Need to report financed car to CalWORKs after insurance replaced totaled vehicle?

u should definitely report it!! anytime u get $ from insurance its considered income and they'll cut ur benefits if they find out u didnt report it. happened to my cousin last year

Oh no really?? But we didn't actually keep any of the insurance money - it all went straight to the car dealer as down payment. Does that still count as income?

You need to report two separate things here:1. The insurance payout (lump sum income)2. The new financed vehicle (property/asset change)Even though you used the insurance money as a down payment, it was still income received by your household. CalWORKs rules require you to report any income over the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) within 10 days, not wait for your next SAR7. If the insurance payout was less than your IRT, you can wait until your next SAR7.For the car itself, you need to report it as a property change on your SAR7, but the good news is that as long as the car's equity value (what it's worth minus what you owe) stays under the $10,000 resource limit for CalWORKs, it won't affect your eligibility.

Thank you! That makes sense. The insurance payout was $6,800 and our IRT is $3,200/month, so I guess I should have reported it right away? Will I be in trouble for waiting? The car we bought is worth about $13,000 but we only put $6,000 down so we owe more than its value right now.

ALWAYS REPORT EVERYTHING!!!! The county WILL find out about that insurance money and then they'll hit you with an overpayment and maybe even claim FRAUD which can get you DISQUALIFIED from benefits for MONTHS!! It's never worth the risk!

this is what im sayin!! my cousin got hit with a $2400 overpayment and had to do a fraud interview just bc she didnt report her boyfriends overtime pay

I actualy had something like this happen last year but my car was stolen not damaged. i got insurance money and bought another car and didnt report it because i was just replacing what i already had. nothing happened to my benefits. i think as long as your not keepin extra money your fine?

You got LUCKY. Just because you didn't get caught doesn't mean it's the right thing to tell others!! The rules are CLEAR about reporting income and property changes!!

Let me clarify a few things here to avoid confusion:1. For CalWORKs, the insurance payout is considered non-recurring income in the month received. If it exceeded your IRT, you should have reported it within 10 days of receipt. 2. However, if you used the entire amount to purchase another vehicle in the same month, they typically net that out in the income calculation. You'll need documentation showing the insurance payment and vehicle purchase in the same month.3. The financed vehicle should be reported on your next SAR7 as a property change. As long as the equity value (market value minus amount owed) is under the $10,000 resource limit, it won't affect your eligibility.4. The monthly car payment itself isn't a factor in CalWORKs eligibility - they don't count your expenses, just your income and resources.I recommend submitting a Mid-Period Report (CW 8) explaining the situation with documentation rather than waiting for your SAR7. Being proactive protects you from potential overpayment issues.

Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! I didn't know about the CW 8 form. So even though we spent all the insurance money right away on the replacement car, I should still report it? We got the insurance check and bought the car all within the same week in April.

I went thru this EXACT situation in January! Called my worker like 5 times and never got thru so I ended up just reporting it on my SAR7. They ended up calling me for clarification because I didnt know how to fill out the vehicle section properly. Make sure you have the paperwork from the insurance company AND your car purchase documents ready. My worker said as long as I wasn't trying to hide anything and the money just went from insurance to car dealer it was fine. The only issue would be if you kept a chunk of the insurance money AND didnt report it.

This is really reassuring to hear! I've been trying to call my worker too but keep getting voicemail. Did they ask for specific paperwork about your car loan?

My sister LOST HER ENTIRE CASH AID for not reporting a car change!!!! Its not worth risking it at all. Just report it asap even if it means going to the office in person!!

There must have been other factors in your sister's case. Simply replacing a vehicle with one of similar value would not cause a complete loss of benefits. It's more likely there were other unreported changes, the new vehicle had significant equity value over the resource limit, or there were prior program violations. But I agree that reporting promptly is always the safest approach.

If you're having trouble reaching your CalWORKs worker by phone, check out Claimyr.com. It helped me finally get through to my worker after trying for weeks. They basically keep calling for you and get you connected when someone answers. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE - I know how stressful it is when you need to report something important like this but can't get anyone on the phone!

Thank you! I'll check it out. I've been calling for three days straight and just get the automated system or voicemail. I really want to get this reported correctly.

Quick update on something I should have mentioned: When reporting the vehicle change, make sure you list it under the

This is SO helpful! I was definitely confused about where to report everything. I'll make sure to organize all my paperwork before I submit anything. Thank you for taking the time to explain all this!

Hey Zoe! I went through something similar about 6 months ago. My advice is to definitely report it, but don't panic - you're not in major trouble since you used all the insurance money for the replacement vehicle. I'd recommend going to your local CalWORKs office in person if you can't reach your worker by phone. Bring copies of: 1) the insurance settlement letter/check, 2) the vehicle purchase agreement, and 3) your loan documents. Ask to speak with a supervisor if your regular worker isn't available. They can help you fill out the Mid-Period Report correctly. The key thing is showing that the insurance payout was immediately used to replace your transportation, not kept as extra income. Most workers understand that people need reliable cars and won't penalize you for a straightforward replacement situation, especially when you're being proactive about reporting it. Good luck!