DPSS ePolicy

Revision of existing policy and/or form(s)

What Changed?

The system was programmed on September 11, 2025, with the revised CalWORKs Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels. The IRT levels will increase effective October 1, 2025, as a result of the increase in the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025-2026.

Note: Changes are shown highlighted in grey throughout the document.

IRT Levels FFY 2025-2026

Under the Semi-Annual Reporting (SAR) and Annual Reporting/Child-Only (AR/CO) reporting systems, CalWORKs participants are required to report certain changes in their income or family circumstances mid-period.  One mandatory report is when the Assistance Unit’s (AU’s) total income reaches or exceeds the IRT.  There are two tiers of the IRT under SAR and AR/CO, the lowest of which will be the AU’s current IRT amount:

• Tier 1 is 55 percent of the FPL for a family of three, plus the amount of income last used to calculate the AU’s monthly grant amount; and
• Tier 2 is 130 percent of the FPL.

Cases that exceed the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) will not be discontinued.  Instead, the cases will remain active (approved) as a Zero Basic Grant (ZBG) case until the family’s gross income exceeds the IRT Tier 2, or 130 percent of the FPL.  This will allow families to earn more income while they retain vital Welfare-to-Work Program services to ensure families stability without losing eligibility. See 44-315.8 Zero Basic Grant for additional information.

Note: AUs with either no income or with only unearned income are required to report if they receive new earnings that, when combined with other Household (HH) income, exceeds the IRT mid-period.  AUs with unearned income only are not required to report when that income by itself exceeds the IRT mid-period.

Income of HH members that must be reported for IRT purposes is the same income that is required to be reported for determining eligibility and the benefit amount.  This includes the income of sanctioned, penalized, excluded, timed-out individuals, and the income of HH members not in the AU who were included in the determination of income eligibility and grant amounts.

Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Programs (TCVAP):

The IRT rules also apply to both RCA and TCVAP.

IRT Levels

Every year, the California Department of Social Services releases the IRT charts to provide the County Welfare Departments with IRT that triggers participant income reporting requirements.  The IRT levels determine the cash aid amount and/or the amount at which an AU becomes ineligible for CalWORKs.

The CalWORKs IRT Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels will increase effective October 1, 2025, as a result of the increase to the FPL for FFY 2025-2026.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2062 (Chapter 795, Statutes of 2016) required that an overpayment is not to be established when a ten-day benefit reduction or case discontinuance Notice of Action (NOA) cannot be provided to the family following a timely mandatory report of income over the IRT (for SAR and AR/CO cases) and HH composition changes (for AR/CO cases).  This change was effective with timely reports made in January 2017 or later.

IRT

The IRT is the level of income which triggers the need for a CalWORKs family to make a mandatory mid-period report of a change in income.

Non-Exempt MAP

The maximum cash aid benefits that a family can receive. This amount depends on the number of persons in the AU.

Exempt MAP

To be eligible to the Exempt (higher) MAP, each adult in the AU must receive one of the following benefits:

• Supplemental Security Income;
• In-Home Supportive Services;
• State Disability Insurance;
• Temporary Workers’ Compensation; or
• Temporary Disability Indemnity.

In addition, a non-needy (non-parent) caretaker is eligible to receive the Exempt MAP.

The Exempt MAP depends on the number of persons in the AU.

Overpayments

An overpayment is any amount of any aid payment an AU received to which the AU was not eligible.

The amount of the overpayment is the difference between the grant amount the AU actually received and the amount the AU would have received if no agency error occurred and if the participant had timely and accurately reported the change.

ZBG

A month in which a case is active, but the family does not receive a CalWORKs payment, is considered a ZBG month.

See 44-315.8 Zero Basic Grant for additional information.

IRT Informing

The CalWORKs family must be informed of their IRT as follows:

• Anytime there are changes in the CalWORKs AU;
• When the CalWORKs MAP changes due to income or other factors;
• When the IRT levels change;
• On the Semi-Annual Report (SAR 7, Eligibility Status Report);
• At Intake;
• At Renewal (RE); and
• At the participant’s request.

If a family fails to report income exceeding the IRT, it can result in:

• An overpayment for the AU;
• Fraud prosecution; and
• Fraud penalties, including disqualification from the program.

Mandatory Mid-Period Reports

Participants, including families who are considered ZBG, are required to report mandatory mid-period changes to the County within ten calendar days of the date the change becomes known to the participant.

Participants may report the mandatory mid-period change in writing or verbally (either in person or by phone).

Participants can report mid-period changes in writing via the SAR 3, Mid-Period Status Report for SAR Reporters, or AR 3, Mid-Year Status Report for AR/CO Reporters.

When a participant reports a mid-period change, the Eligibility Worker (EW) must document the case Journal in the system with the:

• Information reported; and
• Date of the report.

