Countable income is determined by totaling gross income from all the following sources, less all applicable exclusions and exemptions. Applicable exclusions and exemptions are specified in §271.57 and §271.59 of this subchapter (relating to Eligibility).

1. (1) Total gross earnings including money, wages, commissions, tips, piece-rate payments, cash bonuses, or salary received for work performed as an employee is considered income. This also encompasses pay for members of the armed forces, including allotments from any armed forces pay received by a member of the family group from a person not living in the home.
2. (2) Self-employment income, including farm income, is considered self-employment income when either the applicant, client, or spouse is actively involved or materially participating in producing the income.
3. (3) Social security and railroad retirement benefits are considered income.
4. (4) Dividends from stocks or membership in associations, and periodic receipts from estates of trust funds are considered income. These payments are averaged over a 12-month period.
5. (5) Rental payments to the person from the rent of housing, store, or other property, as well as from boarders or lodgers, is considered income.
6. (6) Net income derived from oil, gas, or mineral rights is considered income and can include both lease and royalty payments. These payments are averaged over a 12-month period.
7. (7) Payments received from mortgages or contracts is considered income.
8. (8) Public assistance payments are considered income and include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, and general assistance. Cash payments from a county or city are also included.
9. (9) Veterans' pensions and compensation checks are considered income and may include money paid periodically by the Veterans Administration to disabled members of the armed forces or to survivors of deceased veterans, subsistence allowances paid to veterans for education and on-the-job training, and refunds paid to ex-servicemen as GI insurance premiums.
10. (10) Educational loans, grants, fellowships, and scholarships are considered income.
11. (11) Unemployment compensation received from government employment insurance agencies or private companies during periods of unemployment is considered income. Strike benefits received from union funds are also included.
12. (12) Workers compensation and disability payments are considered income and include compensation received periodically from private or public insurance companies for injuries incurred at work.
13. (13) Alimony is considered income.
14. (14) Regular monthly cash support payments from friends or relatives is considered income.
15. (15) Pensions, annuities, and irrevocable trust fund payments paid to a retired person or the retired person's survivors by a former employer or by a union, either directly or through an insurance company is considered income. Periodic payments from annuities, insurance, irrevocable trust fund payments, and civil service pensions are included.
16. (16) Payments received from the applicant's or client's share of a life estate are considered income.

Source Note:The provisions of this §271.55 adopted to be effective January 1, 1998, 22 TexReg 12544; transferred effective September 15, 2023, as published in the August 18, 2023, issue of the Texas Register, 48 TexReg 4523; amended to be effective September 10, 2025, 50 TexReg 5936.