State of Wisconsin |
HISTORY |
The policy on this page is from a previous version of the handbook.
7 CFR 273.8
This section applies only to food units and their assistance group being tested under regular SNAP rules. Regular SNAP rules require an asset test. EBD and non-EBD food units have different asset limits (see section 8.1.1.3 Asset Limits).
Note | Asset limits are subject to change with annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) which happens each October 1. |
Count or disregard the value of the assets as outlined below.
Equity value
Count the equity value of countable assets. Equity value is the fair market value (FMV) minus any encumbrances against the asset. Disregard the equity value of exempt assets.
Separate and Mixed Assets
Disregard exempt assets kept in a separate account, or in an account with other exempt assets.
If an asset is in an account mixed with countable assets, disregard the exempt assets for one of these periods:
Jointly Owned Accounts
A joint account is:
Jointly held accounts in a state-regulated financial institution are accessible to all holders of the account. The food unit has access to the joint account, with the exceptions below.
Do not assume that a jointly held account is accessible if it is:
Unless excepted below, deem the full value of assets owned jointly by separate food units to each food unit.
Example 1 | An asset worth $600 is owned by three persons in the same household. Two are in the same food unit and the third is in another unit. Deem the asset's full value of $600 to each food unit. In the food unit with two owners, deem $300 to each owner. |
If a food unit jointly owns an asset. Do not count the asset’s full value if the asset is not available to the food unit. Count only the portion of the asset’s value that is available to the food unit.
A jointly owned asset is unavailable to a food unit when:
When the joint owners of an asset are in the same food unit, deem each an equal share of the asset's total value. This avoids counting more than the asset's actual value.
Example 2 |
Three food unit members own an asset valued at $600. Assigning full value to each holder would give the food unit $1,800 (3 x $600). Only $600 is actually available. To avoid this, give each food unit member an equal share or $200. The food unit's total is now the asset's actual $600 value. If only two food unit members are FoodShare assistance group members, each contributes $200 to the group's assets. This is a total contribution of $400 from group members. Determine why the other food unit member is not in the FoodShare assistance group. This will determine if the $200, or a portion of it, is deemed to the group. |
Stocks, Bonds, and Other Investments
Count the current cash value of any available investment that includes, but is not limited to, stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Available means that the asset could be cashed in at any time. Investments that are part of retirement plans are generally not available until someone is of retirement age.
To calculate the net value of investments such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, verify the current value(s) as of closing of the market on the day before you do the calculation. For individual stocks or bonds, multiply the value per share times the number of shares. Deduct any losses or penalties charged as a result of a potential sale or early withdrawal.
Loans
Count any loan to a food unit member as an asset, even if the food unit member anticipates spending it in the same month.
Loan Repayments
Count the principal of a loan repayment to a food unit member from a non-food unit member as an asset.
Savings and Checking Accounts
Count money deposited in a savings or checking account. Disregard the value of outstanding (un-cleared) checks. Money deposited into an account, that was counted as income for a month, cannot also be counted as an asset for the same month.
For example, SSI income is received in January. The payment is directly deposited into the person’s checking account. This payment is not considered to be part of the asset calculation for January.
Cash
Count any cash on hand as an asset.
U.S. Savings Bonds
Count the cash value of a U.S. Savings Bond unless it is unavailable. A bond is unavailable only if the food unit proves it tried to cash the bond and was refused.
Nonrecurring Lump Sum
Count nonrecurring lump sum payments (see SECTION 4.5.5.2 NONRECURRING LUMP SUMP PAYMENT).
Interest Income
Count interest, dividend, and royalty income as an asset if not received directly.
Example 3 | Mary has a certificate of deposit (CD). She receives an interest check every time the CD matures. The interest is income. If she leaves the interest to accumulate, count it as an asset. |
Disregarded the following recurring payments from the asset test Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and SSI Retroactive Installment Payments. These types of payments are not counted as income or as an asset.
Two or more lump sum payments received regularly are considered unearned income (see 4.3.4.2 Unearned Income).
Example 4 | A food unit member receives an insurance settlement payment as a lump sum every three years. The agency receives documentation showing that the same amount is set to be paid every three years over the next 30 years. The lump sum should be budgeted as a monthly amount over the period it is meant to cover. The lump sum amount should be divided by 36 with the resulting amount budgeted as monthly unearned income. |
7 CFR 273.9(c)(8)
A nonrecurring lump sum is a payment received only once. Count the payment as a liquid asset in the month the food unit receives the payment, do not count the payment as income. Types of nonrecurring lump sum payments include but are not limited to:
Disregarded nonrecurring lump sum payments may include a one-time energy assistance payment, disaster or emergency payment, or tax credit (see Section 4.4.1.7 Disregarded Assets for a list of disregarded assets.)
