Income that is disregarded in determining eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is:

• (1) the food benefit allotment under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008;
• (2) any payment received under Title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970;
• (3) educational assistance including grants, work study, scholarships, fellowships, educational loans on which payment is deferred, veterans education benefits, and the like if receipt is contingent upon the student regularly attending school and the money received is intended to offset the costs of education and expenses as identified by the institution, school, program, or other grantor.  • 1  If the money is not intended to be a reimbursement and is a gain to the client, it is considered income.  • 2  When the educational assistance is serving the same purpose as TANF cash assistance such as when the client receives a stipend for living expenses, the stipend is countable income.  The student's classification as a graduate or undergraduate is not a factor;
• (4) loans, regardless of use, if a bona fide debt or obligation to pay can be established.
  • (A) Criteria to establish a loan as bona fide includes an acknowledgment of obligation to repay or evidence that the loan was from a person or financial institution in the loan business.
  • (B) If the loan was from a person(s) not in the loan business, the borrower's acknowledgment of obligation to repay, with or without interest, is required to indicate that the loan is bona fide.
  • (C) If the loan agreement is not written, Form 08AD103E, Loan Verification, must be completed by the borrower attesting that the loan is bona fide and signed by the lender verifying the date and amount of loan.
  • (D) When copies of written agreements or Form 08AD103E are not available, detailed case documentation must include information that the loan is bona fide and how the debt amount and date of receipt was verified;
• (5) Indian payments, which include judgment funds or funds held in trust, distributed per capita by the Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or distributed by the tribe subject to approval by the Secretary of the Interior.  For purposes of this paragraph, per capita is defined as each tribal member receiving an equal amount.
  • (A) Any interest or investment income accrued on such funds while held in trust or any purchases made with judgment funds, trust funds, interest, or investment income accrued on such funds is disregarded.
  • (B) Any income from mineral leases or from tribal business investments is disregarded as long as the payments are paid per capita.
  • (C) Any interest or income derived from the principal or produced by purchases made with the funds after distribution is considered as any other income;
• (6) special allowance(s) for school expenses made available upon petition in writing from trust funds of the student;
• (7) income from trusts of a child(ren) included in a TANF benefit if it is determined by the worker that funds are to be used for educational purposes for the child(ren).  Any court established trust must be examined to determine if the court has restricted the trust for other purposes.  The worker must verify at application and redetermination if funds have been withdrawn.  • 3  Any funds withdrawn are treated as lump sum unearned income unless it can be documented the funds were used for the child(ren)'s educational purposes;  • 4
• (8) income from accounts, stocks, and bonds held under the control of a third party if the funds are designated for educational purposes for a child(ren) in a TANF benefit even if the child(ren)'s name is on the account and the third party holder is required to access the funds;
• (9) benefits from state and community programs on aging from Title III and Title V. Title III and Title V are under the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965 amended by Public Law (P.L.) 100‑175 to become the OAA as amended 2000.  Each state and various organizations receive some Title V funds.  These organizations include:
  • (A) Experience Works;
  • (B) National Council on Aging;
  • (C) National Council of Senior Citizens;
  • (D) American Association of Retired Persons (AARP);
  • (E) United States (US) Forest Service;
  • (F) National Association for Spanish Speaking Elderly;
  • (G) National Urban League;
  • (H) National Council on Black Aging; and
  • (I) National Council on Indian Aging.
• (10) unearned income received by a child(ren) in a TANF benefit, such as a needs based payment, cash assistance, compensation in lieu of wages, or allowance from a program funded by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) including Job Corps income and WIA earned income received as wages;
• (11) payments for supportive services or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses made to individual volunteers serving as foster grandparents, senior health aides, or senior companions, and to persons serving in the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Active Corps of Executives (ACE);
• (12) payments to volunteers under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (NCSTA), unless the gross amount of AmeriCorps*VISTA payments equals or exceeds the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is greater;  • 5
• (13) the value of supplemental food assistance received under the Child Nutrition Act or the special food service program for children under the National School Lunch Act;
• (14) any portion of payments, made under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to an Alaska Native, which are exempt from taxation under the Settlement Act;
• (15) any income of an adult or child(ren) in the family group living in the home and receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is not considered in determining the TANF benefit.  His or her individual income is considered by the Social Security Administration in determining eligibility for SSI.  This includes any payment made by the Developmental Disabilities Services Division through the Family Support Assistance Payment Program on behalf of a child(ren) receiving SSI and any other earned or unearned income of the person;
• (16) Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP) payments made under Annual Contributions Contracts entered into prior to January 1, 1975, under Section 23 of the US Housing Act of 1937, as amended;
• (17) earnings of a child(ren) in a TANF benefit who is a full-time student;
• (18) government rental or housing subsidies by governmental agencies, for example, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which are received in-kind or in cash for rent, mortgage payments, or utilities;
• (19) reimbursements from an employer, the Department of Labor, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for out-of-pocket expenditures and allowances for travel, training, meals, or supplies, which could include uniforms, to the extent the funds are used for expenses directly related to such travel, training, meals or supplies;
• (20) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments for energy assistance and payments for emergency situations under Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children;
• (21) advance payments of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or refunds of EITC as a result of filing a federal income tax return; • 6
• (22) refunds of state EITC as a result of filing a state income tax return; • 6
• (23) payments made from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any other fund established pursuant to the settlement in the In Re Agent Orange product liability litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y.);
• (24) payments made from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund as compensation for injuries or deaths resulting from the exposure to radiation from nuclear testing and uranium mining;
• (25) federal major disaster and emergency assistance provided by Section 5515(d) of Title 42 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) and comparable disaster assistance provided by states, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations;
• (26) interests of individual Indians in trust or restricted lands;
• (27) income up to $2,000 per calendar year received by individual Indians, which is derived from leases or other uses of individually owned trust or restricted lands.  Any remaining disbursements from the trust or the restricted lands are considered as unearned income; • 7
• (28) payments received under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.  These payments are made to persons of Japanese ancestry who were detained in internment camps during World War II;
• (29) payments made to persons because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution;
• (30) interest accrued from the deposits made by an person into an Individual Development Account (IDA) up to $2,000;  • 8
• (31) stipends paid to students participating in the Indian Vocational Education Program (IVEP) through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act;
• (32) payments made from the crime victims compensation program as amended in section 1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, Section 10602 of Title 42 of the U.S.C.;
• (33) reimbursements made to a foster care parent(s) or a potential foster care parent(s);  • 9
• (34) payments as described in Section 1823(c) of Title 38 of the U.S.C. provided to certain persons who are children of Vietnam War veterans; and
• (35) earned income received as wages, unearned income, cash assistance, compensation in lieu of wages, or an allowance from a program funded by WIA.