(a) General. Both earned
income and unearned income include items received in kind (§416.1102).
Generally, we value in-kind items at their current market value and we apply
the various exclusions for both earned and unearned income. However, we have
special rules for valuing food, clothing, or shelter that is received as
unearned income (in-kind support and maintenance). This section and the ones
that follow discuss these rules. In these sections (§§416.1130 through
416.1148) we
use the in-kind support and maintenance you receive in the month as described
in §416.420 to
determine your SSI benefit. We value the in-kind support and maintenance using
the Federal benefit rate for the month in which you receive it. Exception:
For the first 2 months for which a cost-of-living adjustment applies, we value
in-kind support and maintenance you receive using the VTR or PMV based on the
Federal benefit rate as increased by the cost-of-living adjustment.
Example: Mr. Jones receives an SSI benefit which is computed by
subtracting one-third from the Federal benefit rate. This one-third represents
the value of the income he receives because he lives in the household of a son
who provides both food and shelter (in-kind support and maintenance). In
January, we increase his SSI benefit because of a cost-of-living adjustment. We
base his SSI payment for that month on the food and shelter he received from
his son two months earlier in November. In determining the value of that food
and shelter he received in November, we use the Federal benefit rate for
January.
(b) How we define in-kind support
and maintenance. In-kind support and maintenance means any food, clothing,
or shelter that is given to you or that you receive because someone else pays
for it. Shelter includes room, rent, mortgage payments, real property taxes,
heating fuel, gas, electricity, water, sewerage, and garbage collection
services. You are not receiving in-kind support and maintenance in the form of room
or rent if you are paying the amount charged under a business arrangement. A
business arrangement exists when the amount of monthly rent required to be paid
equals the current market rental value (see §416.1101). Exception:
In the States in the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), a
business arrangement exists when the amount of monthly rent required to be paid
equals or exceeds the presumed maximum value described in §416.1140(a)(1).
In those States, if the required amount of rent is less than the presumed
maximum value, we will impute as in-kind support and maintenance, the
difference between the required amount of rent and either the presumed maximum
value or the current market value, whichever is less.
(c) How we value in-kind support
and maintenance. Essentially, we have two rules for valuing the in-kind
support and maintenance which we must count. The one-third reduction rule
applies if you are living in the household of a person who provides you with
both food and shelter (§§416.1131 through
416.1133). The
presumed value rule applies in all other situations where you are receiving
countable in-kind support and maintenance (§§416.1140 through
416.1145). If
certain conditions exist, we do not count in-kind support and maintenance.
These are discussed in §§416.1141 through
416.1145.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 48574, Nov. 26, 1985; 51 FR 13488,
Apr. 21, 1986; 60 FR 16375, Mar. 30, 1995; 63 FR 33546, June 19, 1998]
(a) What the rule is. Instead
of determining the actual dollar value of in-kind support and maintenance, we
count one-third of the Federal benefit rate as additional income if you (or you
and your eligible spouse)—
(1) Live in another person's
household (see §416.1132)
for a full calendar month except for temporary absences (see §416.1149), and
(2) Receive both food and shelter
from the person in whose household you are living. (If you do not receive both
food and shelter from this person, see §416.1140.)
(b) How we apply the one-third
reduction rule. The one-third reduction applies in full or not at all. When
you are living in another person's household, and the one-third reduction rule
applies, we do not apply any income exclusions to the reduction amount.
However, we do apply appropriate exclusions to any other earned or unearned
income you receive. If you have an eligible spouse we apply the rules described
in §416.1147.
(c) If you receive other support
and maintenance. If the one-third reduction rule applies to you, we do not
count any other in-kind support and maintenance you receive.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 48574, Nov. 26, 1985]
(a) Household. For purposes
of this subpart, we consider a household to be a personal place of residence. A
commercial establishment such as a hotel or boarding house is not a household
but a household can exist within a commercial establishment. If you live in a
commercial establishment, we do not automatically consider you to be a member
of the household of the proprietor. You may, however, live in the household of
a roomer or boarder within the hotel or boarding house. An institution is not a
household and a household cannot exist within an institution. (Institution is
defined in §416.1101.)
(b) Another person's household.
