Code of the District of Columbia

§ 4–205.33. Treatment of lump-sum payments and settlements.

(a) Repealed.

(b) For applicants for and recipients of TANF:

(1) The amount of a lump-sum payment or settlement shall be considered as current income of the applicant or recipient, both in the month in which it was received and, to the extent required by paragraph (2) of this subsection, in future months, irrespective of the month in which it was reported to the Mayor.

(2) If the amount of the payment, when added to any other income, exceeds the standard of assistance applicable to the family of which the applicant or recipient is a member:

(A) The family of the applicant or recipient shall be ineligible for assistance for the full number of months that equals:

(i) The sum of the payment and all other countable income received in such month, divided by;

(ii) The standard of assistance applicable to such family; and

(B) Any income remaining (which amount is less than the applicable monthly standard) shall be treated as if it were income received in the 1st month following the period of ineligibility specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(3) The period of ineligibility described in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be shortened if: (A) An applicant reapplies and it is determined that the standards of assistance have been increased and the amount the assistance unit would have received has also changed; (B) the lump-sum payment or a portion of it has become unavailable to the assistance unit for a reason beyond the control of the assistance unit; or (C) a member of the assistance unit incurred and paid for medical expenses in a month during the period of ineligibility caused by receipt of a lump-sum payment. The Mayor shall establish guidelines for determining when the circumstances of an assistance unit fall within the purview of this paragraph.

(4) For the purposes of this subsection the term "lump-sum payment or settlement" does not include any federal, state, or local earned income tax credit or other refundable income tax credit payments or direct cash assistance payments received from District-based cash assistance programs or pilot programs that provide unrestricted cash assistance directly to individuals or households and that are administered by a nonprofit organization.