Interest Payments
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This section includes interest income from investments, mortgages, sales contracts and financial accounts.
Policy
Interest payments are money earned by any of the following:
●Capital investments such as stocks, and bonds.
●Mortgage or sales contract
●Checking or savings accounts.
●Cryptocurrency(g) accounts.
FAA considers a contract or mortgage as income producing property, when it is producing monthly income at least 1% of the property Current Market Value(g). See Sales Contracts for information.
Interest payments are considered unearned income. FAA treats interest differently based on all of the following:
●For NA, interest payments are countable as unearned income regardless of how the payments are received.
●For CA, all of the following apply:
Interest payments left on deposit or converted to additional investments are not countable as unearned income.
Interest payments made directly to the participant as a share of profit are countable as unearned 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
For CA, discuss with the participant whether interest payments are left on deposit or paid directly to determine whether the payment is countable or not countable and document the case file(g).
Budget interest payments by averaging over the period the payment is to cover. See Example 1.
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 interest payments include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Bank records
●Agency or payer providing the income
●Court records or court orders
●Divorce or separation papers or contact with the Clerk of the Court
●Federal or state tax forms
●Insurance policies
●Mortgages and Sales Contracts
●Signed statement from the agency or payer providing the income
●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).
AZTECS Keying Procedures
The interest payment is keyed in the INC TYP field on UNIN using one of the following Unearned Income Codes:
●For NA-only cases, key the IR ND Unearned Income Code
●For CA-only cases, key one of the following:
IR PY when the interest payment is countable.
IR ND when the interest payment is not countable
●For NA and CA combination cases, key one of the following:
IR ND when the interest payment is countable for NA and not countable for CA,
IR PY when the interest payment is countable for both NA and CA.
For mortgages and sales contracts, complete all of the following:
●Key the unearned income on UNIC
●Key the MS MI Unearned Income Code in the INC TYP field.
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.)
Examples
1) Charlene applies for NA benefits in 03/2019. She states that her checking account with the credit union earns interest every three months. As requested, Charlene provides her last three bank statements.
Charlene’s bank statements verify interest payment deposits for $3.00 on 12/03/2018. There were no interest deposits in 01/2019 or 2/2019. To project the ongoing monthly interest income, prorate the $3.00 by the three months it covers.
$3.00 ÷ 3 = $1.00.
Legal Authorities
AAC R-12-503
7 CFR 273(b)(2)(v)
last revised 10/02/2023