01.02.03 - Exempt Income

Effective Date: 07/01/20
Revised:  12/24/13, 07/01/15, 07/01/20, 10/30/20, 12/1/22, 2/26/24
Reference:  89 Ill. Adm. Code, Chapter IV, §50.235

Policy Statement:

Do not include exempt income received by a family in the income calculation.

Following is a list of exempt income:

1. Per capita payments to or funds held in trust for any individual in satisfaction of the Indian Claims Commission or the Court of Claims;
2. Payments made pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to the extent such payments are exempt from taxation under Section 21(a) of the Act (43 USC 1620 (a);
3. Money received from sale of property, such as stocks, bonds, a house, or a car (unless the person was engaged in the business of selling such property, in which case the net proceeds would be counted as income from self-employment);
4. Non-recurrent or inconsistent pay for overtime, incentives, bonuses, sick, vacation, travel/cellphone reimbursements, PTO, Holidays, Jury Duty, Training or other types of non-recurrent or inconsistent income that is not part of the family's base income.  If commission is on both check stubs it will be considered as non-exempt income.
5. Money borrowed, including education loans to a student who is included in the family unit as authorized in Illinois Administrative Code 89 Section 50.210(c);
6. Withdrawals of bank deposits;
7. Tax refunds, or any Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments;
8. Gifts;
9. Lottery winnings or proceeds obtained by gambling;
10. Lump sum inheritances or insurance payments;
11. Capital gains;
12. The value of the coupon allotment or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (PL 95-113) or the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (PL 110-246), as amended;
13. The value of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) donated foods;
14. The value of supplemental food assistance under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 USC 1771 et seq.) and the special food service for children under the National School Lunch Act (42 USC 1751 et seq.), as amended;
15. Any payment received under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 USC 4651);
16. Earnings of a child (unless that child is the applicant);
17. Grants such as scholarships, obtained and used by a student who is included in the family unit as authorized in Section 50.210(c);
18. Any grant or loan to any undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under any program administered by the Commission of Education under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 USC 1001 et seq.);
19. Home produce utilized for household consumption;nergy grants or allowances received through the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program authorized by the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 USC 8625);
20. Any DCFS foster care board payments or clothing allowance;
21. Earned income from the Census Bureau for temporary census employment.
22. Alimony;
23. Child support received by the family; a. Child support paid by the family is deducted from their income;
24. Ongoing monthly adoption assistance payments from DCFS;
25. Public assistance and welfare payments (TANF);
26. Social security payments, including SSI, SSA and pensions;
27. Survivor's benefits, permanent disability payments, and railroad retirement benefits from the federal government;
28. Retro payment/back pay from employment
29. Travel Reimbursement;
30. AmeriCorps/*VISTA*;
31. Cash/gifts, wages provided to individuals enrolled in research projects that are not funded via gen. revenue and investigate the impacts of policies or programs designed to reduce poverty, etc. shall be exempt.
32. Foster payment
33. Housing allowance/assistance

Exempt Hours

Do not include unpaid hours or any paid hours at a much lower rate than the regular rate when determining the eligible hours from payroll check stubs:

1. Shift/zone/site differential, etc.
2. Unpaid hours.
3. Unpaid FMLA.
4. Unpaid short/long-term leave, etc.
5. Paid short/long-term at a much lower rate than the regular rate.

Procedures:

1. Income from family members that do not meet the definition of family in Section 01.01 is not to be included when calculating family income. This includes parents that are not living in the household for 30 days or more due to military service, incarceration, education or other reasons.

 Example 1: Determine the exempt incomes and hours from the check stub below:

Answer: The incomes and hours that should NOT be included are as follow: