WAC 388-475-0800 SSI-related medical -- General Income Exclusions

The department excludes, or does not consider, the following when determining a client's eligibility for SSI-related medical programs: 

1. The first twenty dollars per month of unearned income. If there is less than $20 of unearned income in a month, the remainder is disregarded from earned income in that month.
   1. The twenty-dollar limit is the same, whether applying it for a couple or for a single person.
   2. The disregard does not apply to income paid totally or partially by the federal government or a nongovernmental agency on the basis of an eligible person's needs.
   3. The $20 disregard is applied after all exclusions have been taken from income.
2. Income that is not reasonably anticipated or is received infrequently or irregularly, whether for a single person or each person in a couple when it is:
   1. Earned and does not exceed a total of thirty dollars per calendar quarter, or
   2. Unearned and does not exceed a total of sixty dollars per calendar quarter.
   3. Increases in a client's burial funds that were established on or after November 1, 1982 if the increases are the result of:
      1. Interest earned on excluded burial funds; or
      2. Appreciation in the value of an excluded burial arrangement that was left to accumulate and become part of separately identified burial funds.
3. Essential expenses necessary for a client to receive compensation, (e.g., necessary legal fees in order to get a settlement);
4. Receipts, which are not considered income, when they are for:
   1. Replacement or repair of an exempt resource;
   2. Prepayment or repayment of medical care paid by a health insurance policy or medical service program; or
   3. Payments made under a credit life or credit disability policy.
5. The fee a guardian or representative payee charges as reimbursement for providing services, when such services are a requirement for the client to receive payment of the income.
6. Funds representing shared household costs.
7. Crime victim’s compensation.
8. The value of a common transportation ticket, given as a gift, that is used for transportation and not converted to cash.
9. Gifts that are not for food, clothing or shelter, and gifts of home produce used for personal consumption.
10. The department does not consider in-kind income received from someone other than a person legally responsible for the individual unless it is earned. Therefore, the following in-kind payments are not counted when determining eligibility for SSI-related medical programs.
    1. In-kind payments for services paid by a client’s employer if:
       1. The service is not provided in the course of an employer’s trade or business; or
       2. It is in the form of food and/or shelter that is:
          1. On the employer’s business premises,
          2. For the employer’s convenience, and
          3. If shelter, acceptance by the employee is a condition of employment;
    2. In-kind payments made to people in the following categories:
       1. Agricultural employees;
       2. Domestic employees;
       3. Members of the Uniformed Services;
       4. Persons who work from home to produce specific products for the employer from materials supplied by the employer.