(Revised 01/01/04 ML2893)
An individual who is working for themselves, rather than for an employer, is considered self-employed. The individual may be a contractor, franchise holder, owner/operator, partner, etc. The individual must meet the following criteria to be considered self-employed:
- Earn the income directly from business or trade, not from wages or salary from an employer.
- Be responsible for the payment of entire Social Security and Federal withholding taxes. [If an employee, the employer would pay half of their Social Security Tax and withhold federal income tax from the employee’s salary.]
- Do not have an employee/employer relationship with another individual and basically be responsible for setting the job schedule (when to work, how much to charge, etc.).
- File self-employment tax forms (Sch. F, C, C-EZ, E, 4797, S.E., etc.), however, not all individuals file tax forms and some may file incorrectly.
Self-employed households are subject to the same basic processing, eligibility and allotment standards as other households. This section explains the regulations that apply to self-employment households which differ from processing of all other SNAP households.
Examples:
- Day care services being provided in the household’s home
- Avon distributor
- Tupperware distributor
- Amway distributor
- A business owner
- Farmers
- House cleaning service
