Database of State Policies Affecting Marriage

TANF The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program provides cash assistance to low-income families with children. The program rules are determined largely at the state-level, with few exceptions. To be eligible, a family must pass both nonfinancial tests based on the demographic characteristics of the family and financial tests based on the income and resource holdings of the family. Although not all of these rules vary based on one-parent and two-parent families, many states do vary their nonfinancial and financial rules based on family composition. The following describes the rules that vary due to changes in the living arrangements.

• Eligibility of Two-Parent Families If the father of the children moves into the home or the woman marries (the father of the children or another man), the unit may lose eligibility or may have limited eligibility, regardless of the amount of new income.
  • TPEligible Indicates whether two-parent families are eligible to receive assistance.

    1					Yes
    2					No

  • TPTimeLimit Indicates whether two-parent families have a time limit on the number of months per year they may receive assistance. Note, these limits do not apply to single-parent families.

    0					N.A.
    1					Yes
    2					No

  • HoursTest Indicates whether the number of hours per month the principal wage earner (recipient) works are limited for purposes of eligibility. Note that single-parent families do not have hours-related eligibility tests imposed on them.

    0					N.A.
    1					No test
    2					Recipient must work less than 100 hours per month
    3					Recipient must work less than 130 hours per month

• Eligibility and Income Treatment of Stepparents If the woman marries, and the man is not the father of any of the woman’s children, the family’s benefit will likely be affected.
  • SPEligible Describes how stepparents are treated for eligibility purposes.

    1					Mandatory member of the unit
    2					Prohibited from being included in the unit
    3					Optional member of the unit (The stepparent is or is not included in the unit at the preference of the unit head)
    4					If the stepparent’s income makes the unit ineligible for benefits, the stepparent and the natural parent are removed from the unit. The unit becomes a child-only unit.
    5					If the stepparent marries the mother while she receives assistance, the stepparent may be included (at the discretion of the unit head). If the couple did not marry while the mother received assistance, the stepparent is prohibited from being in the unit. (Not Modeled in Calculator)

  • SPIncAlloc Describes whether or not a stepparent’s income is considered available to the unit (as unearned income) when the stepparent is not included in the unit.

    1					N.A. (The stepparent is a mandatory member of the unit and all income is treated as such)
    2					Stepparent’s income is considered available to the unit
    3					No stepparent’s income is considered available to the unit; all of his income is excluded

  • SPIncAllocEID Describes the amount of stepparent’s income allocated for their needs, prior to considering any income available to the unit. Note that the amount of income considered available to the unit is equal to the stepparent’s income minus the disregards described in (SPIncAllocEID). Also, the family size used for the standard includes the stepparent and all of the stepparent’s dependents outside of the unit. Generally states also allow the stepparent to deduct child support, alimony, and payments made to dependents outside of the household form the stepparent’s income. (Note that in the Marriage Calculator, the stepparent has no dependents and has never been previously married; therefore, the standard applies to a family size of one and no child support or alimony payments apply.)

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  • SPIncAllocOptions Indicates special allocation rules not captured with standard program rules (specified in SPIncAllocEID).

    1					If the stepparent chooses not to receive assistance, the unit becomes a child-only unit and the stepparent’s income is treated as follows: (1) For determining the eligibility of the unit, the income of all household members including the natural parent, her/his children, the stepparent, and any children the stepparent can claim as dependents is used to determine the children’s eligibility for assistance. If total household income exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level, the assistance unit is not eligible for benefits. (2) If eligible, all of the stepparent''s income is excluded. However, the natural parent''s earned income is reduced by the 50% earnings disregard and by the Maximum Benefit Payment Schedule level for a unit of one. All remaining income of the natural parent is used in determining the benefits for the children.
    2					The stepparent’s countable income is tested against 50% of the federal poverty level for a household size that includes the stepparent, the members of the unit, and any other dependents not in the unit (Note: for MI there will be not other dependents). When the income is below 50% of the federal poverty level, no income is considered available to the unit. When the income is over 50% of the federal poverty level, all of the stepparent’s income minus deductions is considered available to the unit.
    3					For the first six months of a new marriage, all stepparent income is disregarded, provided the mother was previously receiving benefits.

