Can I report spouse's irregular landscaping income on CalFresh without hurting benefits?

Yes, you need to report this income but it's considered self-employment. When you do your recertification in March, you'll need to fill out the self-employment section on the application. Keep ALL receipts for expenses like equipment, gas for transportation to jobs, etc. Those are deductible business expenses that will lower his countable income. Until recertification, you only need to report if your total household income goes above the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) listed on your last approval letter. With variable income like landscaping, they typically average it out over months, so keep track of everything in a notebook - dates, amounts, expenses.

i had this same problem when i started doing uber. they told me i had to turn in a log every month with my earnings even tho it was all over the place. the worker at my county office was NOT helpful at all, they kept transfering me around and nobody would give me a straight answer!!!! so frustrating

My sister had kinda the same situation with her husband's construction work. For CalFresh they only cared when the total household went over the IRT (Income Reporting Threshold). But when she did her SAR7 and recertification they averaged the previous months to figure out a monthly amount. They actually let her subtract quite a bit for his tools and gas and stuff.

Absolutely count EVERY business expense! As someone who's been through this exact situation, I can tell you that tracking mileage at the IRS rate (65.5 cents per mile in 2025) makes a HUGE difference. Also track any advertising costs (even business cards), equipment maintenance, and cell phone usage for business calls. When I did my recertification, I was able to show how my husband's handyman business had lots of expenses that offset the income, and our CalFresh benefits only decreased by $17 instead of getting cut completely. One thing though - if the income varies a lot month to month, you might want to call your worker before recertification and ask if they'll use the most recent 30 days of income or if they'll average several months. Counties handle this differently and knowing ahead of time helps you prepare the right documentation.

If you're having trouble getting through to your county worker about this self-employment question (which can be complicated), you might want to try Claimyr. I was stuck in phone limbo for days trying to ask my county worker specific questions about reporting my side gig income. Claimyr got me through to a real person at the CalFresh office in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 Their website is claimyr.com - honestly it was worth it because the worker gave me specific instructions for my situation that I couldn't find anywhere online.

just fyi your allowed to earn some money before they reduce ur benefits!!! the first 20% of earned income is exempt and then theres another deduction after that. so even if ur husband makes some $$$ u might not lose much calfresh. but yeah u gotta report it all.

To be specific about your question - YES, this is self-employment income for CalFresh purposes. Here's exactly what you need to do: 1. Keep tracking ALL income and expenses until recertification 2. Only report before recertification if your TOTAL household income exceeds your IRT (this is on your approval notice, usually around 130% of the Federal Poverty Level) 3. For recertification, you'll complete a Self-Employment worksheet (ask for one if they don't provide it) 4. You'll need to show GROSS income (before expenses) and then all allowable business expenses 5. Allowable expenses include: supplies, tools, business insurance, transportation to job sites (mileage or actual gas costs), advertising, and any other direct business costs CalFresh will then calculate your NET self-employment income (after expenses) and only count that toward your household income. This often results in much lower countable income than people expect. One last tip: When doing your SAR7 (Semi-Annual Report), if they ask about income changes, be sure to explain the variable nature of the landscaping work so they understand why amounts fluctuate.

On a related note - have you considered applying for CalWORKs too? If your income is low enough for CalFresh, you might qualify for cash aid as well, especially with children in the household. The self-employment rules are similar.