6300 - Earned Income

Earned income is income which is received as wages, salary, or profit resulting from the performance of services, including managerial responsibilities, by the recipient. Earned income may be derived from self-employment in the client's own business, or from wages or salary received as an employee including bonus pay received while an employee. Wages received from OJT are also to be considered as earned income unless received by a TANF child who receives WIOA [see 6410].

In addition, sick pay received for time off while working (i.e., short-term illness) shall be considered earned income when the person is still considered an employee by the employer and the person will be returning to work when recovered. This includes payments from temporary disability insurance in which the employer participates in the premium and temporary worker's compensation provided the individual is still considered an employee pending recuperation. If the person is not considered an employee while collecting the benefits (either sick pay or disability benefits), the benefits must be counted as unearned income per 6200.

Wages withheld by the employer to purchase benefits are counted as earnings in the pay period that the employee would have normally received them. Benefit "credits" offered in addition to wages which can be used to purchase benefits are not counted as income. If the employee does not use all of the credit to purchase benefits, and the employer pays the excess to the employee as part of their wages, the excess paid is counted as earned income.

6310 Types of Countable Earned Income

6311 Regular Earned Income - Regular earned income results from earnings which are reasonably assured to be available in the same monthly amount in the future. (See 7100 and subsections for budgeting.)

6312 Irregular Earned Income - Irregular earned income results from earnings which vary in amount from month to month and are expected to continue. From a practical standpoint, irregular earnings result from full- or part-time employment when payment is received on any basis other than monthly or twice a month. (See 7100 and subsections for budgeting.)