• Child Support Income The custodial parent receives child support payments from the noncustodial parent. If the custodial parent is a TANF recipient, she is required to assign her child support income to the state (child support is paid directly to the state and not the recipient). The state policies vary with regard to how much collected child support is distributed to the family and how much is retained by the state to recover a portion of the benefits paid.  The policies also vary in how much of distributed child support is counted as income for eligibility and benefit computation purposes. If the noncustodial parent moves into the home or marries the custodial parent, the parent need not continue to pay child support. Depending on the amount of child support the family receives and how much is counted as income for purposes of TANF eligibility and benefit computation, the family’s benefit may be impacted by the change in living arrangement.
  • CSTransferred Indicates the maximum monthly amount of collected child support transferred to the family.

    1					No child support is transferred
    10					$50 plus a TANF match payment. The TANF match payment equals all the child support collected in excess of the $50 pass-through. It is added to the TANF payment, and is considered an addition to the TANF benefit, not a pass-through of child support income.
    11					No child support is transferred; however, a $25 child support incentive payment is added to the monthly TANF benefit whenever any child support is collected. It is considered an addition to the TANF benefit, not a pass-through of child support income.
    12					All collected child support is transferred
    2					$50 is transferred
    3					$50 plus a child support supplement is transferred. The transfer is calculated by subtracting a recipient''s current disposable income from his or her disposable income as it would have been calculated in 1975.
    4					The amount of child support collected or the amount of unmet need (also known as the gap payment), whichever is smaller, is transferred. The unmet need or gap is calculated as [(the Standard of Need for the unit''s family size minus the maximum benefit for the unit''s family size) minus the unit''s net income].
    5					46 percent of the child support collected is transferred.
    6					$50 plus amount of unmet need is transferred. The unmet need or gap is calculated by subtracting the unit''s Maximum Benefit (the maximum benefit a unit is able to receive) from its Standard of Need; the unit''s net income is then subtracted from this amount. The amount left is the amount of unmet need for that unit. After the pass-through, the state will transfer child support in the amount of unmet need for the family, up to the amount of child support collected.
    7					The gap payment is transferred. The gap payment equals 63.7 percent of the smaller of (retained child support for the month) or (the maximum amount that would not make the family ineligible for TANF if counted as income). The state defines the term "retained child support" as the amount equal to the smaller of the current month''s collection, the basic TANF award for the month, or the current monthly obligation (excluding arrears).
    8					The amount of child support collected or the amount of unmet need (also known as the gap payment), whichever is smaller, is transferred to the family as unearned income and disregarded for eligibility and benefit determination. The unmet need or gap is calculated by subtracting the maximum benefit a unit is able to receive from its Consolidated Need Standard; the unit''s net income is then subtracted from this amount. The amount left is the amount of unmet need.
    9					No child support is transferred; however, the state will add to the TANF payment the least of (1) the court-ordered payment amount, (2) the amount the Office of the Attorney General received during that month, or (3) $50. This additional money is considered an addition to the TANF benefit, not a pass-through of child support income.

  • CSDisregarded Indicates the amount of transferred child support (CSTransferred) that is disregarded for benefit computation purposes.

    0					No child support is transferred
    1					No child support is disregarded
    2					$50 is disregarded
    3					All child support transferred is disregarded

• Asset Tests In some states the value of the vehicle exemption varies for two-parent versus single units. Any value over the amount exempted counts against the asset limit, which also varies by state, but not by type of unit. Adding an additional vehicle to the unit (if both the woman and man have a vehicle), or adding a valuable vehicle to the unit, may cause the family to lose eligibility.
  • VehicleExempt Describes the extent to which a unit’s vehicles are exempt from consideration as assets. (This assumes vehicles that are used for work, job-seeking, or education/training. Rules for vehicles that are owned/used by teenagers, used for housing, used for transportation of disabled family members, or used to produce self-employment income are not covered here. Note that the Calculator assumes that each adult has no more than one vehicle, and that teenagers do not own vehicles.)

