10 Colo. Code Regs. § 2506-1-4.402
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 22, November 25, 2024
Section 10 CCR 2506-1-4.402 - HOUSEHOLD INCOME ELIGIBILITYA. Determining Income 1. Income eligibility shall be determined prospectively based on the eligibility technician's anticipation of income at the time of application and when changes are made known to the local office.2. When determining if a household is eligible under gross and/or net income limits, households shall have income converted to a monthly amount by using a conversion as specified below. When a full month's income is anticipated any cents in the gross weekly or biweekly earnings shall be used in converting income to a monthly amount. Pay Frequency | Conversion |
Weekly | Multiply Weekly Average by 4.3. |
Bi-Weekly (Every Two Weeks) | Multiply Bi-Weekly Average by 2.15. |
Semi-Monthly (Twice a Month) | Multiply Semi-Monthly Average by 2. |
Every Other Month | Multiply Average by 0.5. |
Quarterly | Multiply Average by 0.333333. |
Twice a Year | Multiply Average by 0.166666. |
Annual | Multiply Average by .083. |
3. Household income shall mean all earned and unearned income received or anticipated to be received by household members from whatever source, unless specifically exempted for Food Assistance eligibility and budgeting purposes, per Section 4.405. Income of household members, including the amount of the disqualified person's income attributed to the household, shall be counted as income in the month received or the month it becomes available, unless the income is averaged over the certification period.B. Variations in Date of Pay 1. Regular ongoing earned income that is received early or late by a household due to a holiday, a weekend, or pay dates being changed will have income counted based on the regular pay schedule instead of the actual date of pay.2. Households receiving monthly benefits such as public assistance or social security payments shall not have their monthly income varied merely because mailing cycles resulted in two (2) payments in one month and none in the next month.3. Households containing a member of the Armed Services of the United States shall not have their monthly income varied merely because the first day of the month falls on a holiday or weekend which resulted in two (2) payments in the month and none in the subsequent month.C. Wage Data 1. With respect to income or resource information originating with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and provided through the income and eligibility verification system (IEVS), as well as wage data obtained through the DOLE or IEVS, the local office must verify such information from another source and must verify applicant/participant access to that income/resource. The local office may not take adverse action on such information until independent verification is obtained, or until the applicant has been found to have failed to cooperate in providing the required verification. The information must also be verified prior to establishing a claim for an over-issuance of benefits. 4.402.1Prospective BudgetingA. Prospective budgeting is the process of computing a household's allotment based on anticipated income and circumstances during the issuance month. All SNAP households and all situations require prospective budgeting determinations, including Public Assistance (PA) households under the TANF /Colorado Works Program.B. If the date of receipt or the amount of any anticipated income is uncertain, such as a new job or a PA application, that portion of income shall not be considered. Only the portion of income which can be anticipated with reasonable certainty concerning the amount and month in which monies will be received shall be counted as income.C. Income received within the past thirty (30) days may be used as an indication of the income that will be received in the issuance month unless changes in income have occurred or can be anticipated which require proper adjustment. Income used to determine prospective eligibility shall be representative of the household's current circumstances. If the verified income does not provide an accurate indication of anticipated income, a longer period of past time may be used if it will provide a more accurate indication of anticipated income. If a household's income fluctuates seasonally, it may be appropriate to use the last season rather than the last thirty (30) days, although precaution must be taken to account for possible fluctuations or new circumstances. Except for eligible strikers, no household shall have the amount of any past income automatically attributed to it.
4.402.2Averaging IncomeTo obtain a household's average monthly income, income intended to cover a specific period of time is divided by the number of months the income is intended to cover.
A. Income shall be averaged for:1. Households who derive their annual income from self-employment. These households shall have their income annualized over a twelve (12) month period even if the income is received within a shorter period of time.2. Households who derive their annual income from contract income shall have that income averaged over a twelve (12) month period. (This requirement is not applied to income from a contract received on an hourly or piecework basis.)3. Households receiving educational income as defined in Section 4.404, D. The income is prorated over the period of time it was intended to cover.4. Other households not previously mentioned, such as migrant or seasonal workers, may elect to have their fluctuating income averaged over the period of time the income is intended to cover. Self-employment income, contract income, and fluctuating income intended to cover a specific period of time shall not be averaged or annualized for migrant households that are destitute of income as defined in Section 4.406.
B. The types of households listed above shall have their self-employment income, contract income, or educational monies annualized or prorated, and added to other household income to determine monthly income for SNAP.C. To average income prospectively, the eligibility technician shall use the household's anticipation of income, considering fluctuations, to obtain a monthly average amount for the period of certification. 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, such as the known income from two (2) previous months may be averaged and projected for each month of a certification period that is longer than two (2) months. Refer to Section 4.403.11 for more information on computing self-employment income. Fluctuating income that has been averaged may be adjusted if verification of a change in circumstances is received.
37 CR 15, August 10, 2014, effective 9/1/201437 CR 21, November 10,2014, effective 12/1/201438 CR 23, December 10, 2015, effective 1/1/201639 CR 01, January 10, 2016, effective 2/1/201639 CR 05, March 10, 2016, effective 4/1/201639 CR 07, April 10, 2016, effective 5/1/201639 CR 15, August 10, 2016, effective 9/1/201639 CR 17, September 10, 2016, effective 10/1/201639 CR 19, October 10, 2016, effective 11/1/201639 CR 23, December 10, 2016, effective 1/1/201740 CR 11, June 10, 2017, effective 7/1/201740 CR 17, September 10, 2017, effective 10/1/201741 CR 15, August 10, 2018, effective 9/1/201840 CR 23, December 10, 2017, effective 12/30/201842 CR 01, January 10, 2019, effective 2/1/201942 CR 03, February 10, 2019, effective 3/15/201942 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 10/1/201942 CR 18, October 10, 2019, effective 10/1/201942 CR 23, December 10, 2019, effective 12/30/201943 CR 01, January 10, 2020, effective 1/30/202043 CR 05, March 10, 2020, effective 2/7/202043 CR 07, April 10, 2020, effective 4/30/202043 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/202044 CR 21, November 10, 2021, effective 11/30/202145 CR 05, March 10, 2022, effective 3/30/202245 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 10/1/202245 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 11/1/202245 CR 21, November 10, 2022, effective 11/30/202247 CR 15, August 10, 2024, effective 8/30/2024