Which income sources DON'T count against CalFresh eligibility? (Tax refunds, child support, etc.)
I'm reapplying for CalFresh next month and I'm trying to figure out if I'll qualify based on the income limits. My situation is a bit complicated and I'm not sure what actually counts towards my monthly income calculation. I know some money doesn't count against you, but I'm confused about which types. For example: - I get a tax refund once a year - My ex is finally paying child support (inconsistently) - My grandmother sends me $50-100 occasionally - I get some school financial aid - I have a GoFundMe for my daughter's medical expenses Does anyone know which of these DON'T count against my monthly income for CalFresh? The county website is so confusing and I'm worried about reporting things wrong. Thanks for any help!
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NightOwl42
Great question! I've been through this process multiple times and here's what I understand about non-countable income for CalFresh: • Tax refunds are completely excluded (one-time payments) • Child support payments you RECEIVE do count as income unfortunately • Gifts (like from your grandmother) that are irregular/occasional don't count • Student financial aid is mostly excluded - scholarships, grants, loans, work-study • GoFundMe/crowdfunding for specific purposes (like medical) is usually not counted Also excluded are: - SSI benefits - Most disaster assistance payments - Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) - Housing assistance - Energy assistance programs - Income earned by children under 18 who are students Hope this helps with your application!
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Dylan Hughes
•Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed. I'm surprised child support counts - that seems unfair since it's for the kids. Do you know if it matters that he pays irregularly? Some months I get nothing, others I might get a larger amount when he catches up.
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NightOwl42
•You're welcome! Unfortunately, child support is counted because it's considered regular income that contributes to your household resources. But here's the good news - if it's truly irregular and inconsistent, you should report the actual amounts you receive each month (especially when filing your SAR7). Don't report it as expected/theoretical income if you're not actually receiving it. When it comes to your SAR7 (Semi-Annual Report), you report the actual income you received in the report month. So if you didn't get child support that month, you wouldn't include it.
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Sofia Rodriguez
child support DEF counts. got dinged for that when i didn't report it right away. calfresh told me they do a data match with child support services so they'll find out anyway.
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Dylan Hughes
•Oh no! Did you have to pay back benefits when they found out? I'm terrified of making a mistake and ending up owing money I don't have.
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Sofia Rodriguez
•yeah i had to do a repayment plan. it was only like $35 a month but still sucked. just report everything to be safe.
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Dmitry Ivanov
Here's a complete list of excluded income for CalFresh in 2025 (I'm an eligibility worker): 1. Non-recurring lump sums (tax refunds, insurance settlements, inheritance, etc.) 2. Loans (including student loans) 3. Education grants/scholarships specifically for tuition/books/supplies 4. Foster care payments 5. Irregular gifts (like your grandmother's occasional help) 6. SSI benefits in California 7. TANF/CalWORKs special need payments 8. Energy Assistance payments 9. Housing subsidies (Section 8, etc.) 10. In-kind benefits (someone pays bills directly rather than giving you money) 11. Disaster relief 12. Income earned by children under 18 who are students 13. Reimbursements for employment expenses 14. EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) 15. Crowdfunding for specific purposes (like medical GoFundMe) Child support received DOES count as income. The exclusions above are codified in state regulations at MPP § 63-502 and the federal regulations at 7 CFR § 273.9(c).
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Ava Thompson
•What about unemployment? Does that count? And social security disability?
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Dylan Hughes
•Thank you for the detailed list! This is super helpful. One more question - my daughter's father sometimes buys clothes and school supplies directly for her instead of giving me money. That would count as "in-kind benefits" and wouldn't count against my income, right?
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Ava Thompson
BE REALLY CAREFUL about not reporting income!!! I didn't report some side gig money I got from DoorDash because I thought it was too small to matter and ended up with a $2,700 overpayment and they cut my benefits for 6 months!!! The county is SUPER strict about income reporting now. Better to report everything and let them tell you what counts than try to guess yourself!!!
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Miguel Herrera
Has anyone had any luck getting through to the CalFresh office to ask these kinds of questions? I tried calling literally 14 times yesterday and kept getting disconnected or put on hold forever. Super frustrating when you're just trying to do the right thing and report correctly.
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Zainab Ali
•I had the same problem last month! What worked for me was using this service called Claimyr. You just go to claimyr.com and they'll call the CalFresh office for you, wait on hold, and then call you when they have a real person on the line. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. I was skeptical at first but it actually worked - got through to a worker in about 35 mins instead of waiting all day.
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Connor Murphy
theres like a $1000 error allowance thing too? my friend didnt report some income but it was under $1000 so she just got a warning letter not a penalty. i think its calld the threshold or somethin
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Dmitry Ivanov
•You're thinking of the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT). It's not an "error allowance" - it's the amount at which you MUST report income changes mid-period. For most households, if your income goes OVER your IRT (which is 130% of the Federal Poverty Level for your household size), you must report it within 10 days. Not reporting when you go over your IRT can result in an overpayment. Your IRT amount should be listed on your approval notices.
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Dylan Hughes
Thanks everyone for all this information! I'm going to make sure I report my child support but also check that all my educational assistance gets excluded properly. The list from the eligibility worker is so helpful - I'm saving that for reference.
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NightOwl42
•Sounds like a good plan. One last tip - when you're filling out your application, there's a section for income that has checkboxes for different types. Make sure you check ALL that apply, but then also make notes in the comment sections about which ones you believe should be excluded based on the rules. This makes it easier for the worker processing your case to understand your situation.
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Sofia Rodriguez
my cousin got a personal injury settlement last year and that didnt count toward her calfresh because it was one-time money not regular income
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Amara Okafor
Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - if you're getting financial aid for school, make sure to keep documentation of what's specifically for tuition/books vs. what might be considered "living expenses" in your financial aid package. I learned this the hard way when my community college's financial aid office included some living allowance money that DID count as income, even though the rest of my Pell Grant didn't. The CalFresh worker was really helpful in breaking down my award letter to figure out what was excludable and what wasn't. Good luck with your application!
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Madison Tipne
•That's such a great point about financial aid! I didn't even think about the difference between tuition/books money vs living expenses. My financial aid package does have some money labeled as "living allowance" - do you remember roughly what percentage of your aid counted as income? I'm trying to get an idea of how much this might affect my eligibility calculation.
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