Sec. 809. DEDUCTIONS FROM INCOME
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## SEC. 809 DEDUCTIONS FROM INCOME ###
(a)In General Section 5 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended by striking subsection
(e)and inserting the following: > > ### “(e) Deductions From Income > > > #### “(1) Standard deduction > > The Secretary shall allow a standard deduction for each household in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States of $134, $229, $189, $269, and $118, respectively. > > > #### “(2) Earned income deduction > > > ##### “(A) Definition of earned income > > In this paragraph, the term ‘**earned income**’ does not include— > > > ###### “(i) > > income excluded by subsection (d); or > > > ###### “(ii) > > any portion of income earned under a work supplementation or support program, as defined under section 16(b), that is attributable to public assistance. > > > ##### “(B) Deduction > > Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a household with earned income shall be allowed a deduction of 20 percent of all earned income to compensate for taxes, other mandatory deductions from salary, and work expenses. > > > ##### “(C) Exception > > The deduction described in subparagraph
(B)shall not be allowed with respect to determining an overissuance due to the failure of a household to report earned income in a timely manner. > > > #### “(3) Dependent care deduction > > > ##### “(A) In general > > A household shall be entitled, with respect to expenses (other than excluded expenses described in subparagraph (B)) for dependent care, to a dependent care deduction, the maximum allowable level of which shall be $200 per month for each dependent child under 2 years of age and $175 per month for each other dependent, for the actual cost of payments necessary for the care of a dependent if the care enables a household member to accept or continue employment, or training or education that is preparatory for employment. > > > ##### “(B) Excluded expenses > > The excluded expenses referred to in subparagraph
(A)are— > > > ###### “(i) > > expenses paid on behalf of the household by a third party; > > > ###### “(ii) > > amounts made available and excluded, for the expenses referred to in subparagraph (A), under subsection (d)(3); and > > > ###### “(iii) > > expenses that are paid under section 6(d)(4). > > > #### “(4) Deduction for child support payments > > > ##### “(A) In general > > A household shall be entitled to a deduction for child support payments made by a household member to or for an individual who is not a member of the household if the household member is legally obligated to make the payments. > > > ##### “(B) Methods for determining amount > > The Secretary may prescribe by regulation the methods, including calculation on a retrospective basis, that a State agency shall use to determine the amount of the deduction for child support payments. > > > #### “(5) Homeless shelter allowance > > Under rules prescribed by the Secretary, a State agency may develop a standard homeless shelter allowance, which shall not exceed $143 per month, for such expenses as may reasonably be expected to be incurred by households in which all members are homeless individuals but are not receiving free shelter throughout the month. A State agency that develops the allowance may use the allowance in determining eligibility and allotments for the households. The State agency may make a household with extremely low shelter costs ineligible for the allowance. > > > #### “(6) Excess medical expense deduction > > > ##### “(A) In general > > A household containing an elderly or disabled member shall be entitled, with respect to expenses other than expenses paid on behalf of the household by a third party, to an excess medical expense deduction for the portion of the actual costs of allowable medical expenses, incurred by the elderly or disabled member, exclusive of special diets, that exceeds $35 per month. > > > ##### “(B) Method of claiming deduction > > > ###### “(i) In general > > A State agency shall offer an eligible household under subparagraph
(A)a method of claiming a deduction for recurring medical expenses that are initially verified under the excess medical expense deduction in lieu of submitting information on, or verification of, actual expenses on a monthly basis. > > > ###### “(ii) Method > > The method described in clause
