Financial Eligibility Requirements

---

What are the asset limits?

What are the income limits?

What income is counted?

Example financial eligibility check

What are the asset limits?

Assets are the money you have and certain property that you own. To be eligible for Emergency Assistance, your family’s total countable assets must be less than $2500.

Emergency Assistance uses the same rules as TAFDC for countable assets. Countable assets include cash, bank accounts, retirement accounts and pensions, stocks and bonds, and the value of any real estate you own other than your home. If your car is worth more than $5000, some of its value may be counted. Your home, household possessions, and certain other assets are not counted. See TAFDC: What assets can I have? for more information.

Your DHCD homeless coordinator can give you a complete list and explain the rules regarding cars and other assets.

If you are a victim of domestic abuse and cannot get to your assets, these assets will not count in deciding your eligibility for Emergency Assistance. Make sure your service provider is aware of your situation when you apply.

What are the income limits?

Income is the money you have coming in every month, either earned (for example, wages from a job), or unearned (TAFDC, EAEDC, SSI, etc.). The combined countable income of all family members must be less than the EA income eligibility standard shown below:

(These income limits are equal to 115% of the 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines.)

If your income goes over the income limits while you are getting Emergency Assistance, you can still get benefits for six more months. To keep getting benefits, you must save the extra income in a special account, and you must continue to meet all other eligibility requirements.

Note: If you started getting Emergency Assistance before July 1, 2009, the income limits that apply to you are 130% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For more information, see Emergency Assistance Financial Eligibility from MassLegalHelp.

What income is counted?

Most sources of income, both earned and unearned, are counted in determining eligibility for Emergency Assistance. Countable income includes:

• Wages, salary, tips, commissions
• Income from self-employment, including profits from rental property
• Dividends and interest
• Unemployment compensation
• Pensions and Social Security benefits
• Veterans’ benefits
• Child support that you receive
• TAFDC, EAEDC, and SSI

However, some types of income are not counted:

• Cash value of SNAP food stamps
• Certain training stipends and reimbursements for education and training-related expenses
• Certain student grants, loans, and other financial assistance
• Small gifts and other irregular income of low value
• Housing subsidies, including utility allowances, from any state or federal housing program
• Youthbuild or Americorps earnings
• Foster care payments you receive

Your DHCD homeless coordinator can give you a complete list and answer any questions you have about countable income.

Example financial eligibility check:

Consider a family of four, a married couple and their two children ages 4 and 6, living with them. The family is homeless because of a fire at their old apartment, and they have no friends or relatives who can take them in. They are U.S. citizens. The family meets the general eligibility requirements for EA.

Assets:

The family does not own a car or other property, and they have no cash or savings. Since their assets do not exceed $2500, they meet the assets eligibility requirements for EA.

Income:

The family receives TAFDC benefits of $280 a month and wages of $600 a month. The family also receives SNAP food stamp benefits. The TAFDC and wages are countable income. The food stamps are not counted.

The family’s total monthly countable income is $280 + $600 = $880 a month. Since $880 is less than the EA income eligibility standard for a family of four (see EA Income Eligibility Standard), the family meets the income eligibility requirements for EA.

This family meets the financial eligibility requirements for Emergency Assistance.