Appendix XXIX, Special Deeming Eligibility Test for Spouse to Spouse

Revision 24-1; Effective March 1, 2024

Note: The following information is effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Step	Spouse-to-Spouse Procedure	Budget		Budget		Budget
Pretest	Person must first be eligible based on their own income in the pretest. Determine if the person passes the pretest. Use G-5100, Individual and Couple Noninstitutional Budgets, or G-7000, Prior Coverage, as appropriate. If eligible as an individual in the pretest, use the following steps when deeming from an ineligible spouse to the person.
1	Determine the appropriate income limit.			QMB		SLMB
2	Determine the nonexempt and non-excludable gross earned and unearned income of the ineligible spouse. Reference E-1700, Things That Are Not Income, E-2440, Certain Health-Related Payments, E-3170, Census Bureau Wages, E-4300, VA Benefits, E-4318, VA Contracts, E-7200, When Deeming Procedures Are Not Used, and E-7300, When Deeming Procedures Begin.	gross earned	unearned	gross earned	unearned	gross earned	unearned
3	Determine the number of children.
	If no ineligible children and countable income is less than the program-specific living allowance allocation, skip to 4a.
	Program-Specific Living Allowance Allocation: Community MEPD $472, CAS $472, QMB $428, SLMB $514, QI-1 $579 and QDWI $857.
	Determine the non-exempt income of the ineligible children. See MEPD references in Step 2.
	Deduct from the ineligible spouse's countable income the program-specific living allowance for each ineligible child reduced by the ineligible child's gross amount of income. If the child's own income exceeds the allowance, there is no deduction and the child and their income is disregarded in the budget. The living allowance allocations are first deducted from the ineligible spouse's unearned income. If the ineligible spouse does not have enough unearned income to cover the allocation, the balance of the allocation is deducted from the ineligible spouse's earned income. Reference Appendix XXXI, Budget Reference Chart.
4a	If remaining income, both unearned or earned, of the ineligible spouse is no greater than the program-specific living allowance, stop. No income is deemed.
4b	If remaining income, both unearned or earned, of the ineligible spouse exceeds the program-specific living allowance allocation, the person and the ineligible spouse are treated as an eligible couple in the deeming process. Continue with Step 5.
5	Determine person's monthly gross earned income and monthly unearned income, including the person's support and maintenance. Because support and maintenance is exempt for the ineligible spouse, use the appropriate companion amount in Appendix XXXI. Reference E-8000, Support and Maintenance.	gross earned	unearned	gross earned	unearned	gross earned	unearned
5	Combine the remainder of the ineligible spouse's unearned income with the person’s unearned income. Combine the ineligible spouse's earned income with the person’s earned income.
6	From the combined unearned income, deduct $20. If there is less than $20 unearned income, the remaining portion of the $20 exclusion is applied to earned income. Note: The $20 disregard is not applicable for Special Income Limit cases for Spouse-to-Spouse Deeming (CAS, institutional and Waiver programs). Reference G-4110, Twenty-Dollar General Exclusion.
7	From the combined earned income, deduct up to $65 plus half of the remaining earned income. Note: The earned income exclusion is not applicable for Special Income Limit cases for Spouse-to-Spouse Deeming (CAS, Institutional and Waiver programs). Reference G-4120, Earned Income Exclusion.
	Deduct person's COLA(s) for Pickle, DAC or Widow or Widowers. G-4300, Special Income Exclusion for COLA Disregard.
	Deduct person's Social Security COLA for January and February of each year if the current countable income exceeds the appropriate QMB, SLMB or QI-1 Income Limit. Review Q-1400, MSPs and Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs).
	Remainder is countable income.
8	Compare to the appropriate income limit for an eligible couple.
	The person is eligible if a 1 cent or more unmet need exists.
	If the income is no more than these limits, the person is eligible for the Special Income Limit or the QMB Limit.

Reference Appendix XXXI for income, resource and budget amounts. If eligible on individual pretest for QMB but not eligible for QMB in the special deeming eligibility test, re-budget for SLMB or QI-1 if applicable. The minimum income requirement for SLMB or QI-1 does not apply when the applicant is ineligible due to deeming. For parent-to-child deeming, see G-2312, Parent-to-Child Noninstitutional Deeming.