Effective Dates: 08/02/2023 - Present Previous | Next

TN 69 (08-23)

SI 00810.020 Forms and Amounts of Income

A. Policy on forms and amounts of income received

1. Forms of income

An individual may receive income, whether earned or unearned, in either of two forms:

  1. a. 

    Cash—Currency, checks, money orders, or electronic funds transfers (EFT), such as:

    • •

      social security checks,

    • •

      unemployment compensation checks, or

    • •

      payroll checks or currency.

  2. b. 

    In-kind income

Noncash items such as:

  • •

    real property (including shelter),

  • •

    food, or

  • •

    noncash wages (e.g., room and board as compensation for employment).

2. Amounts of income

a. Cash

The value of cash income is generally the amount of the currency or the face value of checks, money orders, or EFTs the individual receives. There are some exceptions listed in SI 00810.020B in this section.

Determine the type of cash income from SI 00800.000, Income - Table of Contents, and then refer to the particular POMS section, which discusses that type of income to determine the amount of cash income.

b. In-kind income

If in-kind income is earned (i.e., noncash wages or noncash net earnings from self-employment), the amount is generally equal to its current market value (CMV).

If in-kind income is unearned and is food or shelter, it is “in-kind support and maintenance” (ISM). For determining the amount of ISM, refer to SI 00835.001.

Any other in-kind unearned item an individual receives which they can sell or convert is “other in-kind income”. The amount of other in-kind unearned income is generally equal to its CMV, subject to the rules in SI 00835.310.

B. References

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0500810020
SI 00810.020 - Forms and Amounts of Income - 08/02/2023
Batch run: 11/07/2024
Rev:08/02/2023