Vendor Payments

Exemption [63-502.2]

Exempt as a vendor payment any money that is:

• Not legally obligated to the household, AND
• Paid to a third party for a household expense by a person or organization outside of the household.

Note: Households are NOT required to report when vendor payments start, stop or change during a certification period UNLESS the household moves. However, IF a household does report the change, the Eligibility Worker MUST act on the reported information.

Examples

Examples of an exempt vendor payment include:

• Rent paid directly by an employer in addition to regular wages.
• A meal deduction on a paycheck for a food service job.

CalWORKs, RCA or ECA Vendor Payments

Exempt the following CalWORKs, RCA or ECA vendor payments. (These payments are exempt only for the cash aid recipient on whose behalf the payments are issued. They are not exempt for the individual who receives them as payment for the provision of goods or services.)

EXEMPT VENDOR PAYMENT	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR RESTRICTIONS
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING (time-limited)	Exempt a payment: Issued for a time-limited residence, and Meant to facilitate the movement of a homeless individual to permanent housing. (Does not apply to persons enrolled in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program.)
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE	Paid to a third party on behalf of a migrant or seasonal farmworker household while a household member is employed in or between agriculturally related jobs. (A migrant or seasonal farmworker household is one which lives away from home and travels from place to place outside its home county to look for agriculturally related work.)

GA Vendor Payments

Exempt all GA vendor payments issued for:

• Any expense other than housing (rent or mortgage).
  • The term housing does not apply to an energy or utility expense in this situation. Vendor payments issued for energy or utility expenses are exempt.
• Transitional homeless housing which is:
  • Time-limited or temporary, and
  • Meant to assist the household in the movement to permanent housing.

This exemption applies only for the cash aid recipient on whose behalf the payments are issued. Vendor payments are not exempt income for the individual who receives them as payment for goods or services provided.

FC Wraparound Services Program Vendor Payments

The “Foster Care Wraparound Services” Program is a program created to permit children who ordinarily would be placed in foster homes or group homes to remain in their own homes. Children who participate in the “Foster Care Wraparound Services” Program are provided with services which are paid for directly to the vendor. These wraparound vendor payments are excluded as income.

Nonexempt Vendor Payments

The following vendor payments are not exempt:

• Earnings of a household member that are garnished or diverted by an employer and then paid to a third party for a household's expenses, such as rent.
• GA vendor payments for housing. Refer to GA Vendor Payments. 
• A vendor payment is only exempt for the person on whose behalf it is issued, and not for the person who receives it as reimbursement for goods or services provided.

ExampleExample

Related Topics

Earned Income