Clarifying Information
- Rent payments received from roomers or boarders are considered unearned income.
- The interest portion of payments on sales or real estate contracts owned by an individual who is resource eligible is counted as unearned income when the combined value of all resources is at or below the resource standard. Count only the portion of the payment that goes toward interest as unearned income.
- Puyallup Tribe Settlement Income: Budget interest income from the annuity fund payment or the initial investments as newly acquired income.
- Receipt of gaming money by tribal members is considered unearned income in the month received. Gaming money set aside in trust funds by the tribe is not considered available until it may be accessed by the tribal member for whom it is set aside.
Example: A tribe pays $2,000 per month gaming money to each tribal member. For tribal members under age 18, $1,000 per month is set-aside in a trust fund which can be used by the child on or after his or her 18th birthday. The $1,000 received each month is considered income in the month received. The $1,000 per month set-aside is not considered until the child reaches 18. The month after the child turns 18, any money remaining from the trust fund is considered an available resource and that month’s $2,000 is considered income.
- Home equity conversion plans: a security interest in the home is given in exchange for a lump sum, a periodic cash payment, or a line of credit. The most common home equity conversion plan is a reverse mortgage that allows the homeowner to borrow from the equity in the home with no repayment as long as they live in the home. The funds received under a home equity conversion plan are a loan, and thus do not count as income. However;Â
- Interest earned on any money received under the home conversion plan is considered unearned income, and
- Money retained into the following month is considered a resource as of the first of the month following the month of receipt.
Other Examples: Items an individual may receive that are not considered income include:
- Weatherization assistance;
- Proceeds from a loan the individual takes out; or
- Bills paid directly to the vendor by another party.
Note: Proceeds from timber sales are considered a resource, not income, in the month received. This was a court decision – conversion of a resource: Cootes v. Sullivan, No. 91 36073 (9th Cir. 1992).
Example: Riley just bought his first home. He paid the closing costs that were on the papers, and a month later was sent $300 because the actual closing costs were less than estimated. The $300 is not income; it is a refund of money he already paid.
Example:Â Debbie just sold her 1989 Toyota because she decided to use public transportation instead of spending money on car repairs. The money she gets for selling the car is not income. She exchanged one resource (the car) for another (cash).