Five deductions are available to all household types. 106 C.M.R. § 364.400. Households with an elder or disabled member can seek the medical deduction and higher shelter deductions. See What medical expenses can I claim if I am elderly (60+) or disabled?
The following deductions are allowed for all household types:
- 20 percent of gross earned income. 106 C.M.R. § 364.400(B).
- Self-employment business expenses. 106 C.M.R. § 365.940. See How is self-employment income counted?
- A standard deduction based on household size: 106 C.M.R. § 364.400(A). Every SNAP/food stamp household gets this standard deduction from countable income.
$147
for households of 1-3 persons $155
for households of 4 persons $181
for households of 5 persons $208
for households of 6 or more persons - A child care or disabled adult care deduction if you are working, looking for work, or in school or training. You can claim the full amount you are responsible to pay for each child under age 18 and/or for the custodial care of a disabled or elderly adult. 106 C.M.R. § 364.400(D). See What is the child care/dependent care deduction? describing the range of allowable expenses.
- Child support paid to children outside the home (including payments for health insurance, child support arrearages, payments made to third parties for rent or mortgage) if you are legally obligated to pay the support for a child of yours who does not live with you, 106 C.M.R. § 364.400(E). See What is the child support deduction?
- A shelter deduction capped at $459 for households that do not include an elderly or disabled member. For households with an elder or disabled member, the shelter deduction is un-capped. 106 C.M.R. § 364.400(G). The shelter deduction is the amount by which your shelter expenses exceed one-half of your "preliminary net income," which is the result after subtracting the other deductions. See What is the standard utility allowance (SUA) and what is H-EAT? and What is the shelter deduction and how does DTA calculate it? on how to calculate the shelter deduction.
If you are homeless and have no rent or utility obligations, you get a homeless shelter deduction of $143 a month instead of the shelter deduction, 106 C.M.R. § 360.400(F). See What is the homeless shelter/utility deduction and who gets it?
The result is your monthly net income. Your benefits are based on this amount. The following questions include examples of how the deductions work to reach net income.
Produced by Patricia Baker, Laura Gallant, Deborah Harris, Rochelle Hahn Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Last updated January 2011
