Calculation of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)

PURPOSE: The purpose of this rule is to explain how Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is calculated for the Family MO HealthNet programs and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). (1) Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) based income means income calculated using the same financial methodologies used to determine modified adjusted gross income as defined in section 36B(d)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, with the exceptions listed below. (A) Any lump sum gift or income is included as income only in the month in which it is received. (B) Scholarships and grants which are used for educational purposes, and not for living expenses are excluded from income. (C) The following Alaskan Native and American Indian benefits and distributions are excluded from income: 1. Distributions from Alaska Native Corporations and Settlement Trusts; 2. Distributions from any property held in trust, subject to federal restrictions, located within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation, or otherwise under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior; 3. Distributions and payments from rents, leases, rights of way, royalties, usage rights, or natural resources extraction and harvest from— A. Rights of ownership or possession in any lands described in paragraph (1)(C)2. of this rule; or B. Federally protected rights regarding off-reservation hunting, fishing, gathering, or usage of natural resources; 4. Distributions resulting from real property ownership interests related to natural resources and improvements: A. Located on or near a reservation or within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation; or B. Resulting from the exercise of federally-protected rights relating to such real property ownership interests; 5. Payments resulting from ownership interests in or usage rights to items that have unique religious, spiritual, traditional, or cultural significance or rights that support subsistence or a traditional lifestyle according to applicable Tribal Law or custom; and 6. Student financial assistance provided under the Bureau of Indian Affairs education programs. (2) Eligibility determinations for participants for Family MO HealthNet programs and CHIP shall be based on a household’s current monthly income and household size. A household’s income is the sum of the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) based income as defined above of every individual included in the participant’s household. (A) The division shall take into consideration reasonable anticipated changes in income that exist at initial determination such as seasonal or time based employment sources and periods, or the known ending period of employment or an income source. (B) Income of a child shall not be included in the household if the child is not required to file a tax return under the Internal Revenue Code, section 6012(a)(1) for the taxable year in which eligibility is being determined, regardless if the child expects to or actually filed a tax return. (3) This rule shall be effective for all eligibility decisions made on January 1, 2014, or any date after. AUTHORITY: section 207.020, RSMo 2000, and section 208.991, RSMo Supp. 2013.* Original rule filed July 31, 2013, effective Feb. 28, 2014. *Original authority: 207.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1961, 1965, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1993 and 208.991, RSMo 2013.