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Income
Student Income
Student income is any specific income paid for attending school or training. It includes educational:
- College work study
- Veteran's benefits
Meant for use at a(n):
- Institution of post-secondary education (including correspondence school)
- School for the physically or mentally disabled (at any level)
- High school or program that provides for the completion of a secondary school diploma or the equivalent (including correspondence school)
- Vocational education program.
Reminder: The income regulations in this section apply to all student income received by an eligible household member, regardless of whether that member is considered a “student” or a “nonstudent” (such as a disabled person, high school student, or 17-year-old college student) for CalFresh purposes.
Income Exclusions
Effective March 1, 2026, Assembly Bill (AB) 42 exempts any grant, award, scholarship, loan, and/or fellowship awarded for the purpose of attending a higher education institution from consideration as income for CalFresh.
Important: This exemption does not apply to cash payments made directly by friends or relatives for this purpose, which will continue to be counted as income.
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EXEMPT STUDENT INCOME |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR RESTRICTIONS |
| Payments or reimbursements entirely or partially funded by Title IV of the Higher Education Act (PL 102-325) |
Includes the following:
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Payments or reimbursements completely or partially funded by Title IV of the Higher Education Act (PL 102-325) (Cont.)
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Early Outreach and Student Services Programs:
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Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Student Assistance (PL 102-325) Title XIII Payments |
Includes payments received through the following:
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| Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act Amendments of 1990 (20 U.S.C. 2301-2466d) | |
| Fee Waivers | Including the California College Promise Grant (CCPG), formerly the Board of Governors Grant (BOGG) fee waiver. |
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Student loans and grants excluded from the CalWORKs Program |
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Reimbursements or allowances |
When issued for educational expenses specifically earmarked by the grantor, such as travel or books, refer to Exempt Income [63-502.2] for more reimbursement information. |
| Work Study Income | All earned income is from federal and state work study programs. |
Veteran's Educational Benefits
Galvanized Iron [G.I.] Bill and other Veteran's Administration (VA)educational, vocational, training, and rehabilitation benefits are exempt from consideration as income only if the monies are used to meet educational expenses.
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Housing allowance and subsistence payments, portions of VA educational, vocational, training, and rehabilitation benefits, and programs are countable as income for CalFresh households.
- Other types of VA benefits, such as disability or retirement payments, are countable as unearned income.
Earnings
Please refer to the chart below to decide whether to count or exempt student earnings.
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STUDENT EARNINGS |
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COUNT AS INCOME (Allow the 20% earned income deduction) |
EXEMPT |
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Earnings of a post-secondary (post-high) school student (except Title IV work study). Earnings of a child under age 18 who:
A 17-year-old attends De Anza College part-time, works part-time at Macy's, and lives at home. Count the full amount of the college student's earnings in the CalFresh budget after allowing the 20% earned income deduction.
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Title IV work study earnings and other jobs. All earnings of a student under age 18 who is both:
A 17-year-old attends San Jose High School and works part-time at Pizza Hut. The student's earnings are exempt until one of the following occurs. The student:
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Students Under Age 18
Loans, Grants, Scholarships, etc.
Subtract exempt expenses and count the remainder as income to the household. This income is treated the same for all students, regardless of the student's age. Refer to Exemptions [63-507(a)(6)] for further information.
Third-Party Payments
Student income provided to a third party to meet the household's living expenses shall be treated as money payable directly to the household and not considered a vendor payment. Living expenses may include, but are not limited to:
- Rent
- Mortgage
- Personal clothing
- Food eaten at home.
Income Paid Directly to the School
Regardless of whether funds go directly to the institution or to the recipient, all educational grants, awards, scholarships, loans, and fellowships for higher education are excluded as income for CalFresh, regardless of their funding source. This includes non-need-based educational assistance.
Countable Income
Any VA student income, after exclusions, must be averaged over the period for which it was provided. Refer to the Veteran's Educational Benefits section.
New applicants who are members of the AmeriCorps VISTA program and were not receiving public assistance or CalFresh when they joined VISTA will have any payments received from the program counted as earned income.
Reminder: Under Semi-Annual Reporting (SAR), CalFresh benefits are determined using prospective budgeting and reasonably anticipated income. Prospective budgeting requires that the county determine CalFresh eligibility based on a household’s reasonably anticipated circumstances. Reasonably anticipated income is any income the household can reasonably anticipate receiving over the length of the certification period.
Verification
When needed, Income verification must include all of the following:
- Amount
- Source
- Period the income is meant to cover.
Important: Verification of excluded income is not required for CalFresh unless it is questionable.
Work Study [63-502.2(q) (1) (A)]
Federal Title IV and Non-Federal Title IV
Federal Title IV and Non-Federal Title IV work-study income are totally exempt.
Work Study income is paid monthly based on the student's hours worked and is separate from loans and grants.
Work-study program grants may be handled differently from other student income since the student's work hours and monthly payments may vary. The student will receive the full grant only if the required hours are worked.