Mid-period changes, which must be reported for CalWORKs, do not always need to be reported for CalFresh.  But, if the participant of a case with both CalWORKs and CalFresh reports a change required to be reported for CalWORKs, the EW must also review the change for CalFresh per existing policy as outlined in 63-509.6 Mid-Period Report.

Mandatory mid-period reports for each reporting type are as follows:

SAR

• Income exceeds the IRT;
• Address changes;
• Fleeing felon status; or
• Violation of conditions of parole.

AR/CO

• Income exceeds the IRT;
  
• Address changes;
• Fleeing felon status;
• Violation of conditions of parole; or
  
• Changes in HH composition. (These changes are applicable to a person who moves out or into the home, including newborns.)
  

See 44-316.3 Mid-Period Reports and County Actions for additional information regarding mid-period actions.

Report of income over IRT

Once the family receives income in excess of the IRT and reports it to the County, the EW must determine if the reported income is reasonably anticipated to continue.

• If the income over IRT will continue but is not at a level that will result in financial ineligibility, then the EW must:
  • Determine that the income will continue;
  • Use the reasonably anticipated income to recalculate the grant based on the reported income; and
  • Determine if the grant should be decreased.  The grant must be decreased at the end of the month in which timely and adequate notice can be provided.
• If the income over IRT will continue at a level that will result in ineligibility to CalWORKs, then the EW must:
  • Determine that the income will continue; and
  • Discontinue the AU at the end of the month in which timely and adequate notice can be provided.

Overpayments

When processing a mid-period change, an overpayment is not to be established when a ten-day benefit reduction or case discontinuance NOA cannot be provided to the family following a timely mandatory report of income over the IRT (for SAR and AR/CO cases).

This policy is effective with timely reports made in January 2017 or later.

For all other instances, if an action to decrease or discontinue benefits mid-period (end of the month of change) based on a mandatory mid-period report cannot be taken due to ten-day notice requirements, then an overpayment must be identified for all excess benefits issued (for example, timely report of a violation of probation).

See 44-316.3 Mid-Period Reports and County Actions for additional information.

Whose income is reported

Persons in a CalWORKs family who must report income include:

• Persons in the AU whose needs are not included in the grant due to a penalty (e.g., child support penalty, etc.);
  
• Persons excluded from the AU due to exceeding the 60-Month Time Limit or due to a cooperation sanction (e.g., GAIN, refusal to assign child support, etc.); or
  
• Persons excluded from the AU due to an ineligible immigration status or undocumented status.
  

SAR AU

For SAR AUs, the income of a new family member that exceeds the IRT does not have to be reported until the new family member is added to the AU.  The new family member is not added to the AU until the next Payment Period, since the addition of the new family member along with their income will result in a decrease to the AU’s grant amount.

Example

On September 16, 2025, the participant reports the addition of a family member whose income exceeds the IRT.  Since the addition of a family member is not a mandatory mid-period report, and the addition of the family member mid-period would result in a decrease to the grant, the new family member will be added to the AU at the beginning of the next Payment Period instead, as well as the income.

AR/CO AU

For AR/CO AUs, a new family member must be reported within ten calendar days, and the new family member as well as their income over IRT must be added to the AU mid-period with a ten-day NOA, although the reported change results in a decrease to the AU’s grant.

Example

On September 16, 2025, a timed-out adult in an AR/CO case reports the addition of a family member whose income exceeds the IRT.  Since the addition of a family member is a mandatory mid-period report, the new family member is added to the AU as well as their income effective October 1, 2025, provided a ten-day NOA is sent.

• AUs that have earnings only or a combination of earned and unearned income will be required to report within ten calendar days when the AU’s total income exceeds the IRT.
• AUs that have no income or have unearned income only will be required to report within ten calendar days if they receive new earnings that once combined with other AU income, exceeds the IRT. 
• AUs that have unearned income only (including disability-based unearned income) will be required to report within ten calendar days if they receive new earnings that once combined with the AU’s unearned income, exceeds the IRT.

Note: AUs that have unearned income only are not required to report when the unearned income or new unearned income exceeds the IRT.

IRT and Lump Sum

Participants may report nonrecurring lump-sum income when it exceeds the IRT by itself or in combination with other family income. Nonrecurring lump-sum income is treated as property in the month received and not income.  See below for further clarification on lump-sum income:

• If the family reports nonrecurring lump-sum income mid-period as exceeding the IRT, then the EW will not consider the lump sum as income to be used in redetermining the AU’s financial eligibility.

Note: The lump sum is treated as property and is not a mandatory report.  The EW will evaluate the lump sum as property on the SAR 7 or at RE. This includes lump-sum income that exceeds the CalWORKs property limit. Lump-sum income is not evaluated/applied mid-period since the participant is not required to report the change until the SAR 7 is due or at RE.

• If the family fails to report nonrecurring lump-sum income mid-period, then there is no consequence for failing to report nonrecurring lump-sum income mid-period.

Note: The family is only required to report the receipt of nonrecurring lump sum on the SAR 7 or at RE.

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