County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Excluded Resources Number Page 63203 1 of 5 Revision Date 03012018 Background NonAssistance CalFresh households who are not MCE must not exceed the maximum allowable nonexempt property limit for liquid and nonliquid resources combined Refer to 6311011 for maximum allowable resources This section has been revised to include information about funeral agreements Policy Exclude the following resources when determining the households eligibility to CalFresh for households that are not Categorical Eligible CE or Modified Categorical Eligible MCE 632031 The Home and Surrounding Property Exclude the home and surrounding property which is not separated from the home by intervening property owned by others Public rights of way such as roads which run through the surrounding property and separate it from the home will not affect the exemption of the property The home and surrounding property will remain exempt when temporarily unoccupied for reasons of employment training for future employment illness or uninhabitability caused by natural disaster if the household intends to return Households who currently do not own a house but own or are purchasing a lot on which they intend to build or are building a permanent house will receive an exclusion for the value of the lot Any home that is being built on the lot will be excluded even if only partially completed 632032 Household Goods Personal Effects Pension Plans Household goods and personal effects are exempt resources These include One burial plot per household member The cash value of one funeral agreement per household member provided that the agreement does not exceed 150000 in equity value Any amount above 150000 will be counted in the resource amount The cash value of life insurance policies For types of retirement savings and pension plans that are excluded from consideration as resources refer to the Excluded Retirement Savings and Pension Plans Desk Aid 632033 Vehicles All Vehicles are exempt as resources 632034 Resources with Equity Value of 1500 or Less Resources with an equity value of 1500 or less excluding financial instruments such as stocks bonds and negotiable financial instruments 632035 Income Producing Property Property which annually produces income consistent with its fair market value even if only used on a seasonal basis is excluded These include rental homes and vacation homes Determine if property is producing income by referring to Processing Guide 20001 632036 Indian Lands County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Excluded Resources Number Page 63203 2 of 5 Indian lands held jointly with the Tribe or lands that can be sold only with the approval of the Department of the Interiors Bureau of Indian Affairs are excluded resources 632037 Property Essential to Employment Property essential to the employment or selfemployment of a household member is excluded Property may be farmland or workrelated equipment such as the tools of a tradesman or the machinery of a farmer Resources of a business that are identifiable such as funds in a checking or savings account whether maintained exclusively for business purposes or commingled with nonexcluded funds will be excluded from resources to the extent that the funds represent averaged selfemployment income and the funds necessary to produce that income for the period of time over which the funds were averaged as specified in CFPG 632415 NOTE When a household member ceases to be selfemployed in farming property which was essential to this selfemployment will continue to be excluded as a resource for a period of one year from the date of termination 632038 Installment Contracts Notes Receivable and Trust Deeds Installment Contracts Installment contracts for the sale of land or buildings are exempt resources if the contract or agreement is producing income consistent with its fair market value The exclusion will also apply to the value of the property sold under the installment contract or held as security in exchange for a purchase price consistent with the fair market value of that property Notes Receivable and Trust Deeds The full value of trust deeds and notes receivable will be considered exempt liquid resources provided that the household receives income from the trust deed or note receivable that is consistent with its fair market value 632039 Individual Developmental Accounts IDA All funds in a TANF Individual Development Account IDA will be excluded as a resource for applicants and recipients for any period in which the individual maintains or makes contributions into the account IDAs must be established as a trust account for a specified purpose by or for an individual who is eligible under the States CalWORKs program CalWORKs provisions require that the recipient deposit only earned income into the IDA and that all funds in the TANF IDA be exempt from the eligibility determination These accounts are funded through periodic contributions by the establishing individual and matched by or through a qualified entity Refer to CFPG 631103 Definition and Examples for description of qualified entity IDA matching funds and the recipient contributions may be retained in separate accounts 6320310 Disaster Loans Grants Governmental payments designated for the restoration of a home damaged in a disaster are excluded as resources Payments include but are not limited to payments made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the individual and family grant program disaster loans or grants made by the Small Business Administration 6320311 Inaccessible Resources County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Excluded Resources Number Page 63203 3 of 5 Resources that have a cash value which are not accessible to the household are excluded These resources include but are not limited to Security deposits on rental property or utilities Property in probate Real property which the household is making a good faith effort to sell at a reasonable price and which has not yet been sold Nutritional Assistance Program NAP benefits issued in the United States territories of Puerto Rico American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas These benefits are not accessible once the person is in the United States Property other than financial instruments stocks bonds legally binding