Step 1: How much of your income will DHHS count?
To figure TANF checks for all working families
receiving TANF, DHHS disregards (doesn't count) earnings equal to
$108, plus half (50%) of your remaining earnings. The amount remaining is your "countable income."
For example, if you earn $1,000 a month, DHHS will count
only $446 of your earnings in figuring your monthly TANF check. ($1,000 -
$108 = $892 x .50 = $446 in "countable income").
Step 2: Figure the amount fo your TANF check.
DHHS has a chart with a "Standard of
Need" amount and a lower "Maximum Payment" amount for
families of different sizes. Here is the chart.
|
Family
Size |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
Standard of Need |
$463.00 |
$620.00 |
$780.00 |
$938.00 |
$1,096.00 |
|
Maximum Payment |
$363.00 |
$485.00 |
$611.00 |
$733.00 |
$856.00 |
To figure your TANF check, DHHS subtracts your
"countable income" from the Standard of
Need. This difference or the Maximum Payment (whichever is lower) will be
the amount of your TANF check.
Other factors affecting your TANF grant
Other factors can affect the amount of your monthly TANF check.
Other Income: If
your family has other income in addition to wages from work, figuring out
your TANF grant is more complicated because different types of income
are treated differently. For example:
- Child Support is
sent to DHHS by the absent parent and DHHS sends the first $50 per month to you as a $50
"pass-through." Then some of what's left may be sent to you as a "gap" payment. If you
have earned income, your "gap" payment will probably
be reduced or eliminated.
- If a stepparent
is in the household, his or her income can affect your grant,
but not all of it is "countable."
- SSI income is
not counted at all in figuring your TANF grant, but the person
receiving SSI is not counted in your family size.
- Other unearned income like worker's compensation, social
security, or unemployment benefits are all counted fully (no
disregards will be taken) in your "countable income."
Housing Costs: If you have high housing costs,
you may be able to get a "housing special need"
payment of $100 a month in addition to your basic check. You have
high housing costs if your rent or mortgage (including taxes and
homeowner insurance) are equal to or more than 75% of your
income. If you qualify for this payment, add $100 to both the
Standard of Need and Maximum Payment for your family size before
you calculate your TANF grant.
In these case we recommend that you ask your TANF worker about how they figure your TANF grant.
What about my Food Stamps?
When your family income goes up, you will lose some of
your Food Stamps, but you will still get ahead overall. This is because
DHHS will ignore some of your new income in figuring out the amount of your
Food Stamps. A very rough rule of thumb is: for every $3 your income
increases, you lose $1 in food stamps. Pine Tree Legal posts a
food stamps estimator, to help you figure out
what your monthly allotment should be.
For more about what will happen with food stamps and other
benefits if your earnings increase, go to What
Happens to My Benefits When I Get A Job and Leave TANF?
If you have any questions about how your TANF check is
calculated, ask your TANF worker to go over the calculation with you. If you
still have questions, contact Maine Equal Justice Partners.
