Contract Income
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This section is about contract income.
Policy
Contract income is a specified amount of money paid to a participant based on a binding agreement with an employer. The wages received are considered contract income when the agreement identifies that the employment is for a specific project or a designated period.
When the agreement does not identify a specific project or designated period of employment, see Wages and Salaries.
Contract income is countable as earned income.
Countable income is used to determine an income budget. (See Income Budgeting to see how FAA determines the income budget.) FAA needs to know about income that is both countable and not countable to determine whether a budgetary unit’s income is exceeding their expenses. (See Income Eligibility for more information about how FAA uses countable and not countable income.)
Procedures
Request, verify, and review the participant’s contract income to determine the reasonably certain income to be received during the approval period.
See Averaging Income for complete details on determining a budget for contact income.
When the participant is present, have them sign the Authority to Release (FAA‑1765A) form to contact any companies or businesses involved. The FAA-1765A can be faxed or emailed to the participant's employer when it is not possible to use the Application for Benefits (FAA-0001A) or the HEAplus Authority to Release signed statement.
Verification
System interface and the case file(g) must be reviewed before verification is requested. No additional verification is needed when AZTECS interface or HEAplus hubs have verified the information.
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
For NA, all of the following income is required to be verified before eligibility is determined:
●Reported on a new application, during the interview of a new application, or changes reported before the eligibility determination of a new application.
●Changes after an eligibility determination of a new application (e.g., a renewal application, mid approval contact, etc.) and any of the following apply:
The source of the income has changed.
The income is questionable(g) or unclear(g).
The reported income amount has changed by $51 or more.
The previous verification in the case file is more than 59 calendar days old.
For CA, all income is required to be verified before determining eligibility.
Examples of verification that can be used for contract income include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●A copy of the contract
NOTE When a contract does not provide enough information, the participant or employer needs to provide clarification.
●Collateral contact with the employer
●Participant statement verification when one of the following occur:
Obtaining documented or collateral contact verification may cause harm or undue hardship(g) for the participant.
When all of the following occur:
●Other attempts to obtain the verification have failed. This includes documented and collateral contact verification.
●The participant has requested assistance from FAA.
●The worker has evaluated the request for assistance and cannot obtain the verification from another acceptable source.
●The participant statement is not questionable(g).
Contract income verification has to include all of the following:
●Name of the employer or source of income
●Contract employee's name.
●Period the contract is intended to cover.
●Period the employee is expected to work.
●The amount of income the contract pays a participant.
●Frequency in which the income is paid.
●Whether the contract is the participant’s primary source of income.
●Whether the contract income represents the participant’s annual income.
When contract income is received hourly or on a piecework(g) rate, other sources of verification may be needed, including, and not limited to, any of the following:
●Paystubs
●Employer's printout
AZTECS Keying Procedures
For contract income, key WA Earned Income Code in the INC TYP field on EAIC.
See Budgeting Contract Income for complete information on keying contract income.
Document the case file(g) thoroughly to support keyed codes, amounts, and frequencies. See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for instructions on keying the AZTECS income screens.
NOTE Documentation must support determinations of eligibility and benefit level. Document in sufficient detail to ensure that any reviewer can assess whether the determination is reasonable and accurate. Include specific information regarding the reason the income is determined to be normal. (See Budgeting Income Documentation Requirements for additional information.)
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.10(c)(3)
last revised 10/02/2023