You live in another person's household if paragraph (c) of this section does
not apply and if the person who supplies the support and maintenance lives in
the same household and is not—
(1) Your spouse (as defined in §416.1806);
(2) A minor child; or
(3) An ineligible person (your spouse,
parent, or essential person) whose income may be deemed to you as described in §§416.1160 through
416.1169.
(c) Your own household—not
another person's household. You are not living in another person's
household (you live in your own household) if—
(1) You (or your spouse who lives
with you or any person whose income is deemed to you) have an ownership
interest or a life estate interest in the home;
(2) You (or your spouse who lives
with you or any person whose income is deemed to you) are liable to the
landlord for payment of any part of the rental charges;
(3) You live in a noninstitutional
care situation as described in §416.1143;
(4) You pay at least a pro rata
share of household and operating expenses (see §416.1133); or
(5) All members of the household
receive public income—maintenance payments (§416.1142).
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 48574, Nov. 26, 1985]
(a) General. If you pay your
pro rata share toward monthly household operating expenses, you are living in
your own household and are not receiving in-kind support and maintenance from
anyone else in the household. The one-third reduction, therefore, does not
apply to you. (If you are receiving food, clothing, or shelter from someone
outside the household, we value it under the rule in §416.1140.)
(b) How we determine a pro rata
share. Your pro rata share of household operating expenses is the average
monthly household operating expenses (based on a reasonable estimate if exact
figures are not available) divided by the number of people in the household,
regardless of age.
(c) Average household operating
expenses. Household operating expenses are the household's total monthly
expenditures for food, rent, mortgage, property taxes, heating fuel, gas,
electricity, water, sewerage, and garbage collection service. (The term does
not include the cost of these items if someone outside the household pays for
them.) Generally, we average household operating expenses over the past 12
months to determine a pro rata share.
(a) How we apply the presumed
value rule. (1) When you receive in-kind support and maintenance and the
one-third reduction rule does not apply, we use the presumed value rule.
Instead of determining the actual dollar value of any food, clothing, or
shelter you receive, we presume that it is worth a maximum value. This maximum
value is one-third of your Federal benefit rate plus the amount of the general
income exclusion described in §416.1124(c)(12).
(2) The presumed value rule allows
you to show that your in-kind support and maintenance is not equal to the
presumed value. We will not use the presumed value if you show us that—
(i) The current market value of any
food, clothing, or shelter you receive, minus any payment you make for them, is
lower than the presumed value; or
(ii) The actual amount someone else
pays for your food, clothing, or shelter is lower than the presumed value.
(b) How we determine the amount
of your unearned income under the presumed value rule. (1) If you choose
not to question the use of the presumed value, or if the presumed value is less
than the actual value of the food, clothing, or shelter you receive, we use the
presumed value to figure your unearned income.
(2) If you show us, as provided in
paragraph (a)(2) of this section, that the presumed value is higher than the
actual value of the food, clothing, or shelter you receive, we use the actual
amount to figure your unearned income.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 48575, Nov. 26, 1985; 58 FR 63888,
Dec. 3, 1993]
The presumed value rule applies
whenever we must count in-kind support and maintenance as unearned income and
the one-third reduction rule does not apply. This means that the presumed value
rule applies if you are living—
(a) In another person's household
(as described in §416.1132(b))
but not receiving both food and shelter from that person;
(b) In your own household (as
described in §416.1132(c)).
For exceptions, see §416.1142
if you are in a public assistance household and §416.1143 if you
are in a noninstitutional care situation;
(c) In a nonmedical institution
including any—
(1) Public nonmedical institution if
you are there for less than a full calendar month;
(2) Public or private nonprofit
educational or vocational training insitution;
(3) Private nonprofit retirement
home or similar institution where there is an express obligation to provide
your full support and maintenance or where someone else pays for your support
and maintenance. For exceptions, see §416.1144; and
(4) For-profit institution where
someone else pays for your support and maintenance. If you or the institution
pay for it, see §416.1145.
