SECTION 340:50-7-45. Income

(a)   Household income. The worker counts all income the household expects to receive during the certification period except for income sources excluded per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:50-7-22.

(b)   Income verification. The worker verifies the gross, non-exempt income for all households prior to certification. When all attempts to verify income are unsuccessful because the person or organization providing the income fails to cooperate with the household, the worker calculates income based on the best available information.

(1)   Method of verifying income. The worker uses documentary evidence as the primary source of verification per Section 273.2(f) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Documentary evidence consists of a written confirmation of a household's circumstances. The household has primary responsibility for providing documentary evidence. The worker must assist the household when requested, when the household is willing, but unable to obtain the documentary evidence.

(A)   Documents that verify earned income include, but are not limited to:

(i)   pay stubs;

(ii)   employee W-2 forms;

(iii)   wage tax receipts;

(iv)   state or federal income tax returns;

(v)   self-employed bookkeeping credits;

(vi)   sales or expenditure records;

(vii)   employer wage records;

(viii)   statements from an employer;

(ix)   Oklahoma Employment Security Commission statements; or

(x)   Oklahoma Tax Commission statements.

(B)   Documents that verify unearned income, include, but are not limited to:

(i)   award letters;

(ii)   benefit payment checks;

(iii)   correspondence on benefits;

(iv)   income tax records;

(v)   support and alimony payments as evidenced by court order;

(vi)   divorce or separation papers; or

(vii)   contribution checks.

(C)   Alternate income verification sources include, but are not limited to:

(i)   State Data Exchange (SDX) system screens;

(ii)   Beneficiary and Earnings Data Exchange (BENDEX) system screens;

(iii)   OESC wage and unemployment compensation screens;

(iv)   union records;

(v)   workers' compensation records;

(vi)   information received from the Department of Veterans Affairs records; or

(vii)   tax records.

(2)   Unreported income. The worker explores the possibility of unreported income when situations described in this subsection occur.

(A)   The household may have unreported income when:

(i)   the applicant or recipient is employable and does not report earnings;

(ii)   the household reports zero income;

(iii)   the household reports household expenses, paid or unpaid that exceeds the amount of income reported. Household expenses may include rent or mortgage payments, utility payments, car payment, or other personal expenses;

(iv)   it appears a household member may be eligible for other benefits, such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), unemployment compensation, or public assistance; or

(v)   other questionable situations occur.

(B)   When the household states someone is loaning the household money to meet expenses, a statement signed by both parties indicating the payment is a loan and must be repaid is sufficient verification. When the household states it receives loans on a recurrent or regular basis from the same source, the provider of the loan must sign a notarized affidavit that states the payments are loans that must be repaid or that payments will be made in accordance with an established repayment schedule.

[Source: Amended at 15 Ok Reg 165, eff 11-1-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1623, eff 5-11-98; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 841, eff 4-26-04; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1241, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1504, eff 9-15-17]