    1					Exempt the entire value of all vehicles
    10					Exempt a portion of the value of one vehicle for a non-2-parent family; that same portion of the combined value of two vehicles for a 2-parent family
    2					Exempt the entire value of each vehicle under a specified value; exempt a portion of the value of one vehicle over that value
    3					Exempt the entire value of one vehicle per adult
    4					Exempt the entire value of one vehicle per assistance unit
    5					Exempt the entire value of one vehicle per assistance unit, plus a portion of the value of a second vehicle
    6					Exempt a portion of the value of each vehicle; same portion for each vehicle
    7					Exempt a portion of the value of each vehicle; higher portion for one vehicle for a two-parent family
    8					Exempt a portion of the value of a first vehicle; a lower portion of the value of a second vehicle
    9					Exempt a portion of the value of one vehicle

• Income Eligibility Tests In one state, two-parent units have different income eligibility tests. Note that, regardless of the unit type, adding an additional person to the unit affects eligibility.
  • IncomeTest Indicates whether the income eligibility tests for recipients are more generous for two-parent families than for single-parent families, holding family size constant.

    0					N.A.
    1					Yes
    2					No

• Earned Income Disregards In some states, two-parent families receive more generous disregards than single-parent families (meaning that the disregards are greater than if each parent in a two-parent unit received the disregards a single-parent unit received). Also, adding an additional worker to the unit will add to the amount of disregards received.
  • EIDValue Indicates the amount disregarded from each recipient’s earned income for benefit computation purposes. If two-parent units receive different disregards than single-parent units, it is noted. (See the Welfare Rules Databook-Table II.A.1 for more details on specific disregards.)

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  • EIDSummary Indicates if two-parent (married and unmarried) families receive more generous disregards than single-parent families. (This is a summary of EIDValue.)

    0					N.A.
    1					Yes
    2					No

• Eligibility and Benefit Standards Some states apply different standards to two-parent families. Adding a parent to the unit will almost always increase the value of the threshold because most states vary their eligibility and benefit standards by the size of the family (increasing the values as more individuals are added). However, in states that also vary their policies based on the type of assistance unit (single-parent versus two-parent) an additional increase may occur when adding a parent to the unit. Note that the following variables use the example of a three-person unit and a four-person unit. These are the modal family sizes. Using different family sizes will provide different amounts.
  • EligibilityStd Indicates whether the standards state used to determine recipient eligibility for the program are different for two-parent families than for single-parent families.

    0					N.A.
    1					Yes
    2					No

  • MaxBen3to4 Indicates the percent and dollar change in the maximum benefit when adding one adult to a three-person unit (increasing from a three-person unit to a four-person unit). The values are calculated assuming the family has no earned or unearned income. This will capture both differences in moving from one family size to the next, as well as any increase for becoming a two-parent unit.

    0-500 (0-1)

    Numeric, Dollar Amount (Percentage)

  • MaxBen4to4 Indicates the percent and dollar change in the maximum benefit when holding family size constant, but exchanging one adult for a child in a four-person unit. The values are calculated assuming the family has no earned or unearned income. This variable isolates the increase in the benefit due to differences in standards (single parent versus two-parents).

    0-500 (0-1)

    Numeric, Dollar Amount (Percentage)

• Benefit Computation Some states compute benefits based on different formulas for two-parent units versus single-parent units.
  • BenefitComp Indicates whether two-parent families have different benefit computation formulas. If the formula is different, it is listed.

    1					Benefits are calculated the same for single parent families and two-parent families
    2					Two-parent families will have their benefits reduced by 50% during July, August, and September of every year (not modeled in the calculator)
    3					The benefit for two-parent units equals the lesser of (150 percent of (the Federal Poverty Level minus net income)), or (Payment Standard minus gross unearned income) or Maximum Benefit
    4					A legally married man and woman receive an extra $100 each month

• Eligibility and Income of Cohabitors In some states, a cohabiting boyfriend (not the father of the children) may be eligible for benefits. In addition, some states may consider a cohabiting boyfriend’s financial contribution to the household when calculating the unit’s eligibility and benefits, even if the cohabiter is not included in the unit.
  • CohabElig Indicates whether an unrelated cohabiter can be included in the assistance unit.

    1					Never eligible
    2					Eligible at the discretion of the unit head

  • CohabPaysBills Indicates whether living with an unrelated cohabiter (who pays some or all of the rent/bills) affects eligibility and/or the benefit amount.

