Income Calculations

SSA Announces 2017 COLA Increase of 0.3 Percent

November 15, 2016    

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that the monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will increase 0.3 percent in 2017. The 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 60 million Social Security...

HUD Amends Definition of 'Tuition' for Determining Section 8 Income Eligibility

December 11, 2015    

On Nov. 18, 2015, HUD published a joint notice under Notice PIH 2015-21: Amendment to the Definition of Tuition, which formally amends the definition of tuition found in Eligibility of Students for Assisted Housing Under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; Supplementary Guidance [71 FR...

IRS Initiates 2014 Mileage Rates

February 17, 2014    

Some of your households may have unreimbursed medical expenses that include travel expenses to and from treatment. And if any of these households are classified as elderly or disabled, HUD permits a medical expense deduction to be used to calculate their adjusted annual income. So be sure these...

12 Common Items You Shouldn’t Include in Household Income

October 11, 2013    

When certifying and recertifying households, you may come across certain items that look like income, but that HUD doesn’t consider income. It’s important to recognize these items and not mistakenly count them in a household member’s annual income. Otherwise, you’ll...

How to Handle Rental Property When Calculating Household Income

September 12, 2013    

While certifying and recertifying households, you may learn that a household member owns rental property that generates income. This doesn’t necessarily mean the household doesn’t qualify for an assisted unit. But you do need to know how to treat the property when calculating the...

How to Annualize Five Types of Employment Income

November 14, 2012    

To determine whether a household is eligible to live at your assisted site and how much assistance it should get, you must count income that the household “expects to receive” during its 12-month certification year [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 5-5(A)]. This includes amounts household...

How to Track Assets Disposed of for Less than Fair Market Value

September 18, 2012    

HUD-assisted households are required to report all income from all sources to the owner or manager during certification or recertification. One component of annual income is any income the household’s assets generate. And sometimes, households may dispose of assets for less than fair...

How to Calculate Income and Assets from Pensions and Retirement Accounts

April 5, 2012    

When you calculate a household's annual income, you may encounter a household member who has money in a pension fund or retirement account. It's important to know how to treat this money. But HUD rules on what to do can get confusing.

How you treat money from pension funds differs...

Dos & Don'ts for Handling Resident's Child-Care Expenses in Special Circumstances

June 30, 2011    

Most managers find it easy to calculate the allowance for child-care expenses when the care allows the only adult member of the household to work. The child-care expenses are simply deducted from household income up to the amount of the member's earned income. But calculating the allowance...

Four Tips for Estimating Freelance Income Correctly

January 25, 2011    

When you are calculating household income, a “freelancer” presents special challenges. Freelancers are self-employed, and their income often can be sporadic. Paragraph 5-5 of the HUD Occupancy Handbook 4350.3 considers such income to be “irregular” and provides some...