(a) Definition. A public
assistance household is one in which every member receives some kind of public
income-maintenance payments. These are payments made under—
(1) Title IV-A of the Social
Security Act (Aid to Families with Dependent Children);
(2) Title XVI of the Social Security
Act (SSI, including federally administered State supplements and State
administered mandatory supplements);
(3) The Refugee Act of 1980 (Those
payments based on need);
(4) The Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act;
(5) General assistance programs of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
(6) State or local government
assistance programs based on need (tax credits or refunds are not assistance
based on need); and
(7) U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs programs (those payments based on need).
(b) How the presumed value rule
applies. If you live in a public assistance household, we consider that you
are not receiving in-kind support and maintenance from members of the
household. In this situation, we use the presumed value rule only if you
receive food, clothing, or shelter from someone outside the household.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 57 FR 53850, Nov. 13, 1992]
(a) Definitions. For purposes
of this subpart you live in a noninstitutional care situation if all the
following conditions exist:
(1) You are placed by a public or
private agency under a specific program such as foster or family care;
(2) The placing agency is
responsible for your care;
(3) You are in a private household
(not an institution) which is licensed or approved by the placing agency to
provide care; and
(4) You, a public agency, or someone
else pays for your care.
(b) How the presumed value rule
applies. You are not receiving in-kind support and maintenance and the
presumed value rule does not apply if you pay the rate the placing agency
establishes. We consider this established rate to be the current market value
for the in-kind support and maintenance you are receiving. The presumed value
rule applies if you pay less than the established rate and the difference is
paid by someone else other than a public or private agency providing social
services described in §416.1103(b) or
assistance based on need described in §416.1124(c)(2).
(a) Definitions. For purposes
of this section the following definitions apply:
(1) Nonprofit retirement home or
similar institution means a nongovernmental institution as defined under §416.1101, which
is, or is controlled by, a private nonprofit organization and which does not
provide you with—
(i) Services which are (or could be)
covered under Medicaid, or
(ii) Education or vocational
training.
(2) Nonprofit organization
means a private organization which is tax exempt under section 501(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and is of the kind described in section 501 (c)
or (d) of that code.
(3) An express obligation to
provide your full support and maintenance means there is either a legally
enforceable written contract or set of membership rules providing that the
home, institution, or organization—
(i) Will provide at least all of
your food and shelter needs; and
(ii) Does not require any current or
future payment for that food and shelter. (For purposes of this paragraph, a
lump sum prepayment for lifetime care is not a current payment.)
(b) How the presumed value rule
applies. The presumed value rule applies if you are living in a nonprofit
retirement home or similar institution where there is an express obligation to
provide your full support and maintenance or where someone else pays for your
support and maintenance. The rule does not apply to the extent that—
(1) The home, institution, or
nonprofit organization does not have an express obligation to provide your full
support and maintenance; and
(2) The home, institution, or
nonprofit organization receives no payment for your food, clothing, or shelter,
or receives payment from another nonprofit organization.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 51 FR 34464, Sept. 29, 1986]
If you live in a nonmedical
for-profit institution, we consider the amount accepted by that institution as
payment in full to be the current market value of whatever food, clothing, or
shelter the institution provides. If you are paying or are legally indebted for
that amount, you are not receiving in-kind support and maintenance. We do not
use the presumed value rule unless someone else pays for you.
(a) Both members of a couple live
in another person's household and receive food and shelter from that person.
When both of you live in another person's household throughout a month and
receive food and shelter from that person, we apply the one-third reduction to
the Federal benefit rate for a couple (§416.1131).
(b) One member of a couple lives
in another person's household and receives food and shelter from that person
and the other member of the couple is in a medical institution. (1) If one
of you is living in the household of another person who provides you with both
food and shelter, and the other is temporarily absent from the household as
provided in §416.1149(c)(1)
(in a medical institution that receives substantial Medicaid payments for his
or her care (§416.211(b))),
and is ineligible in the month for either benefit payable under §416.212, we
compute your benefits as if you were separately eligible individuals (see §416.414(b)(3)).
This begins with the first full calendar month that one of you is in the
medical institution. The one living in another person's household is eligible
at an eligible individual's Federal benefit rate and one-third of that rate is
counted as income not subject to any income exclusions. The one in the medical
institution cannot receive more than the reduced benefit described in §416.414(b)(3)(i).
