DTA looks at the income you expect to get in the month. If you get the income on a weekly basis, DTA multiplies the weekly amount by 4.333, which is the average number of weeks in a month. If you get the income every two weeks, DTA multiplies the biweekly income by 2.167. 106 C.M.R. § 704.290. This is called “prospective budgeting.”

DTA should use the “best estimate” of the income you expect to receive. 106 C.M.R. § 704.290. If your job stopped or you expect to work fewer hours in the coming month, DTA should count the income you expect to receive, not the income you received before.

Advocacy Reminder

• DTA will average the income of workers who have a contractual annual salary. 106 C.M.R. § 704.290(A)(4); DTA Transitions, Sep. 2010, p. 4. DTA should not average the income of school employees and others who get their income during only part of the year but do not have an annual contract or are paid on an hourly basis. DTA may average the income of a teacher who is paid during the school year but has an annual contract. DTA should not average the income of a school cafeteria worker who is paid during the school year and does not have an annual contract.
• For more information on how DTA counted terminated and other income during the pandemic, see Appendix E (DTA Online Guide Links).