Vendor Payment Income
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This section is about income paid to a third party on behalf of the budgetary unit for their expenses.
Policy
A vendor payment is money that is not paid directly to the budgetary unit but is paid to a third party for the budgetary unit's expenses.
Vendor payments are not countable.
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.)
For NA, vendor payments are countable when any of the following apply:
●Payments are made instead of child support when one or more of the following occurs:
The court has ordered payment be made directly to the budgetary unit.
The support is owed to the budgetary unit through a legally binding written agreement. (For more information, see Countable Support - NA)
●Payments are made from money earned by the participant and all of the following apply:
The money is garnished or diverted by the provider of the payment.
The money is paid to a third party for expenses of the budgetary unit.
When dependent care, NA medical expenses or shelter expenses are paid by vendor payment, all of the following apply:
●The portion of the deduction that is paid by a noncountable vendor payment is not an allowable expense.
●Any portion of the expense that exceeds the monthly payment amount paid by the vendor payment is allowable as an expense deduction.
NOTE When the allowable expense is paid by a third party as a loan that has to be repaid, the full amount of the expense is allowable as an expense deduction.
For CA, the A2 payment standard is used as a shelter deduction when vendor payments are made for shelter expenses for three or more consecutive months.
Procedures
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 vendor payments include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Assistance payments records
●Absent Parent
●Bank records
●Court records or court orders
●Divorce or separation papers or contact with the Clerk of the Court
●Current check reflecting gross income and deductions (Do not copy federal government checks)
●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
For not countable vendor payments, key the VP Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
For vendor payments that are countable for NA only, key the OF Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
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 273.9(b)(2)(i)
AAC R6-12-503
last revised 10/02/2023