We cannot exclude the following items from earned income as BWEs:
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-
b.
Expenses excluded under other provisions (e.g., PASS)
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c.
Expenses that will be reimbursed by another agency or employer
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d.
Life maintenance expenses. Although not all inclusive, life maintenance items can
include the following:
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•
meals consumed outside of work hours;
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•
self-care items (including items of cosmetic rather than work-related nature);
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•
contributions to savings plans (e.g., Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's) or voluntary
pensions);
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•
life and health insurance premiums
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e.
Items furnished by others that are needed in order to work (the value of such items
is not income)
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f.
Expenses claimed on a self-employment tax return (For further policy regarding this
issue, see SI 00820.545B.1.)
EXAMPLE: Mrs. Peters, a blind individual, works as a transcriptionist. Their employer bought
them a special computer program that they needed to perform satisfactorily on the
job. The value of the computer program is not income to Mrs. Peters, nor is it excluded
as a BWE since they did not pay for it.
References
MS INTRANETSSI 014.032 Work Expenses-Blind Work Expenses
SI 00820.555 List of Type and Amount of Deductible Work Expenses
SI 00820.545B.1 Interaction with Other Policies