(2) If the one member of the couple
in the institution is eligible for one of the benefits payable under the §416.212
provisions, we compute benefits as a couple at the rate specified under §416.412. However,
if that one member remains in the institution for a full month after expiration
of the period benefits based on §416.212 can be
paid, benefits will be computed as if each person were separately eligible as
described under paragraph (c)(1) of this section. This begins with the first
calendar month after expiration of the period benefits based on §416.212 can be
paid.
(c) Both members of a couple are
subject to the presumed value rule. If the presumed value rule applies to
both of you, we value any food, clothing, or shelter you and your spouse
receive at one-third of the Federal benefit rate for a couple plus the amount
of the general income exclusion (§416.1124(c)(12)),
unless you can show that their value is less as described in §416.1140(a)(2).
(d) One member of a couple is
subject to the presumed value rule and the other member is in a medical
institution. (1) If one of you is subject to the presumed value rule and
the other is temporarily absent from the household as provided in §416.1149(c)(1)
(in a medical institution that receives substantial Medicaid payments for his
or her care (§416.211(b))),
and is ineligible in that month for either benefit payable under §416.212, we
compute your benefits as if both members of the couple are separately eligible
individuals (see §416.414(b)(3)).
This begins with the first full calendar month that one of you is in the
medical institution (see §416.211(b)). We
value any food, clothing, or shelter received by the one outside of the medical
institution at one-third of an eligible individual's Federal benefit rate, plus
the amount of the general income exclusion (§416.1124(c)(12)),
unless you can show that their value is less as described in §416.1140(a)(2).
The member of the couple in the medical institution cannot receive more than
the reduced benefit described in §416.414(b)(3)(i).
(2) If one of you is subject to the
presumed value rule and the other in the institution is eligible for one of the
benefits payable under §416.212, we
compute the benefits as a couple at the rate specified under §416.412. However,
if the one in the institution remains in the institution after the period
benefits based on §416.212
can be paid, we will compute benefits as if each member of the couple were
separately eligible as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
[60 FR
16375, Mar. 30, 1995, as amended at 61 FR 10279, Mar. 13, 1996]
(a) General. This section
explains the rules for determining countable income, including in-kind support
and maintenance, when eligible individuals become an eligible couple or when an
eligible couple becomes eligible individuals. Generally, under retrospective
monthly accounting, income in a prior month, including in-kind support and
maintenance, affects benefit amounts for a current month. The prior month may
be the first or second month prior to the current month (as explained in §416.420(a)) and
the rules in this section apply when a change-of-status becomes effective
between the prior month and the current month.
(b) Eligible individuals become
an eligible couple. If you and your spouse have been eligible individuals
and become an eligible couple, we combine the earned and unearned income each
of you had as an eligible individual in the prior month. If either or both of
you received in-kind support and maintenance, we include its value as income.
This may be one-third of the Federal benefit rate that applied in the prior
month for one or both of you who lived in the household of another. It may be
the presumed maximum value (one-third of the Federal benefit rate plus $20 as
explained in §416.1140)
for one or both of you as appropriate. It may also be a combination of the two
if each of you received income in one of these forms. We also include income
deemed to either or both of you in the prior month.
(c) Eligible couple becomes one
or two eligible individuals. If you are an eligible individual in the
current month but were a member of an eligible couple in the prior month, we
determine your countable income in the prior month separately from that of your
spouse. We determine the value of any in-kind support and maintenance you and
your spouse received in the prior month using the rules contained in §416.1147. For
example, if both of you lived in the household of another and the one-third reduction
applied, each of you would have income equal to one-sixth of the Federal
benefit rate fov a couple. Also, for example, if you received in-kind support
and maintenance and the presumed maximum value applied, you would have income
equal to one-sixth of the Federal benefit rate for a couple, plus $10. We
divide any other income you had as an eligible couple according to who owned
the income. If ownership of jointly owned income cannot be determined, we
allocate one-half of it to you.
[50 FR
48575, Nov. 26, 1985]
(a) The one-third reduction and
deeming of income. If you live in the household of your spouse, parent,
essential person, or sponsor whose income can be deemed to you, or the
household of a parent whose income is not deemed to you because of the
provisions of §416.1165(i),
the one-third reduction does not apply to you. The rules on deeming income are
in §§416.1160
through 416.1169.
