Where this sits: Benefits › Child support and benefits › SNAP. Related: one-time back payments, MFIP.
The short answer
In SNAP, child support a household receives is unearned income, all of it, with nothing disregarded. It counts toward both the gross and the net income tests, and it lowers the SNAP benefit.
Check the program first. If the family is on MFIP (cash and food together), MFIP's rules apply instead, and the first $100 (one child) or $200 (two or more) is not counted. See MFIP.
How much the benefit goes down
Counting the support as income does not mean SNAP drops by the same amount. SNAP benefits fall by 30% of any increase in the household's net income, so the drop is much smaller than the support, and its size depends on the household. For $300 a month of support (an illustration, not a benefit calculation):
- No shelter deduction, or the deduction is already at its cap: net income rises $300 and SNAP drops by roughly $90 a month.
- An uncapped shelter deduction: the deduction is shelter costs above half of income, so it shrinks by $150. Net income rises $450 and SNAP drops by roughly $135. The deduction is always uncapped when someone in the household is elderly or disabled.
- The support can also push the household over the gross income limit, or down to the minimum benefit. A categorically eligible household of three or more people can be eligible for $0.
To estimate the drop, ask:
- Are you on SNAP alone, or on MFIP?
- How often is the support paid, and is it regular?
- How many people are in the household, and what other income is there?
- Do you pay rent or a mortgage, and is anyone in the household 60 or older or disabled?
What counts
- Current support and back support (arrears) received in the month both count. Arrears paid regularly count the same way as current support.
- A one-time arrears payment is not income. It is a lump sum (see below).
- A child on food support only. When an MFIP caregiver gets support for a child who is only on SNAP (for example, a child on SSI), it is that child's income.
- A child who lives elsewhere. A parent who gets support for a child not living with them has it counted as the parent's own income, unless they forward it to the child or use it for the child's care.
- Refunds. Support refunded to the parent who paid it is not income.
- Support sent to someone else. If the payer is ordered to pay the household but sends part of it straight to a creditor for a household bill, that part still counts as the household's income. Support that the court order itself directs to a third party does not count, and neither do voluntary payments beyond what the order requires.
A one-time back payment is treated as an asset in the month received, not as income. That matters only if the household has an asset test. See one-time back payments.
Turning payments into a monthly amount
Weekly support is multiplied by 4.3, biweekly by 2.15 and twice-monthly by 2. The county looks at the last 30 days when they are a fair guide to the next six months. When payments fluctuate so that the last 30 days are not a fair guide, it uses a reasonable period of time instead, and when the amount or timing is uncertain it counts only what can be anticipated with reasonable certainty.
Support someone in the household pays out
SNAP gives a deduction for court-ordered child support that a household member actually pays to someone outside the household, current support or arrears. It includes payments made to vendors and health insurance paid for the children. Alimony is not part of this deduction, and fees an employer charges for withholding the support are not deducted. The county verifies the payments at application, review and recertification. The deduction is taken after the earned income deduction and before the shelter deduction. Wages used to pay the support still get the 20% earned income deduction.
- Monthly amount: weekly payments x 4.3, biweekly x 2.15, twice-monthly x 2. The county uses the last 30 days if they show what will be paid, otherwise the last 3 months. It does not annualize.
- When the payer is not a full SNAP member: if the payer is an ineligible noncitizen, an ineligible time-limited recipient, a non-applicant, or a member disqualified for not meeting Social Security number rules, the support is prorated and only the eligible members' share is deducted. A member disqualified for fraud or for work rules keeps the full deduction.
- Uncertain: support that is not court-ordered. Minnesota's manual says "court-ordered"; the federal rule says "legally obligated", which can include administrative orders and binding agreements. Until this is settled, tell the person that support paid under an administrative order or agreement may or may not be deducted, and to ask the county.
Not settled
Federal rules exclude support that a TANF recipient must turn over to the child support agency. Minnesota passes current support through to MFIP families, and the sources this site rests on do not say how that interacts with a separate SNAP case in the same home. If this situation comes up, flag it as uncertain and point the person to the county.