Income That Does Not Count

Income That Does Not Count A. The following is not an exhaustive list of income that does not count but represents the types more commonly encountered. If not addressed herein, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax rules provide the governing policy. 1. Alimony paid from divorce or separation agreements finalized on or before December 31, 2018, are deducted from the income of the payor. Alimony paid from divorce or separation agreements finalized after December 31, 2018, are not deducted from income. 2. Black Lung benefits are not taxable income and are not counted as income. 3. Child Support benefits are not counted as income to the payee or the child(ren) for whom it is paid; however, Child Support is not a deduction allowable from the income of the payer. 4. Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits are not counted as income. Benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs are not taxable income. 5. Workers’ Compensation Benefits are not taxable income and are not counted as income. 6. Life Insurance Proceeds paid due to the death of the insured person are not taxable income and are not counted as income, unless the policy was sold or reassigned for a price. 7. Accelerated Death Benefits paid under a life insurance contract prior to the insured’s death are excluded from income if the insured is terminally ill. 8. Public Assistance Benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy (TANF), and the value of assistance from programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children’s Nutrition Program (WIC) are excluded from income. Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance payments are also excluded from income. 9. Disaster relief income or grants from a qualified disaster relief payment, meaning the payment is to reimburse certain necessary living expenses following a federally declared disaster, are excluded from income.