If you share living quarters with friends or relatives – and you purchase and prepare the majority of your meals separately – the income of these individuals does not count¹.

However, if you live with someone who is required to be part of your SNAP household but is ineligible, there are rules about how their income is handled.

The treatment of their income depends on the reason the person is not eligible:

• An intentional program violation (IPV) or fraud, see what if DTA says you committed fraud or an Intentional Program Violation (“IPV”).
• A disqualifying criminal record (fleeing felon), see what if you have a criminal record or DTA says you're a “fleeing felon” or violating your probation.
• A voluntary quit from work or a strike, see what happens if you quit a job shortly before applying for SNAP and rules while on strike.
• Undetermined or undocumented immigration status, see counting income of an ineligible immigrant. To determine how SNAP treats the income of ineligible immigrant household members, see counting income of an ineligible immigrant.
• A household member who fails or refuses to give his or her SSN for reasons other than non-citizen status should have a pro-rated share of their income applied to the rest of the household. DTA currently fails to do this. Contact [email protected].
• Income of an individual terminated due to the 3-month ABAWD time limit must be pro-rated against the rest of the household. The 3-month time limit is not currently in effect.
• Any income of an ineligible college student is not counted. See what if you are a college student?.
• Income of individuals in adult foster care can be excluded. See providing adult foster care to an older adult or person with disabilities.
• Income of foster care children can be excluded. See caring for a foster child?.

See 106 C.M.R.§361.230(D) and 7 CFR 273.11(c).

If someone is sanctioned due to an IPV, the rules require DTA to count the disqualified person’s income and apply an asset test and the lower (130% FPL) gross income eligibility test. See counting assets.

In addition, the rules require DTA to exclude the disqualified person in the household size².

Example

Mark, Sarah and their two children reapplied for SNAP recently. Mark was disqualified in September for 12 months after a hearing officer ruled that he had committed an Intentional Program Violation (IPV). Mark is now working 20 hours a week and the family reapplied for SNAP. Mark is not eligible for SNAP until his 12-month disqualification period ends at the end of August.

As a household with a disqualified member, the household’s income (including Mark’s) must fall under the lower 130% FPL gross income limit for three people (his wife and 2 children). Further, the family’s SNAP benefit amount is calculated for a household of 3 (not 4). Mark is excluded from the SNAP household size until the 12-month sanction period expires, but his income counts in the SNAP math.

Note

As soon as the IPV sanction period ends, DTA should use the 200% FPL gross income test (versus 130% FPL) and increase the SNAP benefit to include the formerly disqualified household member in the household size. Be sure to check the accuracy and duration of any IPV disqualification.