To figure out yearly gross income, the CAO or other LIHEAP administering agency must use income received in the month prior to the month of application or, if requested by the applicant, the 12-month period ending the month before the application date. The CAO must use the previous month's income even if the household provides pay stubs for 12 months if the income for the previous month is less after it is converted to a yearly amount. 55 Pa. Code § 601.83(a); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.83(a)
Example: Mr. Bell applies for LIHEAP for himself, his wife and their two children. He gives the CAO 12 months of pay stubs from Harris Brothers Paving showing a yearly income of $35,000. The income limit for a family of four is $34,575. Rather than using this, the CAO uses income from the month before the application, which amounts to $2,505, and multiplies this by 12 to get a yearly income of $30,060. As the Bell household is ineligible for LIHEAP using 12 months of income, the CAO enters the $2,505 from the previous month's wages into e-CIS, which converts it to a yearly amount and deducts 20 percent of the wages to determine the benefit amount.
If the total gross annual income of the household after all allowable exclusions and deductions is more than the income limit, the household is ineligible. 55 Pa. Code § 601.83(b); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.83(b)
Example: Ms. Wynn applies for LIHEAP for herself and her three children. She receives $2,400 a month in Social Security Survivors benefits for the children. She also works at a part-time job and shows pay stubs for the previous month verifying that her weekly gross income is $400. The total monthly household income is $4,000. Ms. Wynn does not qualify for LIHEAP because her yearly income of $48,000 is more than the income limit for a family of four ($34,575). Her earned income is not subject to the 20 percent deduction because she does not pass the gross income test.
Representative income is the most accurate picture of the amount of income a household receives.
If the applicant provides partial income documentation from the month of application or the previous month and says this income is representative, the CAO or crisis contractor may use this income to determine whether the household qualifies for LIHEAP. Proof of income may be one pay stub as long as the applicant says it is representative of weekly or biweekly pay.
When the applicant is unable to or does not give the CAO all pay stubs for the previous month, the CAO may use the YTD total from one pay stub to figure out representative income for the previous month.
Examples:
Ms. Erbel applies for LIHEAP for herself, her daughter and a niece. She works for the county commissioners and provides a pay stub from the 30-day period before the date of application. Her weekly gross pay is $450. She says this is representative of her income. The CAO enters $450 into e-CIS four times. E-CIS converts the monthly income to a yearly figure ($21,600) and compares it to the income limit for three people ($28,635). Because Ms. Erbel is eligible for LIHEAP, e-CIS deducts 20 percent from the wages.
Mr. Jensen applies for LIHEAP for himself, his girlfriend and their two children in November. He provides one pay stub from the week before the date of application. The pay stub shows a YTD total of $21,813. He says he started the job in February. The CAO divides the YTD figure by 10 to get gross monthly income of $2,181.30.
When a household reports zero income, the CAO must take the following actions:
Ask the household to verify the previous month's income.
If the household continues to report little or no income for the month, ask for evidence that satisfactorily explains how the household pays for rent or mortgage, food, personal-care items and utilities.
Ask appropriate follow-up questions to the household’s oral and written explanations. For example, if an applicant says “People pay my bills,” ask who pays and whether the money is paid to the household or directly to a vendor. If the money is paid to the household, it is counted as unearned income.
Thoroughly narrate the household’s zero-income circumstances.
If an applicant submits pay stubs for a three-pay or five-pay month, the CAO must do the following:
Ignore the extra pay if the weekly or biweekly pay is a consistent amount.
Add the pays and divide the total by three or by five if the gross earned income varies.
Examples:
Mrs. Mann applies for LIHEAP and gives the CAO biweekly pay stubs for Oct. 2, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30. Her gross income for each pay is $500. She says this is what she always earns every two weeks. The CAO does not count the pay for Oct. 30 when figuring out whether Mrs. Mann qualifies for LIHEAP.
Mr. White applies for LIHEAP and verifies weekly income for August, September and October. His income varies from week to week. Because October is a five-pay month, the CAO figures out Mr. White's income as follows:
|
10/2 |
$150 |
|
10/9 |
$175 |
|
10/16 |
$150 |
|
10/23 |
$185 |
|
10/30 |
$185 |
|
Total |
$845 |
|
Divided by five pays |
÷ 5 |
|
Gross weekly income |
$169 |
Mr. White’s gross weekly income for October is $169. The CAO enters $169 into e-CIS four times for the month of October.
NOTE: Manual calculations generally are unnecessary, as the system correctly calculates income as long as the CAO data-enters each pay for the month.
The CAO can use year-to-date (YTD) information for a LIHEAP applicant if the client provides the last pay stub from the month prior to the month of application and that pay stub lists how many pays the client has received in the calendar year.
Reissued February 22, 2013, replacing February 15, 2013