SECTION 340:50-7-46. Converting to monthly income

(a)   Converting income. When the household receives income more often than monthly, the worker converts the income to a monthly amount as indicated in (1) through (5) of this subsection. When the amounts to be converted differ, such as fluctuating daily, weekly, or biweekly amounts, the worker averages the income per (c) of this Section. The worker carries cents through all steps and then rounds the monthly income amount to the nearest dollar with one cent through 49 cents rounded down and 50 cents through 99 cents rounded up.

(1)   Daily. The worker converts income received on a daily basis to a weekly amount. When there is a consistency in days worked each week and a regularity of pay dates, the worker multiplies the weekly income by 4.3. When there is no consistency, refer to (5) of this subsection for irregular income processing.

(2)   Weekly. The worker multiplies income received weekly by 4.3.

(3)   Twice a month. The worker multiplies income received twice a month by 2.

(4)   Biweekly. The worker multiplies income received every two weeks by 2.15.

(5)   Irregular income. The worker does not convert income received at irregular intervals by 4.3, 2, or 2.15, when there is no consistency in the work offered or when pay is received. Instead, the worker adds all irregular income received in the calendar month together to arrive at a monthly average. When more than one month of irregular income is available, the worker totals the income and divides it by the number of months used.

(b)   Anticipating income. For the purpose of determining the household's eligibility and monthly benefit allotment, the worker takes into account the income already received by the household and any anticipated income the household is reasonably certain to receive during the certification period per Section 273.10(c)(1) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 C.F.R. § 273.10).

(1)   Application month income. In the application month, the household's anticipated income may be less than a full month's wages. In this case, the worker uses actual or actual anticipated income for the month of application. When the person receives an extra paycheck in the application month due to a third or fifth week and the income is ongoing, the worker converts the income to anticipated income for the application month. For the remaining months of the certification period, the worker averages and converts the income to a monthly amount.

(2)   Uncertain income. The worker does not count income when the date and amount to be received is uncertain. Examples of uncertain income include, when a household's anticipated income is from a new job and the date and amount of the first paycheck is not known or when a household member recently applied for public assistance or unemployment benefits and does not know if or when the initial payment may be made.

(A)   The worker does not consider the anticipated payment unless there is reasonable certainty concerning the month the payment will be received and the amount of the payment.

(B)   When some, but not all, household income is not known, the portion that can be anticipated with reasonable certainty must be considered as income.

(C)   When the worker can reasonably anticipate income receipt, but the monthly amount fluctuates, the worker may elect to average the income per (c) of this Section.

(D)   Households are advised to report all changes in gross monthly income as required.

(3)   Income received in the past 30-calendar days. Income received during the past 30-calendar days may be used as an indicator of income anticipated to be available to the household during the next certification period. Past income is not used to anticipate future income for any month in which an income change occurred, can be anticipated, or terminated.

(4)   Regular employment. When the head of the household or other members of the household have regular employment, income from previous months is a good indicator of the amount of income to anticipate for the application month and subsequent months. When the household or collateral contact supplies information indicating future income will differ substantially from the previous month's income, the worker uses the information to make a reasonable estimate of the anticipated income.

(5)   Withheld wages. Wages withheld at the request of the employee are considered income to the household in the month the wages would otherwise be paid by the employer. Wages withheld by the employer as a general practice, even when in violation of the law, are not counted as income to the household unless the household anticipates it will ask for and receive an advance, or the household anticipates that it will receive income from previously held wages. Advances on wages are counted as income when they can be reasonably anticipated.

(c)   Averaging income. Households, except for destitute and migrant or seasonal farm worker households, may have their income averaged per 7 C.F.R. § 27310(c)(3). To determine the household's eligibility, the worker adds all other income to the averaged monthly income and subtracts applicable income exclusions and deductions in the normal manner.

(1)   Fluctuating income. Households with fluctuating income may elect to have the income averaged.

(A)   When the household indicates the most recent 30-calendar day's income is representative of anticipated future earnings, the worker uses this income to compute gross monthly income.

(B)   When the household indicates the most recent 30-calendar days of income is not representative of anticipated future income, the worker averages additional months of income to compute a representative anticipated monthly gross income.

(C)   Income received more often than monthly is converted to a monthly income prior to determining a monthly average. The number of months used to arrive at the average income need not be the same as the number of months in the certification period. For example, when fluctuating income for the past 30-calendar days and the month of application are known and, with reasonable certainty, are representative of the income fluctuations anticipated for the coming months, the income for the two months may be averaged and projected over the certification period.

(2)   Employment contract and self-employment. When households derive their annual income by contract or self-employment in a period of time shorter than one year, the worker annualizes the income over a 12-month period. These households may include school employees, sharecroppers, farmers, and other self-employed households. These provisions do not apply to migrant or seasonal farm workers or to contracted employees who receive income on an hourly or piece work basis.

(d)   Income from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Oklahoma Department of Human Services receives income information from SSA regarding SSA and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit recipients through automated data exchange records. When using the:

(1)   Beneficiary and Earnings Data Exchange System (BENDEX) to verify SSA benefits, the worker drops any cents from the gross benefit amount; or

(2)   State Data Exchange System (SDX) to verify SSI, the worker rounds any cents to the nearest dollar to determine countable gross income.

[Source: 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; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1816, eff 9-16-19]