Deductible expenses
(d) Determining deductions. Deductible expenses include only certain dependent care, shelter, medical and, at State agency option, child support costs as described in 273.9. (1) Disallowed expenses. (i) Any expense, in whole or part, covered by educational income which has been excluded pursuant to the provisions of 273.9(c)(3) shall not be deductible. For example, the portion of rent covered by excluded vendor payments shall not be calculated as part of the household's shelter cost. In addition, an expense which is covered by an excluded vendor payment that has been converted to a direct cash payment under the approval of a federally authorized demonstration project as specified under 273.9(c)(1) shall not be deductible. However, that portion of an allowable medical expense which is not reimbursable shall be included as part of the household's medical expenses. If the household reports an allowable medical expense at the time of certification but cannot provide verification at that time, and if the amount of the expense cannot be reasonably anticipated based upon available information about the recipient's medical condition and public or private medical insurance coverage, the household shall have the nonreimbursable portion of the medical expense considered at the time the amount of the expense or reimbursement is reported and verified. A dependent care expense which is reimbursed or paid for by the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program under title IV-F of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 681) or the Transitional Child Care (TCC) program shall not be deductible. A utility expense which is reimbursed or paid by an excluded payment, including HUD or FmHA utility reimbursements, shall not be deductible. (ii) Expenses shall only be deductible if the service is provided by someone outside of the household and the household makes a money payment for the service. For example, a dependent care deduction shall not be allowed if another household member provides the care, or compensation for the care is provided in the form of an inkind benefit, such as food. (2) Billed expenses. Except as provided in paragraph (d)(3) of this section a deduction shall be allowed only in the month the expense is billed or otherwise becomes due, regardless of when the household intends to pay the expense. For example, rent which is due each month shall be included in the household's shelter costs, even if the household has not yet paid the expense. Amounts carried forward from past billing periods are not deductible, even if included with the most recent billing and actually paid by the household. In any event, a particular expense may only be deducted once. (3) Averaging expenses. Households may elect to have fluctuating expenses averaged. Households may also elect to have expenses which are billed less often than monthly averaged forward over the interval between scheduled billings, or, if there is no scheduled interval, averaged forward over the period the expense is intended to cover. For example, if a household receives a single bill in February which covers a 3-month supply of fuel oil, the bill may be averaged over February, March, and April. The household may elect to have one-time only expenses averaged over the entire certification period in which they are billed. Households reporting one-time only medical expenses during their certification period may elect to have a one-time deduction or to have the expense averaged over the remaining months of their certification period. Averaging would begin the month the change would become effective. For households certified for 24 months that have one-time medical expenses, the State agency must use the following procedure. In averaging any one-time medical expense incurred by a household during the first 12 months, the State agency must give the household the option of deducting the expense for one month, averaging the expense over the remainder of the first 12 months of the certification period, or averaging the expense over the remaining months in the certification period. One-time expenses reported after the 12th month of the certification period will be deducted in one month or averaged over the remaining months in the certification period, at the household's option. (4) Anticipating expenses. The State agency shall calculate a household's expenses based on the expenses the household expects to be billed for during the certification period. Anticipation of the expense shall be based on the most recent month's bills, unless the household is reasonably certain a change will occur. When the household is not claiming the utility standard, the State agency may anticipate changes during the certification period based on last year's bills from the same period updated by overall price increases; or, if only the most recent bill is available, utility cost increases or decreases over the months of the certification period may be based on utility company estimates for the type of dwelling and utilities used by the household. The State agency shall not average past expenses, such as utility bills for the last several months, as a method of anticipating utility costs for the certification period. At certification and recertification, the household shall report and verify all medical expenses. The household's monthly medical deduction for the certification period shall be based on the information reported and verified by the household, and any anticipated changes in the household's medical expenses that can be reasonably expected to occur during the certification period based on available information about the recipient's medical condition, public or private insurance coverage, and current verified medical expenses. The household shall not be required to file reports about its medical expenses during the certification period. If the household voluntarily reports a change in its medical expenses, the State agency shall verify the change in accordance with 273.2(f)(8)(ii) if the change would increase the household's allotment. The State agency has the option of either requiring verification prior to acting on the change, or requiring the verification prior to the second normal monthly allotment after the change is reported. In the case of a reported change that would decrease the household's allotment, or make the household ineligible, the State agency shall act on the change without requiring verification, though verification which is required by 273.2(f)(8) shall be obtained prior to the household's recertification. If a child in the household reaches his or her second birthday during the certification period, the $200 maximum dependent care deduction defined in 273.9(d)(4) shall be adjusted in accordance with this section not later than the household's next regularly scheduled recertification. (5) Conversion of deductions. The income conversion procedures in paragraph (c)(2) of this section shall also apply to expenses billed on a weekly or biweekly basis. (6) Energy assistance payments. The State agency shall prorate energy assistance payments as provided for in 273.9(d) over the entire heating or cooling season the payment is intended to cover. Any such prorated energy assistance payments may qualify an individual or household for the HCSUA in more than one heating or cooling season. (7) Households which contain a member who is a disabled SSI recipient in accordance with paragraphs (2), (3), (4) or (5) of the definition of a disabled member in 271.2 or households which contain a member who is a recipient of SSI benefits and the household is determined within the 30-day processing standard to be categorically eligible (as discussed in 273.2(j)) or determined to be eligible as an NPA household and later becomes a categorically eligible household, shall be entitled to the excess medical deduction of 273.9(d)(3) and the uncapped excess shelter expense deduction of 273.9(d)(5) for the period for which the SSI recipient is authorized to receive SSI benefits or the date of the SNAP application, whichever is later, if the household incurs such expenses. Households, which contain an SSI recipient as discussed in this paragraph, which are determined ineligible as an NPA household and later become categorically eligible and entitled to restored benefits in accordance with 273.2(j)(1)(iv), shall receive restored benefits using the medical and excess shelter expense deductions from the beginning of the period for which SSI benefits are paid, the original SNAP application date or December 23, 1985, whichever is later, if the household incurs such expenses. (8) Optional child support deduction. If the State agency opts to provide households with an income deduction rather than an income exclusion for legally obligated child support payments in accordance with 273.9(d)(5), the State agency may budget such payments in accordance with paragraphs (d)(2) through (d)(5) of this section, or retrospectively, in accordance with 273.21(b) and 273.21(f)(2), regardless of the budgeting system used for the household's other circumstances.