    1					No affect
    2					Affects eligibility only
    3					Affects benefit amount only
    4					Affects eligibility and benefit amount

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Food Stamps The Food Stamp Program provides benefits to low-income individuals and families that allow them to purchase food. The Food Stamp Program is the only federal transfer program that may provide benefits to all types of low-income individuals (rather than being restricted to families, or to elderly or disabled individuals). Most of the rules determining eligibility for food stamps and the value of food stamp benefits are federal-level rule, with some variation at the state level.

Food stamp eligibility and benefits are based on household income and household size and are not affected by the marital status of household members. In general, benefits increase as household size increases and as other income sources (such as TANF benefits) decline. Maximum benefit levels are scaled in favor of smaller households to account for economies of scale in purchasing and preparing food in larger households. Therefore, partners may receive more in total food stamps if they live separately and each file for food stamps, than if they live together and file for food stamps as a single household. Benefits are determined in the same way in all states.

Deductions play an important role in calculating the benefit a family receives. Each household receives a standard deduction. This deduction was fixed across household sizes until 2002 when the Farm Bill increased the deduction for households with four or more persons. Families can also receive deductions for amounts paid as legally required child support, 20 percent of any earned income (in recognition of taxes and work expenses) and out-of-pocket dependent care costs ($175 per month per dependent, $200 for children under age 2), and an excess shelter (rent and utility) cost deduction (monthly shelter costs in excess of 50 percent of monthly income remaining after all other deductions are subtracted from gross income, up to a cap of $340 (beginning in FY 2003 and adjusted to the CPI). All these deductions are determined in the same way across all states. However, treatment of child support income does vary by state, as shown in the database.

• Child Support States either deduct or disregard amounts paid as legally required child support. Both the deduction and disregard increase the potential food stamp benefit of an eligible noncustodial parent who pays child support. A child support disregard has the additional effect of extending eligibility to some noncustodial parents who would otherwise be ineligible for food stamps. If the noncustodial parent marries the custodial parent of the children, child support payments cease, and the couple is no longer eligible for the child support deduction/disregard.
  • ChildSupportExpenses Indicates whether child support expenses are deducted from gross income when calculating net income, or are excluded (disregarded) from gross income entirely.

    1					Deduct amounts paid as legally obligated child support
    2					Disregard amounts paid as legally obligated child support

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Federal and State Income Taxes Taxes paid by a couple may vary widely depending on their marital status, but most of this variation is due to the federal tax code rather than state to state differences in tax laws. Typically, federal income taxes for couples made up of two low-income workers are considerably higher if they are married than if they simply lived together. Conversely, unmarried partners with very different levels of earnings may well pay less in taxes if they were to marry.

Marriage penalties and bonuses result from provisions in the tax code that treat a married couple as one tax unit and unmarried couples as two tax units. By doing this, the couple will have different amounts of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) – the basis for determining a couple’s tax liability – exempted from tax. AGI includes most forms of income, but excludes income from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The tax system accounts for family size when determining the amount of AGI that will be taxed by allowing a personal exemption of $3,050 for each person in the tax unit. While marriage does not affect this deduction, households that do not have sufficient AGI to take full advantage of their personal exemptions may benefit by the addition of income a partner can bring. Additional deductions in AGI are allowed based on marital status of the tax filer.

Most low-income households will choose to use the standard deduction rather than itemize their deductions to arrive at their taxable incomes. The combined standard deduction for a single parent with one child ($7,000 for head of household in 2003) and an unmarried partner ($4,750 in 2003) is higher than the standard deduction for a married couple ($9,500). For those couples where each partner had taxable income that was more than $4,750, marrying will result in a marriage penalty because their taxable income after marriage will be greater than their taxable income before marriage. For example, if both partners in the couple earned $5,000, their combined taxable income before marriage would be $250 (the partner with a child would claim head of household filing status and have no taxable income, the partner without a child would claim single filing status resulting in $250 taxable income). After marriage, the couples combined income would be $10,000, $9,500 of which would be exempt from tax, leaving $500 taxable income. Other provisions in the tax code may offset this penalty, resulting in a net bonus for the couple upon marriage.

