Only the payments listed in this Section are excluded from the household's income, from income of disqualified members whose income is counted, or from the income of ineligible aliens who would otherwise be household members.  No other income is excluded.

• (1) In-kind income.  In-kind income is any gain or benefit which is not in the form of money payable directly to the household, including non-monetary or in-kind benefits, such as meals, clothing, public housing, or produce from a garden.
• (2) Vendor payments.  Vendor payments are payments in money on behalf of a household when a person or organization outside the household uses its own funds to make a direct payment to either a household's creditors or a person or organization providing a service to the household.  • 1
• (3) Education assistance.  All education grants, work-study, scholarships, and student loans are exempt if receipt is contingent upon the student regularly attending school.  • 2
• (4) Family Support Assistance Payment Program.  Family Support Assistance Payment Program payments provided by Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) are excluded.
• (5) Income excluded by law.  Income excluded by law is:
  • (A) reimbursements from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.  [Public Law (P.L.) 91-646, § 216]  Such payments are:
    • (i) payments to persons displaced due to the acquisition of real property;
    • (ii) relocation payments to a displaced home owner toward the purchase of a replacement dwelling if the owner purchased and occupied the dwelling within one year following displacement; and
    • (iii) replacement housing payments to displaced persons not eligible for a home owner's payment;
  • (B) payments received:
    • (i) under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act  [P.L. 92-203 § 21(a)];
    • (ii) under the Sac and Fox Indian Claims Agreement  [P.L. 94-189];
    • (iii) from the disposition of funds to the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians  [P.L. 94-540];
    • (iv) by members of the Confederated Tribes of the Mescalero Reservation  [P.L. 95-433]; or
    • (v) under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 to members of the Passamaquoddy and the Penobscot Nation  [P.L. 96-420];
  • (C) any payment to volunteers under Title II, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), foster grandparents and others, of the Domestic Volunteer Services Act of 1973  [P.L. 93-113] as amended;
  • (D) income derived from certain submarginal land of the United States which is held in trust for certain Indian tribes  [P.L. 94-114, § 6];
  • (E) Indian per capita payments distributed from judgment awards and trust funds made pursuant to P.L. 98-64.  Also excluded is 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.  Any per capita payments, headrights of the Osage tribe, income from mineral leases or other tribal business ventures are excluded, as long as they meet the distribution requirements as stated in this paragraph.  • 3  Any interest or income derived from the funds after distribution is considered as any other income.  The per capita exclusion applies per person rather than per family.
    • (i) Excluded funds deposited in a bank or other financial institution are excluded as long as they are kept in a separate account and not commingled in an account with non-excluded funds.  When the excluded funds are commingled in an account with non-excluded funds they retain their exemption for six months from the date of commingling.  After six months from the date of commingling, all funds are counted as a resource.
    • (ii) Purchases made with excluded funds are considered a resource;
  • (F) income up to $2,000 per year received by individual Indians, which is derived from leases or other uses of individually-owned trust or restricted lands.  The income exclusion applies to calendar years beginning January 1, 1994.  Any remaining disbursements from the trust or restricted lands are considered as income;
  • (G) allowances, earnings, and payments made for participation in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to persons of all ages and student status.  There are numerous programs for which payments are excluded.  These programs include Summer Youth, Job Corps, paid classroom training, and others.  The exception to the income exclusion is income to persons for on-the-job training paid to participants 19 years old and older.  This income is treated as any other earned income;
  • (H) payments, allowances, or earnings to persons participating in programs under Title I of the National and Community Service Act, such as University Year for Action (UYA), Senior Companion Program, AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and other AmeriCorps Programs, are not included as income for purposes of determining food benefit eligibility and benefit level;
  • (I) payments or allowances made under any federal law for the purpose of energy assistance, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and utility payments, and reimbursements made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA);
  • (J) the amount of the mandatory salary reduction of military service personnel used to fund the G.I. Bill;
  • (K) all funds that are paid to persons under the Community Service Employment Program under Title V,  P.L. 100-175.  This program is authorized by the Older Americans Act.  Each state and various organizations receive some Title V funds.  These organizations include:
    • (i) Experience Works;
    • (ii) National Council on Aging;
    • (iii) National Council of Senior Citizens;
    • (iv) American Association of Retired Persons (AARP);
    • (v) U. S. Forest Service;
    • (vi) National Association for Spanish Speaking Elderly;
    • (vii) National Urban League;
    • (viii) National Council on Black Aging; and
    • (ix) National Council on Indian Aging;
  • (L) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments received as part of a tax refund and also EITC advance payments received as part of a paycheck  [P.L. 100-435];
  • (M) refunds of the state EITC as result of filing a state income tax return;
  • (N) 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.);
  • (O) payments received under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.  These payments are made to persons of Japanese ancestry who were detained in interment camps during World War II;
  • (P) 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;
  • (Q) payments for the fulfillment of a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act;
  • (R) payments made to persons because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution;
  • (S) funds distributed by Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA) due to a disaster or emergency to persons directly affected by the event.  This exclusion also applies to comparable disaster assistance provided by states, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations.  For payments to be excluded, the disaster or emergency must be declared by the President of the United States;
  • (T) monetary allowances as described in Section 1823(c) of Title 38 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) provided to certain persons who are children of Vietnam War veterans; and  • 4
  • (U) Disaster Unemployment Assistance paid to persons unemployed as a result of a major disaster.