However, if you live in another person's household as described in §416.1131, and
someone whose income can be deemed to you lives in the same household, we must
apply both the one-third reduction and the deeming rules to you.
(b) The presumed value rule and
deeming of income. (1) If you live in the same household with someone whose
income can be deemed to you (§§416.1160 through
416.1169), or
with a parent whose income is not deemed to you because of the provisions of §416.1165(i), any
food, clothing, or shelter that person provides is not income to you. However,
if you receive any food, clothing, or shelter from another source, it is income
and we value it under the presumed value rule (§416.1140). We
also apply the deeming rules.
(2) If you are a child under age 18
who lives in the same household with an ineligible parent whose income may be
deemed to you, and you are temporarily absent from the household to attend
school (§416.1167(b)),
any food, clothing, or shelter you receive at school is income to you unless
your parent purchases it. Unless otherwise excluded, we value this income under
the presumed value rule (§416.1140). We also
apply the deeming rules to you (§416.1165).
[60 FR
361, Jan. 4, 1995]
(a) General. A temporary absence
may be due to employment, hospitalization, vacations, or visits. The length of
time an absence can be temporary varies depending on the reason for your
absence. For purposes of valuing in-kind support and maintenance under §§416.1130 through
416.1148, we
apply the rules in this section. In general, we will find a temporary absence
from your permanent living arrangement if you (or you and your eligible
spouse)-
(1) Become a resident of a public
institution, or a public or private medical care facility where you otherwise
would be subject to the reduced benefit rate described in §416.414, and you
are eligible for the benefits payable under §416.212; or
(2) Were in your permanent living
arrangement for at least 1 full calendar month prior to the absence and intend
to, and do, return to your permanent living arrangement in the same calendar
month in which you (or you and your spouse) leave, or in the next month.
(b) Rules we apply during a
temporary absence. During a temporary absence, we continue to value your
support and maintenance the same way that we did in your permanent living
arrangement. For example, if the one-third reduction applies in your permanent
living arrangement, we continue to apply the same rule during a temporary
absence. However, if you receive in-kind support and maintenance only during a
temporary absence we do not count it since you are still responsible for
maintaining your permanent quarters during the absence.
(c) Rules for temporary absence
in certain circumstances. (1)(i) If you enter a medical care facility where
you are eligible for the reduced benefits payable under §416.414 for full
months in the facility, and you are not eligible for either benefit payable
under §416.212
(and you have not received such benefits during your current period of
confinement) and you intend to return to your prior living arrangement, we
consider this a temporary absence regardless of the length of your stay in the
facility. We use the rules that apply to your permanent living arrangement to
value any food, clothing, or shelter you receive during the month (for which
reduced benefits under §416.414 are not
payable) you enter or leave the facility. During any full calendar month you
are in the medical care facility, you cannot receive more than the Federal
benefit rate described in §416.414(b)(1). We
do not consider food or shelter provided during a medical confinement to be
income.
(ii) If you enter a medical care
facility and you are eligible for either benefit payable under §416.212, we also
consider this a temporary absence from your permanent living arrangement. We
use the rules that apply to your permanent living arrangement to value any
food, clothing, or shelter you receive during the month you enter the facility
and throughout the period you are eligible for these benefits. We consider your
absence to be temporary through the last month benefits under §416.212 are paid
unless you are discharged from the facility in the following month. In that
case, we consider your absence to be temporary through the date of discharge.
(2)(i) Generally, if you are a child
under age 22, you are temporarily absent while you are away at school,
regardless of how long you are away, if you come home on some weekends, lengthy
holidays, and vacations (or for extended visits as provided in school
regulations).
(ii) However, if you are a child
under age 18, and your permanent living arrangement is with an ineligible
parent or essential person (§416.222), we
follow the rules in §416.1148(b)(2).
When you reach age 18, or if you are under age 18 and deeming does not apply,
we consider the circumstances of your permanent living arrangement to value any
in-kind support and maintenance you receive.
[45 FR
65547, Oct. 3, 1980, as amended at 50 FR 48575, Nov. 26, 1985; 52 FR 8882, Mar.
20, 1987; 61 FR 10279, Mar. 13, 1996; 62 FR 1056, Jan. 8, 1997]