After applying the appropriate tax rates to a unit’s taxable income, tax credits can be applied to offset tax owed – and in some cases provide families with additional refunds. For the most part, these are not directly related to marriage, but instead related to the total amount of earnings in the tax unit. The exception to this is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which phases out at higher earnings for married couples than single parents. On the other hand, some credits like the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit do not provide additional refunds. Instead these non-refundable credits can only offset taxes owed. A family with very low-income may not gain any benefit from these credits because they do not owe tax. Families with higher income will benefit by reducing their tax liability.

To understand how marriage penalties and bonuses exist, the following provides examples using information for prototypical families. The examples are not dynamic but are presented to illustrate how a penalty or bonus could arise. Click here for examples of a marriage penalty and bonus using the 2003 federal tax code.

• State Tax Marriage Provisions These rules indicate where the tax code differs based on marital status.
  • StateHasIncomeTax Only those states with an income tax can have that tax affected by marriage.

    0					State has no income tax
    1					State has an income tax

  • StandardDeductionAmount If the couple has sufficient income, a marriage penalty exists if the couple’s standard deduction is less than twice the single deduction.

    0					State has no income tax, or state has no state-level standard deduction.
    1					Standard deduction for joint filers is less than the greater of 2 single deductions or one single deduction plus one head of household deduction (marriage penalty).
    2					Standard deduction for joint filers is equal to the greater of 2 single deductions or one single deduction plus one head of household deduction (marriage neutral).
    3					Standard deduction for joint filers is greater than the greater of 2 single deductions or one single deduction plus one head of household deduction (marriage bonus).

  • StateMarriagePenaltyRelief Some states allow married couple to choose to file under the married rules or single rules. No marriage penalty exists in states where couples may make this choice. Other states allow marriage credits or adjustments that significantly decrease marriage penalties.

    0					State has no income tax
    1					State allows married couple to file as two single people on the same return
    2					State provides a credit to offset higher taxes for married couples (MN, OH, SC, WI, and VA)
    3					State does not provide marriage penalty relief

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Medicaid and SCHIP The Medicaid and SCHIP programs provide health insurance to low-income children and low-income families with children. Eligibility is provided to low-income adults who are not part of a family with children in only some states.

Eligibility for Medicaid is complex, with numerous “avenues” to Medicaid eligibility, including eligibility based on a family’s income in relation to AFDC-related or TANF-related thresholds (“Section 1931” eligibility), family income as a percentage of poverty, or family income less medical expenses in relation to a different set of income thresholds (“medically needy” eligibility). Some Medicaid eligibility rules provide eligibility to an entire family, while other rules only provide eligibility to individual children. Each state sets the exact rules for Medicaid eligibility. Eligibility rules for SCHIP are also established at the state level. States may use different SCHIP eligibility thresholds for different age groups of children. Due to the many complexities, it is possible for some members of a family to be insured by Medicaid or SCHIP while others are not.

Across all the specific avenues to Medicaid or SCHIP eligibility, a key characteristic determining eligibility is family income compared to some sort of threshold that varies by family size. With the exception of some rules in determining Section 1931 eligibility, the eligibility thresholds do not vary by the number of parents in a family or their marital status. For example, if a child in a 4-person family is eligible for Medicaid when family income is less than 100 percent of the poverty guideline for a family of 4, that guideline is the same regardless of whether the family consists of 2 parents and 2 children or 1 parent and 3 children. However, to the extent that a state’s prior AFDC rules or current TANF rules include provisions specifically keyed to the number or marital status of parents—such as different earned income disregards for two-parent compared to one-parent families—those provisions may be incorporated into a state’s “Section 1931” eligibility rules for Medicaid.

