Deductions by Household Type

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The following table shows the allowable deductions by household type. Examples are provided below.

Persons whose incomes are not counted in the Part 5 definition of annual income are not considered family members-even if they live in the same household-and cannot qualify a family for deductions or allowances when calculating adjusted income. These include live-in aides, children of live-in aides, and foster children.

For example, if a live-in aide must pay $50 per week for child care in order to work for the family, the family itself cannot consider this child care cost when determining whether it is eligible for a child care deduction because the live-in aide is not considered a family member.

Elderly

An elderly household is any household in which:

	the head, spouse, or sole member is 62 years of age or older;
	two or more persons who are at least 62 years of age live together; or
	one or more persons who are at least 62 years of age live with one or more live-in aides.

Each of the following is considered an elderly household:

	Alice Smith (65 years of age) and her husband Joe (60);
	Juan Azul (69) and Rosa Ramirez (63) who live together;
	Jane Green (92); and Thomas Miller (74) and his live-in aide (35).

Certain households may, however, contain elderly family members and still not qualify as an elderly household.

Consider the following example:

Bob and Carol Jackson (50 and 49, respectively) have taken in Bob's mother (age 70) to live with them.
Because Bob's mother is not the household head or spouse, this is not an elderly household.

Some household compositions may require more specific clarification as to what type of household they are.

Disabled

A disabled household is one in which the head, spouse, or sole member is a person with disabilities. Two or more persons with disabilities living together, and one or more persons with disabilities living with one or more live-in aides, also qualify as disabled households.

The following are considered disabled households:

	Carlos Blanco (age 25 and disabled);
	Fred Jones (42) and his wife Suzanne (41 and disabled); and
	Daniel Jackson (35 and disabled) and his housemate Charlie Andrews (38 and disabled) and their live-in aide.

Certain households may, however, contain disabled family members and still not qualify as a disabled household.

Consider the following example:

Ted and Alexis Cooper (both age 35) have a son (age 14) who is disabled.
Because the son is not the household head or spouse, the household is not a disabled household.
Some household compositions may require more specific clarification as to what type of household they are.

Family

A family (non-elderly, non-disabled) household is one in which the head, spouse, or sole member is not an elderly person nor a person with disabilities.

The following are considered family households:

	April Smith (age 27); Mark Jones (35) and his wife Tracy (32) and their live-in aide;
	and Elise Simpson (45) and her housemate Rebecca Brown (52).

Some household compositions may require more specific clarification as to what type of household they are.

Examples

Some household compositions require clarification, particularly as to whether they are elderly or disabled households. Compare the following examples:

Don and Alice Brown (45 and 46, respectively) have recently taken Don's mother (75) into their home because her apartment building is being converted to condominiums.

In this situation, Don and Alice are the head of household and spouse, so the household is a "family" household, not an elderly household.

Rita Smith (75) has recently taken in her son Don and his wife Alice (45 and 46, respectively) into her home because their apartment building is being converted to condominiums

In this situation, Rita is the head of the household, so the household is an elderly household.

In cases such as these, PJs must clarify the arrangement with the family before making a judgement about the type of household.