WAG 08-04-01-g: Earned Income of a Child

PM 08-04-01-g

The earned income of a child age 17 and under is excluded through their 18th birthday if attending an elementary or secondary school and living with a natural, adoptive, or stepparent or under the parental control of a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) household member other than a parent. The child must meet all three requirements before the income can be exempt.  

Initial Application

At initial application, only request verification of a child's earned income if age: 

  • 18 in the month of application; or
  • 17 and will turn age 18 by the first regular roll month; or
  • revised manual text17 and does not meet the education requirements and/or live with a natural, adoptive, or stepparent, or is not under parental control of a SNAP household member other than a parent.

When benefits are SNAP only and the child will turn age 18 after the first regular roll month, do not request verification of earnings. IES will pend for verifications, if "client statement" is selected as the source of verification. When benefits are for SNAP only, the HSC should use "other acceptable" for SNAP purposes. When the request has SNAP and other benefits, the income may need to be verified. When the income is verified and entered in the system, IES will exclude the income in the SNAP calculation when the income does not meet the criteria to be budgeted. 

Reporting Requirements

For active cases, a child's earnings are reported and acted upon based on the SNAP household's reporting status as either Change Reporting or Mid-Point Reporting.

The HSC must explain the applicable reporting requirements to each Change Reporting and Mid-Point Reporting household at the time of application. SNAP households are not required to report a change in a child's age, education or parental control status, but are required to report a change in income according to their reporting status.

  • A Change Reporting SNAP household is required to report:
    • when the household's monthly earned income changes by more than $125 during the certification period; and
    • all income changes at the redetermination.
  • A Mid-Point Reporting SNAP household is required to report:
    • when the gross monthly income exceeds the Gross Monthly Income Standard for the SNAP household size during the certification period; and
    • at the time of completing the interim SNAP and TANF Mid-Point Report (Form IL444-2890), a change in the source, or the income amount by $125 from the last monthly income used to calculate benefits for the household; and
    • all income changes at the redetermination.

Note: Do not routinely contact a Change Reporting or Mid-Point Reporting household during the certification period for the sole purpose of checking the child's status and/or requesting income verification because a child has turned 18 years old.

Existing Exempt Income

If the child's income is currently in the system, IES will continue to exclude the child's previously exempt earned income from the SNAP budget until the next Change Reporting household's redetermination, or the Mid-Point Reporting household's interim Mid-Point Report or redetermination (whichever occurs first), except in the following condition:

  • a change in the child's status is reported to the FCRC during the certification period; and
  • revised manual textnew income has been verified and added in IES with Circumstance Start/Change Date (CSCD) within 30 days of the child's 18th birthdate and the exemption is no longer applicable; then
  • revised manual textIES will budget the income for SNAP.

New Income Reported

  • revised manual textIES will budget new income that is verified and the CSCD is within 30 days of the child's 18th birthdate and if the child does not meet the exemption requirements.
  • revised manual textWhen new income is reported and has been verified, the HSC must review all income on the case to determine if any income has ended previously and to determine if previously exempt income exists for a child. If the income has ended, update with an end-date. 
  • revised manual textIf the income continues, the CSCD and Reported On date must be updated in order to budget the income.
  • revised manual textIf a Mid-Point Reporting SNAP household reports the income, but did not verify the income, the HSC must address the change at the next interim Mid-Point Report or REDE, whichever occurs first. The HSC should not send a Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) to the Mid-Point Reporting SNAP household.
  • revised manual textIf a Change Reporting SNAP household reports the income, but did not verify the income, send Form IL444-0267 to request verification.
  • A Change Reporting household is required to report a change in earned income by more than $125 during the certification period. Do not routinely contact a Change Reporting or Mid-Point Reporting household during the certification period for the sole purpose of checking the child's status and/or requesting income verification because child has turned age 18 and the household has not reported the change on their own.

System Conditions/Validation Messages

The system conditions below determines if a child's income will continue to be excluded or when it will begin to be included in the SNAP budget. When a change is reported, the HSC must update the appropriate Data Collection Screens and the CSCD and Reported On dates to ensure that IES correctly applies the conditions in the eligibility determination,

  • CSCD of individual's earned income record is greater than or equal to the individual's 18th birthdate - 30 days.
  • CSCD of individual's earned income record is greater than or equal to the CSCD of the change to Parental Control - 30 days.
  • CSCD of individual's earned income record is greater than or equal to the CSCD of the change to Education Status - 30 days.

An error message will display if the Data Collection Screens, CSCD and Reported On date are not correctly updated.

Data Collection - Relationships - Details 

Update the Relationship - Details screen when an individual is no longer exercising parental control over another individual in the SNAP household with the CSCD and Reported On dates. If 'Add' is selected without updating the CSCD and Reported On dates an error message will display:

You have indicated that (individual) no longer acts as a parent toward (individual). Please update the CSCD and Reported On date of this relationship change.

See WIZARD

Data Collection - Education - Details 

Update an individual's education status if no longer meeting the requirement for SNAP and the CSCD and Reported On dates. If 'Save + Continue' or 'Save + Previous', is selected without updating the CSCD and Reported On dates an error message will display: 

You have indicated that (individual) is no longer enrolled in elementary, middle, or high school, or no longer meets attendance requirements. Please update the CSCD and Reported On date of this education change.

See WIZARD

Data Collection - Self Employment - Pay Details 

Update an individual's self-employment income record by adding a new pay record or modifying an existing pay record and select 'Save + Continue' on the Pay Details screen and update the CSCD. If the CSCD of the income record is not updated an error message will display:

You have updated (individual) self-employment income record. Please update the CSCD and the Reported On dates of the income record before proceeding.

See WIZARD

Data Collection - Employment - Pay Details 

Update an individual's employment income record by adding a new pay record or modifying an existing pay record, or by updating loss of employment to 'Y' and select 'Save + Continue' on the Pay Details screen and update CSCD and the Reported On dates of the income record. If the CSCD and the Reported On dates are not updated an error message will display: 

You have updated (individual) employment income record. Please update the CSCD and the Reported On dates of the income record before proceeding.

See WIZARD