Like the Hutterite colonies in the Denver Region, Altona is a religious colony where members live a communal life and engage in agricultural activities. See Articles of Incorporation, Art. IV, XI. It is nonprofit and tax-exempt under Section 501(d). See id. at Art. IV, V, XII; Letter from R~, supra.

The Denver POMS instructs that the federal living arrangement (FLA) for adults living in a Hutterite colony is always “A,” and that of a child living with parents in the colony is “C.” We believe that the same FLA coding would apply with respect to Altona’s members, as Altona is a Hutterite colony.

The Denver POMS states that all food, clothing, and shelter are owned and provided by the Hutterite colony and represent ISM to individual colony members, subject to the presumed maximum value (PMV). See POMS SI DEN00501.010.C. We note that, beginning March 9, 2005, SSA does not count the receipt of clothing as ISM. See POMS SI 00835.001.A (Note). Here, members of Altona reside on the real property operated by the colony and depend on the community fund and treasury for their support. Articles of Incorporation, Art. XIV. And as noted above, a member of this colony confirmed that he and his wife live in a home provided by the colony, and they do not pay for housing costs. Therefore, the food and shelter provided by the colony to an SSI beneficiary would be considered ISM, subject to the PMV.

The PMV rule presumes that the value of the ISM is one third the benefit rate plus $20. POMS SI 00835.001.A.2, SI 00835.300. However, if the individual rebuts the presumed value of the ISM, the POMS instructs to value the ISM at the current market value or the actual value, whichever is less. POMS SI 00835.001.A.2, SI 00835.320.A, SI DEN00501.010.C.

As noted in the Denver POMS, the value of one-third reduction (VTR) cannot apply because the food and shelter are provided by the corporation and not by a household member. See POMS SI DEN00501.010.B; see also POMS SI 00835.001.A.1, SI 00835.200. Also, the “Church Amendment” exclusion would not apply because the members do not appear to be residing in a residential care institution. POMS SI DEN00501.010.C.

For federal income tax purposes, a member’s pro rata share of the corporation’s income must be included in the member’s gross income “whether distributed or not” and will be treated “as a dividend received.” 26 U.S.C. § 501(d). However, SSA only considers those dividends to be income if they are actually received. See 20 C.F.R. § 416.1102 (“Income is anything you receive in cash or in kind . . . .”) (emphasis added); POMS SI DEN00501.010.D (for Hutterite colonies, “a distributive share may be reportable to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but do not count this income unless actually received by the colony member”).

Here, as discussed above, Altona must file a tax return annually showing the amount of each member’s pro rata distributive share of the corporation’s income for the year, which is treated as a dividend received by the member. See Letter from R~., supra. For example, the materials provided to us indicate that each colony member’s dividend in 2020 was $4,306.98. However, they do not indicate whether the members actually receive the dividends listed on their tax forms. According to Altona’s Articles of Incorporation, the net earnings of the corporation shall not be distributed to or divided among its members “except as is provided in Section 501(d).” Articles of Incorporation Art. VIII. However, it is unclear from looking at Section 501(d) whether Altona actually distributes its net earnings to its members. We recommend that the agency verify whether or not SSI beneficiaries actually receive any dividends reported on their tax forms. It appears that the field office has already reached out to Altona regarding the availability of the dividends listed on each SSI beneficiary’s tax forms.

The evidence includes a statement from a member of the Altona colony that he receives a monthly allowance of about $400 from the colony. The field office wondered whether this monthly allowance is actually distributions of the dividends discussed above. If so, we believe the monthly allowance would be considered countable income because they are dividends that are actually received by the members, as explained above.

However, if the monthly allowance is unrelated to the dividends, different rules apply. The Denver POMS provides that Hutterite members can receive cash payments from the colony to meet special expenses, and that such payments should be counted as unearned income unless they can be excluded under some other provision. See POMS SI DEN00501.010.D. Here, the Articles of Incorporation state that members of Altona can be paid “a reasonable allowance for actual expenditures for the corporation or work therefor.” Articles of Incorporation, Art. VIII. Thus, we believe that the monthly allowance from the colony would count as unearned income, as it does not appear that any exclusion would apply. See 20 C.F.R. § 416.1124 (unearned income exclusions); POMS SI 00830.050 (same). The field office asked whether the monthly allowance should be offset by the amount of SSI benefits that an SSI beneficiary pays into the colony’s pooled account each month. We are not aware of any unearned income exclusion that would apply on this basis.

Additionally, it is possible for a member to have income (earned or unearned) from another source outside the colony. Even though such income might be turned over to the colony under the membership rules, it would count as income to the individual member in the month of receipt. See POMS SI DEN00501.010.D.

Pursuant to POMS SI DEN00501.010.E, the assets of a Hutterite colony are not resources to individual members filing for or receiving SSI. However, if an individual shares ownership of a resource and alleges that the resource is a colony asset, the agency will exclude the shared colony property as a resource for SSI purposes if the individual is a member of a colony for which the agency has determined that colony property is not available to individual members of the colony. POMS SI DEN00501.010.E.2. Here, Altona’s Articles of Incorporation state that “[n]o member of the corporation shall . . . hold any real or personal property rights individually, nor hold any property rights in the corporation’s property.” Articles of Incorporation, Art. XI. Accordingly, we conclude that colony property is not available to individual members of the colony and therefore is not a resource for SSI purposes.

In addition, the Denver POMS advises that if a member of a Hutterite colony retains sole or shared ownership of other resources, that interest remains a resource to that individual, unless it meets a resource exclusion found in POMS SI 01130.000. POMS SI DEN00501.010.E.1, 2. Here, however, as noted above, members of Altona are prohibited from holding any real or personal property rights privately. See Articles of Incorporation, Art. XI. The POMS further instructs not to apply a period of ineligibility when a colony member transfers a resource to the colony, since these transfers are for religious purposes and not to obtain SSI. See POMS SI 01150.125, SI DEN00501.010.E.3.

The field office asked if members of Altona are permitted to put their SSI funds into the colony’s pooled account (i.e., community fund). The answer is yes. As indicated above, the POMS contemplates that a Hutterite colony member may transfer a resource to the colony to be held for the common benefit of all. See POMS SI 01150.125, SI DEN00501.010.E.3. Such a resource could include SSI benefits that are retained after the month of receipt. See generally 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.1201(a), 416.1207(a); cf. 20 C.F.R. § 416.1210 (no resource exclusion for retained SSI benefits). We note that it appears members of Altona are required to turn over their SSI funds to the pooled account, as the Articles of Incorporation prohibit members from owning any personal property individually. Articles of Incorporation, Art. IV, XI.

The field office also asked if the agency needs to verify whether any of the colony’s pooled funds are used for persons outside the colony, since the member of Altona advised that the funds are also used to help the poor and if someone has a crisis. We do not believe that is necessary. We note that, once a member’s SSI funds are transferred to the colony’s pooled account, they become the property of the colony and the member no longer has any rights to the funds. See Articles of Incorporation, Art. XI (members do not have property rights in colony’s property). We are not aware of any requirement that a religious entity use contributions only for its own members.