(i)shall— > > > ###### “(I) > > be designed to minimize the burden for the eligible elderly or disabled household member choosing to deduct the recurrent medical expenses of the member pursuant to the method; > > > ###### “(II) > > rely on reasonable estimates of the expected medical expenses of the member for the certification period (including changes that can be reasonably anticipated based on available information about the medical condition of the member, public or private medical insurance coverage, and the current verified medical expenses incurred by the member); and > > > ###### “(III) > > not require further reporting or verification of a change in medical expenses if such a change has been anticipated for the certification period. > > > #### “(7) Excess shelter expense deduction > > > ##### “(A) In general > > A household shall be entitled, with respect to expenses other than expenses paid on behalf of the household by a third party, to an excess shelter expense deduction to the extent that the monthly amount expended by a household for shelter exceeds an amount equal to 50 percent of monthly household income after all other applicable deductions have been allowed. > > > ##### “(B) Maximum amount of deduction > > In the case of a household that does not contain an elderly or disabled individual, in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, the excess shelter expense deduction shall not exceed— > > > ###### “(i) > > for the period beginning on the date of enactment of this subparagraph and ending on December 31, 1996, $247, $429, $353, $300, and $182 per month, respectively; > > > ###### “(ii) > > for the period beginning on January 1, 1997, and ending on September 30, 1998, $250, $434, $357, $304, and $184 per month, respectively; > > > ###### “(iii) > > for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, $275, $478, $393, $334, and $203 per month, respectively; and > > > ###### “(iv) > > for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year, $300, $521, $429, $364, and $221 per month, respectively. > > > ##### “(C) Standard utility allowance > > > ###### “(i) In general > > In computing the excess shelter expense deduction, a State agency may use a standard utility allowance in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, except that a State agency may use an allowance that does not fluctuate within a year to reflect seasonal variations. > > > ###### “(ii) Restrictions on heating and cooling expenses > > An allowance for a heating or cooling expense may not be used in the case of a household that— > > > ###### “(I) > > does not incur a heating or cooling expense, as the case may be; > > > ###### “(II) > > does incur a heating or cooling expense but is located in a public housing unit that has central utility meters and charges households, with regard to the expense, only for excess utility costs; or > > > ###### “(III) > > shares the expense with, and lives with, another individual not participating in the food stamp program, another household participating in the food stamp program, or both, unless the allowance is prorated between the household and the other individual, household, or both. > > > ###### “(iii) Mandatory allowance > > > ###### “(I) In general > > A State agency may make the use of a standard utility allowance mandatory for all households with qualifying utility costs if— > > > ###### “(aa) > > the State agency has developed 1 or more standards that include the cost of heating and cooling and 1 or more standards that do not include the cost of heating and cooling; and > > > ###### “(bb) > > the Secretary finds that the standards will not result in an increased cost to the Secretary. > > > ###### “(II) Household election > > A State agency that has not made the use of a standard utility allowance mandatory under subclause
(I)shall allow a household to switch, at the end of a certification period, between the standard utility allowance and a deduction based on the actual utility costs of the household. > > > ###### “(iv) Availability of allowance to recipients of energy assistance > > > ###### “(I) In general > > Subject to subclause (II), if a State agency elects to use a standard utility allowance that reflects heating or cooling costs, the standard utility allowance shall be made available to households receiving a payment, or on behalf of which a payment is made, under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) or other similar energy assistance program, if the household still incurs out-of-pocket heating or cooling expenses in excess of any assistance paid on behalf of the household to an energy provider. > > > ###### “(II) Separate allowance > > A State agency may use a separate standard utility allowance for households on behalf of which a payment described in subclause
(I)is made, but may not be required to do so. > > > ###### “(III) States not electing to use separate allowance > > A State agency that does not elect to use a separate allowance but makes a single standard utility allowance available to households incurring heating or cooling expenses (other than a household described in subclause
(I)or
(II)of clause (ii)) may not be required to reduce the allowance due to the provision (directly or indirectly) of assistance under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.). > > > ###### “(IV) Proration of assistance > > For the purpose of the food stamp program, assistance provided under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) shall be considered to be prorated over the entire heating or cooling season for which the assistance was provided.” > . ###
(b)Conforming Amendment Section 11(e)(3) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(3)) is amended by striking “. Under rules prescribed” and all that follows through “verifies higher expenses”.
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