promissory notes etc which if sold or otherwise disposed would produce more than 1500 and Irrevocable trust funds Any funds in a trust or transferred to a trust and the income produced by that trust will be considered inaccessible to the household if all of the following conditions are met The trustee administering the funds is either o A court or an institution corporation or organization which is not under the direction or ownership of any household member or o An individual appointed by the court who has court imposed limitations placed on hisher use of the funds which meet the requirements of 632038B above The funds held in irrevocable trust are either o Established from the households own funds if the trustee uses the funds solely to make investments on behalf of the trust or to pay the educational or medical expenses of any person named by the household creating the trust or o Established from nonhousehold funds by a nonhousehold member regardless of how these funds will be used The trust investments do not directly involve or assist any business or corporation under the control direction or influence of a household member The trust arrangement will not likely cease during the certification period and No household member has the power to revoke the trust arrangement or change the name of the beneficiary during the certification period Note If information is questionable verification will be obtained through a collateral contact or documentation 6320312 Funds Prorated as Income Resources funds of students loans grants scholarship etc or selfemployed persons that have been prorated as income are excluded The exclusion also applies to the funds of ineligible noncitizens or disqualified people whose resources are considered available to the household 6320313 Federal Tax Credits and RefundsEarned Income Tax Credit Federal tax refunds including but not limited to overwithheld income tax Earned Income Tax Credit EITC Child Tax Credit CTC or other tax credits are excluded resources for 12 calendar months after the refund is received for CalFresh applicants and recipients 6320314 Resources of Individuals Residing in a Battered Person Shelter County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Excluded Resources Number Page 63203 4 of 5 Resources of individuals who are temporarily residing in a shelter for battered persons will be considered inaccessible at the time of application if The resources are jointly owned by the resident and members of the former household from which the resident fled and The residents access to such resources requires the consent of both the resident and the members of the former household Refer to CalFresh Processing Guide 20001 for information related to the treatment of resources of residents of shelters for battered persons 6320315 Lien Placed on NonLiquid Resources An asset will be excluded if a lien has been placed on a nonliquid assets as a result of taking out a business loan and the household is prohibited by the security or lien agreement with the lien holder creditor from selling the assets 6320316 Resources of Individuals Receiving PA Resources of household members receiving Public Assistance PA are excluded If a resource is jointly held by a CalFresh household member who is receiving PA and a CalFresh household member who is not receiving PA the amount counted in determining the PA eligibility will be excluded 6320317 Property Utilized to Maintain an Excluded Vehicle The portion of real property determined necessary for maintenance or use of an excluded vehicle is exempt as a resource Refer to CalFresh Processing Guide 20001 6320318 Restricted Accounts CalFresh recipients not applicants will be allowed to retain unlimited cash reserves in one or more restricted accounts at a financial institution These funds are in addition to the existing resource limits currently allowed To be excluded as a resource the funds must be retained for one or more of the following specific purposes Purchase of a home Education or training Startup of a new business The household must establish and maintain a restricted account separately from any other accounts 6320319 California ABLE Account CalFresh customers with disabilities are allowed to open Achieving a Better Life Experience ABLE accounts These accounts allow disabled individuals to save and invest money for disability related expenses called Qualified Disability Expenses or QDEsThe purpose of an ABLE account is to help individuals with disabilities maintain or improve their health independence and quality of life ABLE accounts should be excluded as both income and resources Money in the ABLE account shall be excluded as income and resource Withdrawals used toward qualifying expenses will not be counted as income Family and friends can contribute to the ABLE account The maximum yearly contribution limit is 14000 These contributions can be made by the customer family members or friends County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Excluded Resources Number Page 63203 5 of 5 ABLE accounts must not exceed 100000 Individuals eligible to open ABLE accounts Eligible for or currently receiving SSI or SSDI benefits as a result of their disability and the disability occurred before age 26 or Able to provide a disability certification of the individuals disability which occurred before age 26 by the individual or his or her parent or guardian along with a copy of a physicians diagnosis when opening an ABLE account Qualified Disability Expenses QDEs are not limited to medical expenses but may also include basic living costs such as the following Education Housing Transportation Employment training and support Assistive technology and personal support services Health Financial management and administrative services Legal services Funeral and burial expenses Other expenses Procedure Refer to CalFresh Processing Guide 20001 in Eligibility Essentials Excluded Retirement Savings and Pension Plans Desk Aid in Eligibility Essentials Other Program Impacts None References ACL18167 CFR Section 2738 e 2 ACL 1761 ACL1262 1332 ACWDL dated June 30 2014 ACIN I3405 IACIN I1605 ACIN I1807 ACIN I3499 ACIN I5808 ACL 9819 ACIN I7903 ACIN 15013 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance on or by 03312021 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director Eligibility Operations