• (6) Payments which are not considered income.
  • (A) The payments in (i) through (iii) are not considered as income.
    • (i) Monies withheld from any income source to repay a prior overpayment from that same source.
    • (ii) Monies voluntarily or involuntarily returned to repay a prior overpayment received from that same income source.
    • (iii) Child support payments received by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients which must be sent to the Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) to maintain TANF eligibility.
  • (B) Monies withheld or returned to repay overpayments in federal, state, or local means-tested assistance programs are counted when they are withheld or returned to repay overpayments resulting from intentional program violation as established by the agency administering the program.
    • (i) In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), willful misrepresentation is considered as intentional program violation.
    • (ii) The State Supplemental Payment to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled and TANF programs define intentional program violation using the terms restitution, fraud, and willful misrepresentation.
    • (iii) The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Veterans Benefits Administration programs define intentional program violation as fraud.  Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program within SSA.
• (7) Reimbursements.
  • (A) Reimbursements for past or future expenses to the extent they do not exceed actual expenses and do not represent a gain or benefit to the household are not considered.  • 5  Examples are reimbursements for:
    • (i) job or training related expenses such as travel, per diem, uniforms, and transportation to and from job or training site.  However, if these expenses are not reimbursements, they are considered income;
    • (ii) out-of-pocket expenses incurred by volunteers in the course of their work;
    • (iii) medical or dependent care; and
    • (iv) services provided by Title XX of the Social Security Act.
  • (B) When a reimbursement, including a flat allowance, covers multiple expenses, each expense does not have to be separately identified as long as none of the reimbursement covers normal living expenses.  The amount of the reimbursement that exceeds the actual incurred expenses is counted as income.  A reimbursement is not considered to exceed actual expenses unless the provider or household indicates the amount is excessive.
• (8) Money received for third parties.  Money received and used for the care and maintenance of a third party beneficiary who is not a household member is not considered.
  • (A) If the intended beneficiaries of a single payment are both household and non-household members, any identifiable portion of the payment intended and used for the care and maintenance of the non-household member is excluded.
  • (B) If the non-household member's portion cannot be readily identified, as in TANF payments, the payment is evenly prorated among intended beneficiaries.  The exclusion is applied to the non-household member's pro rata share or the amount actually used for the non-household member's care and maintenance, whichever is less.
• (9) Earnings of a child.  Earned income of a child who is head of his or her own household is counted.  The earned income of an elementary or high school student 17 years of age or younger who is under parental control of an adult household member is excluded.  This exclusion continues to apply during temporary interruptions in school attendance due to semester or vacation breaks, provided the child's enrollment will resume following the break.  If the child's earnings cannot be differentiated from those of other household members, the total earnings are prorated equally among the working members, and the child's prorated share is excluded.  • 6
• (10) Other types of excluded income.
  • (A) Loans.  All loans, including loans from private as well as commercial institutions, are excluded.  Verification that the income is a loan is required.
  • (B) Irregular Income.  Exclude any income in the certification period which is received too infrequently or irregularly to be reasonably anticipated which is $30 or less per quarter.
  • (C) Non-recurring lump sum payments.  Exclude money received in the form of non-recurring lump sum payments, including but not limited to: income tax refunds, rebates, credits, retroactive lump sums from SSA, SSI, public assistance, Railroad Retirement pensions, or other payments, or retroactive lump sum insurance settlements.  These payments are counted as resources.  • 7
  • (D) Cost of self-employment.  Exclude the cost of producing self-employment income.  • 8
  • (E) Income of non-household members.  The income of non-household members who have not been disqualified or are not ineligible aliens is not considered available to the household.  • 9
  • (F) Charitable contributions.  Exclude cash contributions to a household from one or more private non-profit charitable organizations, not to exceed $300 in a federal fiscal year quarter.  For the purposes of this provision a quarter includes these specific months:
    • (i) October, November, December;
    • (ii) January, February, March;
    • (iii) April, May, June; and
    • (iv) July, August, September.
  • (G) Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Family Self-sufficiency Program (FSS) escrow accounts.  Families participating in the HUD FSS program may withdraw money from their escrow accounts prior to completion of the program.  This money is excluded both as income and as a resource.  • 10
  • (H) Individual Development Account (IDA).  Any funds deposited in an IDA operated under the Assets for Independence Act and the interest that accrues.