Disregard an income tax refund for 12 months. The 12-month period is still continuous if there is a break in service (see section 2.3.1 Break in Service).
When a combination of current and lump sum payments is received at once, the current amount is income, and the nonrecurring amount is an asset.
Example 5 | A food unit member receives Social Security benefits. In June, they get a $950 check. $430 is for the current month (June) and $520 is a retroactive payment for underpayments in February and March. The $430 is income and the $520 is an asset. |
Disregard the following assets:
Unavailable Assets
Significant return means any return, after estimating costs of sale or disposition and considering the ownership interest of the food unit, the local agency determines are more than $1,500. This does not apply to financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and negotiable financial instruments.
Examples of unavailable assets are:
The lien agreement must prohibit selling the asset until the lien is satisfied. Non-liquid assets include land, crops, buildings, timber, farm equipment, and machinery.
Example 6 | A farmer borrows from a bank to buy a new dairy bulk tank by allowing a lien on his corn crop. The value of the corn crop is unavailable until the lien is removed by satisfying the loan. |
Example 7 | Sue has an irrevocable trust fund with a $5,500 balance. The account is in Sue’s name. She provides verification that it will take 30 days to close the account, and because of penalties and taxes, the amount she will receive is $3,150. The asset is not counted at application because it is not immediately available. However, after the 30 days required to close the account, $3,150 is an available asset. The asset will be considered available regardless of whether or not Sue chooses to withdraw the funds. |
Self-Employment or Business Assets
Self-employment or business assets are generally income-producing property. Exclude assets directly related and essential to producing goods or services.
Real Property
Disregard all real property, regardless of whether it is homestead property or not. A home is any dwelling place intended for human habitation. All real property including homestead property is excluded as an asset.
Vehicles
Disregard all vehicles.
Land Contracts
Disregard land and installment contracts for land or a building if the contract produces income consistent with its fair market value (FMV).
Installment Contracts
Disregard the value of property sold under an installment contract or held as security in exchange for a purchase price consistent with its FMV. This includes the sale of any property or building if the terms of the installment contract provide a purchase price consistent with the property's FMV.
Disaster Payments
Disregard any governmental payment designated to restore a home damaged in a disaster. Apply this exemption if the food unit is subject to a legal sanction if the funds are not used as intended.
Disregard any payments to farmers for a farm emergency caused by a natural disaster. The USDA determines if a farm emergency exists.
Personal Goods & Property
Disregard household goods and personal effects, such as home appliances, furniture, and clothes.
Burial Plot
Disregard one burial plot for each food unit member.
Pre-Paid Funeral Agreements
Disregard the value of one bona fide pre-paid funeral agreement per food unit member.
Retirement Accounts
Exclude the following:
Trust Funds
Count funds in a trust and any income produced by the trust. Disregard the funds only if all of these conditions exist:
Money Prorated as Income
A food unit member may have deposited money into an account from self-employment or farming. Prorate this money as income.
Disregard money prorated as income as an asset when it is being counted as income. When it is no longer prorated as income, count it as an asset.
Tools and Other Work-Related Equipment
Disregard the value of tools or other equipment essential to the employment or self-employment of a food unit member. Examples of essential tools are those of a mechanic, plumber, or other tradesperson, or a farmer's machinery.
Relocation Payments
Disregard payments from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Properties Acquisition Act of 1970.
Nutrition Benefits
Disregard the value of assistance received from programs under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the National School Lunch Act. These include:
Energy Assistance Program
Disregard all payments provided by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP).
HUD
Disregard payments from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) settling the Underwood v. Harris judgment against HUD (Civil No. 76-0469, DDC).
These payments are for retroactive tax and utility cost subsidies. Disregard them for the month in which the payment is received and the following month. Thereafter, count any remaining amount as an asset.
Wartime Relocation of Civilians
Disregard payments under PL 100-383 to U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry and permanent resident Japanese immigrants or their survivors and Aleut residents of the Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands West of Unimak Island.
Alaskan Native Claims
Disregard payments including cash, stock, partnership interest, land, interest in land, and other benefits from the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act (PL 92-203).
Tribal/ Native American Payments
Disregard payments to individual tribal members of the following tribes and federal settlements:
Disregard as assets any lump sum or periodic payments received under the Cobell v. Salazar Class Action Trust Case during the one-year period beginning on the date of receipt (PL 111-291).
Disregard up to $2,000 per calendar year held by an individual Native American that is derived from restricted land or land held in trust by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (PL 103-66, 92-203, and 100-241).
