What happens if I exceed my CalWORKs IRT and don't report within 10 days? Penalties?

You need to report it ASAP, even though it's past the 10-day reporting window. When you go over your IRT (Income Reporting Threshold), you're required to report it within 10 days from when you received the income. Since you didn't report in time, a few things could happen: 1. Your Cash Aid will be recalculated for the month you went over IRT and any following months 2. You'll likely get an overpayment notice for any excess benefits you received 3. They probably won't discontinue your case completely, but your benefits will be reduced based on the new income The county can also assess a penalty for not reporting on time, but they usually don't unless they think it was intentional fraud. The sooner you report, the better it looks. Call them today if possible.

samee thing happened to me last month lol. I went like $600 over my IRT and didnt report til they caught it at my SAR7 review. They hit me with an overpaymnt but didnt stop my cash aid completely. Just make sure u report it before they catch it themself!!

Going over your IRT without timely reporting can have several consequences: - For Cash Aid: They'll recalculate your grant amount based on your actual income - Your benefits will likely be reduced for the month you went over and possibly future months - You'll get an overpayment notice for the difference between what you received and what you should have received - They'll typically recover the overpayment by reducing future benefits by 10% What's important is that you report it now, even though it's late. The county uses a "recipient error" classification for late reporting, which is less severe than withholding information intentionally. If this is your first time, they're usually understanding. Also, check if you're close to your IRT or significantly over - the exact consequences can depend on by how much you exceeded the threshold.

when i went over my IRT they punished me by cutting my benefits for like 3 months, it was awful!!! they said i committed "intentional program violation" because i waited too long!!! DONT TRUST THE COUNTY they will try to say you did fraud!!!

Have you tried calling your caseworker? I spent 3 days trying to get through to my county office about a similar issue last month. The wait times were insane and I kept getting disconnected. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me skip the phone queue. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE showing how it works. It was worth it because I needed to talk to someone directly about my late reporting situation rather than just submitting a form.

One thing to know is that the consequences depend on whether this is considered an "Administrative Error" (AE) or "Inadvertent Household Error" (IHE). Since it's your first time and you're reporting it (even though late), it'll likely be IHE. The county will calculate how much you were overpaid and send you a Notice of Action (NOA). They'll recover the overpayment by reducing your future Cash Aid by up to 10% of your monthly grant. If you're no longer on CalWORKs when they discover the overpayment, they might send you a demand letter for repayment. If your new income makes you ineligible for CalWORKs, they'll discontinue your case, but you might still qualify for CalFresh and Medi-Cal, so make sure to check those programs too.

dont forget to check if the extra money actually puts u over IRT! your IRT should be on your last approval notice, its usually 130% of your MAP (maximum aid payment). if your gross income for the month is still under that number, you dont even need to report it until your next SAR7

Update: I called the county office (finally got through!) and reported the income. They said since I came forward myself before they discovered it, they're treating it as an inadvertent error. My Cash Aid will be reduced for the next 2 months to recover the overpayment, but my case won't be discontinued. They're sending me a Notice of Action with the exact calculations. Thanks for all your help - I was panicking over this!

make sure u ask them exactly how they calculated ur overpayment!!! they made a mistake on mine and i had to appeal! im serious the county workers make mistakes all the time and u need to check there math!!

Great to hear it worked out! For anyone else reading this thread, Alexander's experience shows how important it is to self-report even when you're late. The county really does treat self-reporting more favorably than discovering unreported income during reviews. Just a few additional tips for others in similar situations: - Keep documentation of when you received the income and when you reported it - Ask for a case note or reference number when you call to report - If you're having trouble getting through by phone, you can also report income changes through your county's online portal or by visiting the office in person The fact that they're only doing a 2-month reduction to recover the overpayment is actually pretty reasonable - it shows they recognized this was an honest mistake rather than intentional fraud.