(a) For HHS and DOE funded programs, eligibility for
program assistance is determined under the Poverty Income Guidelines
and calculated as described herein. Income means cash receipts earned
and/or received by the applicant before taxes during applicable tax
year(s) but not the Excluded Income listed in paragraph (2) of this
subsection. Gross income is to be used, not net income.
  (1) If an income source is not excluded below, it must
be included when determining income eligibility.
  (2) Excluded Income:
    (A) Capital gains;
    (B) Any assets drawn down as withdrawals from a bank;
    (C) Balance of funds in a checking or savings account;
    (D) Any amounts in an "individual development account"
as provided by the Assets for Independence Act, as amended in 2002
(Pub. L. 107-110, 42 U.S.C. 604(h)(4));
    (E) The sale of property, a house, or a car;
    (F) One-time payments from a welfare agency to a family
or person who is in temporary financial difficulty;
    (G) Tax refunds, Earned Income Tax Credit refunds;
    (H) Jury duty compensation;
    (I) Gifts, loans, and lump-sum inheritances;
    (J) One-time insurance payments, or compensation for
injury;
    (K) Non-cash benefits, such as the employer-paid or
union-paid portion of health insurance or other employee fringe benefits;

    (L) Reimbursements (for mileage, gas, lodging, meals,
etc.);
    (M) Food or housing received in lieu of wages;
    (N) The value of food and fuel produced and consumed
on farms;
    (O) The imputed value of rent from owner-occupied non-farm
or farm housing;
    (P) Federal non-cash benefit programs as Medicare,
Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and school lunches (Medicare deduction from Social
Security Administration benefits should not be counted as income);
    (Q) Housing assistance and combat zone pay to the military;

    (R) Veterans (VA) Disability Payments;
    (S) College scholarships, Pell and other grant sources,
assistantships, fellowships and work study, VA Education Benefits
(GI Bill), Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance programs (20
U.S.C. 1087uu);
    (T) Child support payments (amount paid by payor may
not be deducted from income);
    (U) Income of Household members under eighteen (18)
years of age;
    (V) Stipends from senior companion programs, such as
Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Foster Grandparents Program;
    (W) AmeriCorps Program payments, allowances, earnings,
and in-kind aid;
    (X) Depreciation for farm or business assets;
    (Y) Reverse mortgages;
    (Z) Payments for care of Foster Children;
    (AA) Payments or allowances made under the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (42 U.S.C. 8624(f));
    (BB) Any amount of crime victim compensation (under
the Victims of Crime Act) received through crime victim assistance
(or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance) as determined
under the Victims of Crime Act because of the commission of a crime
against the applicant under the Victims of Crime Act (42 U.S.C. 10602(c));