Disregard the first $2,000 of individual shares for the following:
Native American Trust Funds
Disregard up to $2,000 per calendar year held by an individual Native American that is derived from restricted land or land held in trust by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Disregard any Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments received by participating food unit members for 12 continuous months from the month of receipt. If there is a break of one day or more, count the remaining EITC as an asset. The 12-month period is still continuous if there is a break in service (see Section 2.3.1 Break in Service).
Example 8 | John, a FoodShare member, received a $1,000 EITC lump sum payment in January and deposited it in his savings account. On March 31, he is ineligible for benefits for failure to complete a renewal. On April 3, he reapplies for FoodShare and is found eligible. Count any remaining amount of the $1,000 EITC payment as an asset. |
IDA Program
Disregard total Individual Development Account (IDA) balances as assets if it is an account funded under TANF (Community Reinvestment) or the Assets for Independence Act (AFIA).
Wisconsin Sales Tax
The one-time rebate payment of Wisconsin sales taxes in January 2000 should be counted as an asset in the month of receipt.
Wisconsin Higher Education Bonds
Wisconsin Higher Education Bonds were sold by the state to the public as a way to save for a higher education. To determine their net value as an asset, subtract broker's fees from market value.
529(a) and Coverdell 530 Education Accounts
Per section 5(g)(8)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, disregard the value of any funds in a qualified tuition program described in Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 or the Coverdell Education Savings Account under Section 530 of that code.
Agent Orange Settlement Fund
Disregard payments received from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund, or any other fund established in settling "In Re Agent Orange product liability Settlement Fund litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y.)" as assets. Continue to disregard the payments for as long as they are identified separately. Apply this disregard retroactively to January 1, 1989.
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
Disregard payments from any program under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (PL 101-426) paid to compensate injury or death resulting from exposure to radiation from nuclear testing ($50,000) and uranium mining ($100,000). When the affected person is deceased, payments are made to the surviving spouse, children, parents, or grandparents of the deceased. The federal DOJ makes the payments. Continue to disregard the payments for as long as they are identified separately. Apply this disregard retroactively to October 15, 1990.
Life Insurance
Disregard the cash value of any life insurance policies.
Crime Act of 1984
Disregard payments to crime victims under the Crime Act of 1984.
Veteran's Administration Disability Pension Payments
Disregard the annual adjustment in a VA disability pension as an asset in the month the food unit receives it. The VA usually makes this benefit adjustment in October.
SSI PASS Accounts
Disregard income of an SSI recipient necessary to fulfill a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) as an asset regardless of the source. This income may be spent in accordance with an approved PASS or deposited into a PASS account.
The SSA must approve the SSI recipient's PASS in writing, identifying the amount of income that shall be set aside each month to fulfill the PASS.
Victims of Nazi Persecution
Disregard as an asset any payment under PL 103-286 to victims of Nazi persecution.
Student Financial Aid
Disregard student financial aid as an asset as long as the student is enrolled in an institution of higher education. If the student graduates or dis-enrolls from school, count any remaining available student financial aid as an asset.
Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence
When determining eligibility for a food unit living in a shelter for victims of domestic violence, disregard assets that are jointly owned with someone in its former food unit if agreement of the joint owner still living in the former food unit is needed to access the asset.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Account
Per section 103(a) of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, consistent with Section 5(d)(10) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, ABLE accounts are considered disregarded assets. An ABLE account is a tax-favored saving account established to provide secure funding for disability-related expenses on behalf of designated beneficiaries.
Income Tax, Refund, Rebate, or Credit
For food units subject to regular SNAP rules, disregard any remaining portion of a federal income tax refund, rebate, or credit for 12 months following the month the refund is received.
7 CFR 273.8(h)
The FoodShare applicant or food unit is not eligible if a member has given away or transferred assets in excess of the asset limit that would have been counted in the eligibility determination:
The following asset transfers are not divestments:
Add the value of the divested assets to other countable asset values. Determine how much this total exceeds the FoodShare assistance group's asset limit. Use the chart in Section 8.1.4 Disqualification for Divestment to determine the ineligibility period.
Example 9 |
An EBD food unit of one with $1,250 in savings transferred the ownership of stocks worth $5,650 to a person not in the same food unit. As calculated: $ 5,650 = value of stocks = countable divested value + 1,250 = food unit's existing assets $ 6,900 = total of food unit's assets and divested value - 4,250 = food unit's asset limit $2,650 = divested value in excess of food unit's asset limit. The divested value in excess of food unit's asset limit is used to calculate the FoodShare disqualification period. |
The period of ineligibility begins at either:
The month of application.
The first allotment issued after the notice of adverse action period has expired in an ongoing FoodShare case, unless a fair hearing and continuation of benefits is requested.
This page last updated in Release Number: 23-03
Release Date: 12/18/2023
Effective Date: 12/18/2023
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-16001