Do I need to report P-EBT 4 benefits as income on my CalFresh renewal application?
Hey everyone, I'm filling out my CalFresh renewal application right now and I'm stuck on the income section. I received that P-EBT 4 reload like a lot of other families did last month, and now I'm confused about whether I need to list that as additional income on my renewal form. The question asks about "any extra income" and I don't want to mess up my renewal. Does P-EBT count as income or is it considered a benefit like regular CalFresh? I really don't want to accidentally commit fraud by answering wrong, but I also don't want to report something that reduces my regular CalFresh amount if I don't have to. Has anyone gone through renewal recently who can tell me what they did? Thanks so much for any help!
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Aisha Khan
You do NOT report P-EBT as income on your CalFresh renewal. P-EBT is considered a benefit just like CalFresh, not income. The income section is asking about earned income (like wages from work) and unearned income (like unemployment, SSI, child support, etc). Benefits like P-EBT, CalFresh, and CalWORKs aren't counted as income when determining eligibility for other programs. Hope that helps!
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Mateo Hernandez
•Thank you soooo much for clarifying! That's what I thought but I was second-guessing myself because the wording on the application is confusing. I'll leave that off the income section then. Such a relief!
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Ethan Taylor
i did my renewal in jan and the worker specifically told me not to include any ebt or pebt as income its not income its a benefit so dont worry about it
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Yuki Ito
•Thanks for sharing! What about the money in your EBT account - do you have to report that as a resource? I have about $450 leftover from last month that I haven't spent yet.
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Ethan Taylor
•no u dont have to report whats left on ur card. that money is already yours they dont count it again
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Carmen Lopez
I made the mistake of reporting my P-EBT as income during my recertification last year, and it took THREE MONTHS to get it corrected!!! My benefits got reduced because they counted it as income, and I had to file for a hearing to fix it. The county worker eventually admitted it was processed incorrectly. DON'T list P-EBT as income - it's a benefit program similar to CalFresh and isn't countable income for your renewal!
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Mateo Hernandez
•Oh no, that sounds like a nightmare! Thanks for the warning - I definitely don't want to go through that. Did they eventually give you back the benefits you missed out on?
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Carmen Lopez
•Yes, but only after I had to attend a state hearing and show them the policy that P-EBT isn't countable income. They gave me retroactive benefits for the months I received less, but it was such a headache. Save yourself the trouble!!
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AstroAdventurer
this is confusing because my friend said she did report it and nothing bad happened to her benefits. but then my neighbor said she didn't report it and was fine too. i think the county workers don't even know their own rules half the time honestly
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Andre Dupont
•You're right that there's a lot of confusion, but the official policy is clear: P-EBT is NOT countable income for CalFresh eligibility or benefit calculations. The confusion happens because some county workers might not be properly trained on all the different benefits. If your friend reported it but her benefits weren't affected, it's likely her worker correctly disregarded it during processing. The safest approach is to follow the official policy - don't report P-EBT as income.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
I just went through recertification last month and was confused about the exact same thing! I called my county office to ask specifically about this, but after being on hold for 2 hours, I got disconnected. I was so frustrated I almost gave up. Then I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's a service that calls the county for you and holds your place in line. When they reach a human, they connect you. Saved me hours of waiting! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Anyway, once I finally talked to a worker, they confirmed P-EBT is NOT reportable income for CalFresh. They said it's a common question right now.
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Mateo Hernandez
•Thanks for the tip! I hate waiting on hold forever just to get disconnected. I'll look into that service if I need to call them. I'm glad to hear the worker confirmed what everyone else is saying about P-EBT not being income.
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Ethan Taylor
•is that service free? i need to call about my missing ebt card but every time i call its like a 3 hour wait
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Yuki Ito
What about if your kids get free school meals through P-EBT? Is that different from the regular P-EBT? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm so confused by all these different benefit programs.
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Aisha Khan
•Not a dumb question at all! The P-EBT program is specifically for school meals - it provides food benefits to families with children who would have received free or reduced-price meals if schools weren't closed or operating with reduced hours. Whether it's called regular P-EBT or P-EBT 4 (which is just the 4th round of the program), it's the same program and is treated the same way - it's NOT countable income for CalFresh.
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Carmen Lopez
IMPORTANT!!! Make sure you're filling out everything ELSE correctly on your recertification! Even though P-EBT isn't income, you still need to report ALL other income sources like: - Wages from any jobs - Unemployment benefits - Child support - Disability payments - Money from friends/family - Side gigs/cash work If you don't report these correctly, you could face an overpayment notice later and have to pay back benefits or even face fraud charges in serious cases. The recertification paperwork is no joke!
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Mateo Hernandez
•Absolutely! I'm reporting all my actual income sources. I work part-time at Target (about 25 hours a week) and receive some child support, though it's irregular. I'm keeping all my pay stubs and bank statements ready for verification too.
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AstroAdventurer
can someone tell me where to even find the renewal form? mine was supposed to come in the mail but i never got it and now im worried my benefits will stop
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Andre Dupont
•If you didn't receive your renewal form, you should log into BenefitsCal.com immediately and complete your renewal there. You can also call your county office to request a new form or ask if you can do it by phone. Don't wait - if you miss your renewal deadline, your benefits will stop and you'll have to reapply from scratch, which takes longer than renewing.
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Aisha Khan
To summarize what everyone has correctly said: NO, you do not report P-EBT as income on your CalFresh renewal. Here's why: 1. P-EBT is a benefit program, not income 2. CalFresh regulations specifically exclude other food assistance benefits when calculating income 3. P-EBT was created as an extension of the school meals program during COVID 4. Even though we're past the peak of COVID, the P-EBT 4 distribution follows the same rules If you encounter any issues during your renewal because of confusion about this, request to speak with a supervisor immediately and cite the CalFresh Program Guide that excludes other food assistance programs from countable income.
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Mateo Hernandez
•This is super helpful, thank you! I've completed my renewal now and left P-EBT off the income section. I'm feeling much more confident about it now.
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