Do I need to report seasonal income to CalFresh when only receiving SNAP benefits?

Yes, you absolutely need to report your seasonal job income to CalFresh. In California, you must report when your income goes above the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) listed on your last approval notice. For most households, any change that puts you over 130% of the federal poverty level triggers this requirement. The good news is that temporarily exceeding the income limit doesn't automatically mean reapplying. Your worker can process this as an income change and then another change when the job ends. Make sure to report within 10 days of receiving your first paycheck.

dnt worry too much, i did seasonal work last yr at amazon warehouse. my benefits went down like $50 for those months but then went back up when i reported the job ended. just keep ur pay stubs so u can prove when it ended

Actually I'm pretty sure if your job is only for 3 months you don't need to report it until your regular SAR7 (Semi-Annual Report) is due. I've gotten seasonal work before and my case worker told me if the job is ending before your next required report, just include it on that report. That way your benefits don't fluctuate for such a short period. But if your income goes above your IRT amount, then you DO have to report it within 10 days no matter what. Check your last Notice of Action for your specific IRT amount.

I DID NOT report my summer job last year because it was only for 6 weeks and now they're saying I have an OVERPAYMENT of almost $700 that I have to pay back!!! ALWAYS REPORT INCOME CHANGES!!! The county doesn't play around with this stuff and they check with tax records later.

This is such a frustrating part of CalFresh rules. I had almost the same situation last year working retail during holidays. I recommend reporting the income change through BenefitsCal.com - it's usually faster than waiting to talk to someone at the county office. Just upload your job offer letter showing the expected duration of employment, and your first paystub when you get it. When your seasonal job ends, immediately report that too. You'll get a Notice of Action showing your updated benefit amount within a couple weeks. I tried calling the CalFresh office like 20 times when my seasonal job ended and either got disconnected or stuck on hold forever. I recently found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you through to an actual CalFresh worker really quickly instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 showing how it works. Saved me hours when I needed to explain my job situation had changed. Might be worth it if you're having trouble reaching someone.

To directly answer your question: If your gross monthly income (before taxes) from the seasonal job plus any other income puts you over your IRT (Income Reporting Threshold), you MUST report within 10 days. For a single person household in 2025, this is typically around $1,650-1,700 monthly, but check your specific IRT on your last Notice of Action. If your income stays below your IRT, technically you could wait until your next SAR7 or Annual Recertification (whichever comes first). However, I always recommend reporting income changes promptly because: 1) If you accidentally go over the IRT without reporting, that's an overpayment situation 2) Temporary jobs sometimes last longer than expected 3) It establishes good documentation if you're ever audited Reporting a job ending is just as important as reporting it starting. Your benefits should increase again once the seasonal work ends.

u should ask if ur eligible for the earned income deduction too. when i started working part-time they only counted like 70% of my income or something bc of that

UPDATE: I reported my seasonal job through BenefitsCal yesterday and uploaded my offer letter that shows it's only for 3 months. They already processed it (wow that was fast!) and my benefits are only decreasing by $47/month during the seasonal job period. Not as bad as I feared! Thanks everyone for your help and making sure I didn't get in trouble with an overpayment situation later!

That's awesome that it worked out so well for you! $47 reduction is totally manageable for the extra income you'll be getting. Just wanted to add - when you report the job ending in January, make sure to include your final pay stub showing the last date worked. Sometimes they need that proof to process the change quickly. Also keep copies of everything for your records in case there are any questions later. Good luck with the seasonal job!

Great thread! As someone who's been navigating CalFresh for a while, I just wanted to emphasize something that might not be obvious to newcomers - even though reporting income changes can feel scary (like your benefits might get cut), it's actually protecting you in the long run. The overpayment situations people mentioned are real and they can be financially devastating when they catch up with you later. One thing I learned the hard way is to always take screenshots or print confirmations when you submit reports through BenefitsCal. Sometimes their system glitches and you want proof you submitted on time. Also, if you're ever unsure about whether something needs to be reported, err on the side of caution and report it. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for reporting too much information, but I've definitely seen people get burned for not reporting enough. @Aisha Khan - sounds like you handled this perfectly! The fact that you asked the question here first shows you're being responsible about it.