    (CC) Major disaster and emergency assistance received
by individuals and families under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (93, as amended) and comparable
disaster assistance provided by States, local governments, and disaster
assistance organizations (42 U.S.C. 5155(d));
    (DD) Allowances, earnings, and payments to individuals
participating in programs under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(29 U.S.C. 2931(a)(2));
    (EE) Payments received from programs funded under Title
V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056(g));
    (FF) The value of any child care provided or arranged
(or any amount received as payment for such care or reimbursement
for costs incurred for such care) under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858(q));
    (GG) Certain payments received under the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(c));
    (HH) Income derived from certain submarginal land of
the United States that is held in trust for certain Indian tribes
(25 U.S.C. 459(e));
    (II) Income derived from the disposition of funds to
the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians (94, §6);
    (JJ) The first $2,000 of per capita shares received
from judgment funds awarded by the National Indian Gaming Commission
or the U.S. Claims Court, the interests of individual Indians in trust
or restricted lands, and the first $2000 per year of income received
by individual Indians from funds derived from interests held in such
trust or restricted lands (25 U.S.C. 1407-1408). This exclusion does
not include proceeds of gaming operations regulated by the Commission;
    (KK) Payments received on or after January 1, 1989,
from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund (101) or any other fund established
pursuant to the settlement in In Re Agent Orange Liability Litigation,
M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y.);
    (LL) Payments received under the Maine Indian Claims
Settlement Act of 1980 (96, 25 U.S.C. 1728);
    (MM) Payments by the Indian Claims Commission to the
Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Indian Nation or the Apache
Tribe of Mescalero Reservation (95);
    (NN) Any allowance paid under the provisions of 38
U.S.C. 1833(c) to children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida
(38 U.S.C. 1802-05), children of women Vietnam veterans born with
certain birth defects (38 U.S.C. 1811-16), and children of certain
Korean service veterans born with spina bifida (38 U.S.C. 1821);
    (OO) Payments, funds, or distributions authorized,
established, or directed by the Seneca Nation Settlement Act of 1990
(25 U.S.C. 1774f(b));
    (PP) Payments from any deferred U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs disability benefits that are received in a lump sum
amount or in prospective monthly amounts (42 U.S.C. §1437a(b)(4));
    (QQ) A lump sum or a periodic payment received by an
individual Indian pursuant to the Class Action Settlement Agreement
in the case entitled Elouise Cobell et al. v. Ken Salazar et al.,
816 F.Supp.2d 10 (Oct. 5, 2011 D.D.C.), for a period of one year from
the time of receipt of that payment as provided in the Claims Resolution
Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-291);
    (RR) Per capita payments made from the proceeds of
Indian Tribal Trust Cases as described in PIH Notice 2013-30 "Exclusion
from Income of Payments under Recent Tribal Trust Settlements" (25
U.S.C. 117b(a)); and
    (SS) Any other income required to be excluded by the
federal or state funding program.
(b) The requirements for determining whether an applicant
Household is eligible for assistance require the Subrecipient to annualize
the Household income based on verifiable documentation of income.
  (1) The Subrecipient must calculate projected annual
income by annualizing current income. Income that may not last for
a full 12 months (e.g., unemployment compensation) should be calculated
assuming current circumstances will last a full 12 months.
  (2) Subrecipient must collect verifiable documentation
of Household income received in the thirty (30) days prior to the
date of application.
  (3) Once all sources of income are known, Subrecipient
must convert reported income to an annual figure. Convert periodic
wages to annual income by multiplying:
    (A) Hourly wages by the number of hours worked per
year (2,080 hours for full-time employment with a 40-hour week and
no overtime);
    (B) Weekly wages by 52;
    (C) Bi-weekly wages (paid every other week) by 26;
    (D) Semi-monthly wages (paid twice each month) by 24;
and
    (E) Monthly wages by 12.
(c) Except for ESG, to annualize other than full-time
income, multiply the wages by the actual number of hours or weeks
the person is expected to work.
(d) For HHSP, Subrecipients may select either the method
described in (a) - (c) of this section or the method described in
(e) of this section, but once selected the method must be used consistently
throughout the contract period.
(e) For ESG, Subrecipients must use the income determination
method outlined in 24 CFR 5.609, must use the list of income included
in HUD Handbook 4350, and must exclude from income those items listed
in HUD's Updated List of Federally Mandated Exclusions from Income.
(f) If proof of income is unobtainable, the applicant
must complete and sign a Declaration of Income Statement (DIS). In
order to use the DIS form, each Subrecipient shall develop and implement
a written policy and procedure on the use of the DIS form. In developing
the policy and procedure, Subrecipients shall limit the use of the
DIS form to cases where there are serious extenuating circumstances
that justify the use of the form. Such circumstances might include
crisis situations such as applicants that are affected by natural
disaster which prevents the applicant from obtaining income documentation,
applicants that flee a home due to physical abuse, or applicants who
are unable to locate income documentation of a recently deceased spouse.
To ensure limited use, the Department will review the written policy
and its use, as well as client-provided descriptions of the circumstances
requiring use of the form, during on-site monitoring visits.
(g) The DIS must be notarized. Attainment of notary
public commission is an allowable activity as an administrative cost.
(h) If a federal or state requirement provides an updated
definition of income or method for calculating income, the Department
will provide written notice to Subrecipients about the implementation
date for the new requirements.


Source Note: The provisions of this §5.19 adopted to be effective March 12, 2009, 34 TexReg 1555; amended to be effective September 30, 2012, 37 TexReg 7478; amended to be effective January 7, 2013, 38 TexReg 21; amended to be effective November 3, 2013, 38 TexReg 7433; amended to be effective January 1, 2015, 39 TexReg 10410