Army Secondary Dependency: Countable Income

1. Wages, salaries, and tips from competitive employment. Seasonal or variable income, such as a part-time job or sales. The gross income is averaged over 12 months to get monthly income. If the job was recently obtained a letter from the employer stating the date the job began.
2. Current year benefit statement for Social security (SS) benefits; disability and regular payments.
3. Veterans Administration (VA) benefits with the exception of benefits paid by the VA on behalf of children born with ‘Spina Bifida’ as the result of exposure of one or both parents to herbicides during active service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era as set forth by Title 38, United States Code 1805.
4. Unemployment compensation or severance pay. If the dependent was employed in the last 12 months then a letter from the previous employer stating when the employment ended as well as a letter from unemployment stating the weekly benefit amount or that the dependent is not eligible for unemployment is required.
5. Retirement benefits, annuities, insurance, private pension, and disability compensation received as a result of prior employment. Include foreign pensions.
6. Alimony payments from a separated or divorced spouse.
7. Interest or dividends earned from savings, investments, or certificates of deposit, even if allowed to accrue. The yearly interest is divided by 12 to get monthly income.
8. Interest withdrawn from an individual retirement account (IRA) or a 401 K retirement plan.
9. Capital assets, such as stocks, bonds, mutual or trust funds, life insurance, savings, or real estate, are not considered income. Dependents are not required to liquidate capital assets to establish a dependency on a member. However, proceeds from the liquidation of capital assets may be considered income depending on the disposition of such proceeds.
10. Net income from rental property, business, and farming.
11. Contributions to dependents from persons other than the member, who do not reside with the dependent. They must submit a signed, dated, and notarized statement telling how much they provide to the dependent and how often they provide it. The dependent must also sign and date but their signature does not have to be notarized. If the dependent is a minor the member will sign and date instead.
12. Contributions to the claimed parent from persons such as children over age 21 or boarders who reside with the parent. Consider only the amount of their contributions which exceed their shares of household expense.
13. Interest from a trust fund set up for the dependent from any source including the member, when the member does not retain legal control of the trust fund.
14. Funds distributed by a state or country based upon right.
15. Income tax refunds.
16. Funds received by a claimed dependent from the member for services performed, such as working in the member’s business, child care or housekeeping, are income to the dependent, not the member’s contribution to the dependent.
17. Welfare payments, such as aid to dependent children (ADC) and state and local welfare agency payments (including old age assistance, food stamp payments, and payment of utilities).
18. Aid and assistance from churches, civic or fraternal charitable organizations, United Fund, American Red Cross, or similar agencies.
19. Payments, such as SSI, ADC, welfare, social security, child support, or VA to the claimed parent on behalf of the minor child(ren) who reside with the parent are not considered as income to the parent, but do reduce the total monthly parental unit expense.
20. Educational scholarships and grants.