Started part-time job while on CalWORKs - confused about IRT limits for my income reporting

The IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) is a MONTHLY amount, not weekly. It's the maximum gross income your household can earn in a month before you're required to report it mid-period (outside your regular SAR7 reporting). Your IRT amount should be listed on your last Notice of Action or approval letter. For a family of 3, it's typically around 130% of your grant amount. Since you just started working, you need to report this new job on your next SAR7. BUT if your monthly income goes above your IRT at any point, you have to report it within 10 days - don't wait for your SAR7. They'll recalculate your cash aid based on your new income. Make sure to save your paystubs! They'll want to see those.

they make the irt thing confusing on purpose i swear 😤 i got a job last year and didnt know i had to report my income cause it was under what i thought was the limit but turns out i misunderstood and they said i had an overpayment that i had to pay back!! check ur paperwork carefully and report if ur not sure

Working while on CalWORKs is actually a smart move! When you first start working, they have something called "income disregard" - the first $450 of your earned income doesn't count against your cash aid calculation. After that, they reduce your grant by 50 cents for every dollar you earn above $450. Regarding your IRT question - the amount varies based on your family size and cash grant. For your family size (3), your IRT is probably around $2,600-2,800 monthly before taxes. Check your Notice of Action to see your specific amount. Be careful about working too many hours if you're in the Welfare to Work program - your job hours can count toward your WTW requirement, but make sure your worker knows about your employment schedule. Also remember that working impacts your cash aid but might make you eligible for more CalFresh benefits!

You definitely need to report your job right away, not wait for the SAR7. I did the same thing and got an overpayment notice with all these threats about possible fraud. They never clearly explain this stuff! The IRT is confusing because it changes based on your family size and benefit amount.

I've been through this exact situation with my CalWORKs case! The IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) confused me too. Here's what I learned after dealing with this: 1. The IRT is a MONTHLY amount specific to your household size 2. You only need to report income changes BETWEEN SAR7 forms if your GROSS income goes ABOVE your IRT amount 3. If you stay under your IRT, you just report on your regular SAR7 But honestly, trying to reach someone at the county office to ask questions is a nightmare. After getting disconnected 3 times and spending 2 hours on hold, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person in under 5 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE Saved me so much frustration when I needed to ask about my reporting requirements. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone directly about your IRT.

Your not suposed to wait to report new job!! My cousin got in big trouble for that and had to pay back like $2000!!! They can check with EDD and see when you started working so don't try to hide it. The welfare office is so confusing tho they tell you different things every time you talk to different workers.

Thanks everyone for your help! I found my last Notice of Action and it says my IRT is $2,716 per month. My monthly income at Target will be around $1,500-1,700 depending on my hours, so I'm under the IRT for now. I'll report everything on my next SAR7 which is due in 2 weeks anyway. Still nervous about how much my cash aid will be reduced, but at least I understand the reporting requirements better now.

Congrats on getting the job at Target! That's a big step. Just wanted to add that you should also keep track of any work-related expenses like uniforms, transportation, or meals during your shifts. Some of these might be deductible from your income when they calculate your benefits. Also, if you end up working more hours some weeks (like during holidays when retail gets busy), just keep an eye on that monthly total to make sure you don't accidentally go over your IRT. It's smart that you're being proactive about understanding the rules - that'll save you headaches later!

Hey! I'm also new to working while on CalWORKs and this thread has been super helpful. Just wanted to add that when I started my job, my worker told me to keep ALL my paystubs and any documentation about hours worked - they want to see everything during your next eligibility review. Also, if you have any gaps in employment or your hours vary a lot week to week (which sounds like might happen with your 22-25 hour range), make sure to explain that when you report. They prefer consistent reporting over surprises. Good luck with the Target job - retail can be tough but the experience is valuable!