000. It is designed to serve North Dakota children who are in foster care, but who need a permanency alternative. The program was created in response to the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
Subsidized guardianship payments are considered complementary assistance and are exempt in determining eligibility and the benefit amount of TANF. The child for whom the subsidized guardianship payment is received is not eligible for TANF and cannot be included in the household.
Volunteer Placement Program -- Children in the Volunteer Placement Program are not foster care placements and the parents retain care, custody, and control of the child. The child could be placed in a facility that is not inpatient care including PATH and county foster families or facilities, i.e. Manchester House, Dakota Boys Ranch, Prairie learning Center, etc.
Children in the Volunteer Placement Program are considered temporarily out of their home with a plan to return to their parental unit. The length of stay in a facility varies depending on the needs of the child. Children placed into a facility under the Volunteer Placement Program are eligible for the $45.00 clothing allowance provided all other factors of eligibility are met for the TANF Program. The out-of-home payment will be part of the TANF benefit paid to the parent/caretaker.