• Eligibility of Adults Parents (biological or step-parents) who are living with their children and who are eligible for TANF (or who would have been eligible for AFDC) are almost always eligible for Medicaid along with their children. These “Section 1931” rules (named after the section of the PRWORA legislation that created this type of eligibility) may vary by number and marital status of parents in the same ways as prior AFDC or current TANF rules. Some states also provide “medically needy” Medicaid enrollment for parents and/or pregnant women whose income, after medical expenses, is under state-established thresholds. The thresholds for medically-needy eligibility vary by family size (not by number of parents or marital status of parents). Some states also use Section 1115 waivers to insure parents. Finally, in a few states, parents are eligible for coverage under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) along with their children. Despite these programs, many parents of children who are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP are not themselves eligible for either program. Adults who are not parents, or who are parents but not residing with their children, are potentially eligible for Medicaid in only a few states.
  • MedicaidParentEligibility Whether parents (biological or step-parents) residing with their children are ever eligible for Medicaid through a medically-needy program or through a state waiver program (when they are not eligible through Section 1931 or as a pregnant woman with income under a specified percentage of poverty).

    1					No
    2					Pregnant Women
    3					Parents (not pregnant women)
    4					Parents and pregnant women

  • MedicaidNonResParentEligibility Whether non-resident parents or non-parents are ever eligible for Medicaid

    1					Never eligible
    2					May be eligible based on income

  • SCHIParentEligibility Whether parents (biological or step-parents) residing with their children are ever eligible for SCHIP along with their children

    1					No
    2					May be eligible

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Child Support Child support provides both incentives and disincentives with regard to marriage. In the case of a couple contemplating divorce, child support increases the post-divorce income of the potential custodial parent, thereby reducing her incentive to remain married. Child support increases the cost of marital dissolution for the potential noncustodial parent, thereby increasing his incentive to remain married. Unmarried parents who are considering marriage face a similar set of incentives and disincentives.

In addition to affecting marriage incentives between the parents of a child, child support affects marriage incentives for subsequent relationships. The additional income from child support decreases the incentive for the custodial parent to marry. Child support expenses may make the noncustodial parent a less attractive marriage partner and may reduce his incentive to take on the financial burden of another family.

• Child Support Guidelines Child support guidelines take into account the noncustodial parent’s income, and may or may not take into account the custodial parent’s income. In general, the income of the custodial parent’s new spouse/paramour does not affect the child support award. However, some courts have ruled that the income of the spouse/paramour can be taken into consideration if the income reduces the custodial parent’s household expenses or enables the custodial parent to stop working, and some states have statutes to this effect.
  • GuidelineType Indicates whether the custodial parent’s income affects the child support award, under the guidelines used by the state.

    1					Yes
    2					No

• Child Support Arrears Child support arrears (past due child support) may be owed to the custodial family and/or to the government (if the custodial family is currently or formerly on TANF).
  • ArrearsForgiveness Indicates whether the state forgives child support arrears owed to the government if the custodial and noncustodial parents marry.

    1					Yes
    2					No

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Child Care Subsidy The Child Care and Development Fund block grant provides child care subsidies to families with working parents and with children under age 13. To be eligible, family income must be below state-established thresholds, which vary by family size but not by number of parents or marital status of parents. Likewise, the amount that a subsidized family must contribute to child care expenses (the “copayment”) is established by each state based on family income, total child care expenses, ages of children, and/or amount of time in care—but does not vary by number or marital status of parents. The only rules based specifically on marital status are the work requirements in some states, as presented below.

• Work Requirements Many states require parents to work at least a minimum number of hours to be eligible for subsidies. When there are 2 parents, most of these states require each parent to satisfy the same requirement imposed on a parent in a 1-parent household, but some use a different rule. Thus, the addition of a second parent to a family could make the family potentially eligible or automatically ineligible, depending on the state’s rules and the work hours of the 2 parents.
  • HoursWorkRequired Minimum hours that a parent must work in order to be potentially eligible for CCDF-funded subsidies.

    1					No requirement
    2					Minimum-hours requirement on a per-parent basis (regardless of number or marital status of parents)
    3					Less restrictive minimum-hours requirement when there are two parents (regardless of marital status)
    4					More restrictive minimum-hours requirement when there are two parents (regardless of marital status)

• Treatment of Stepparents and Cohabitors If the woman marries or cohabits with a man who is not the father of any of the woman’s children, the family’s eligibility or copayment may be affected. Most states do consider a step-parent to be a family member and count his full income, and most states do not consider the presence of a cohabiting boyfriend (not the father of the children), but there are some exceptions.

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WIC The Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental food packages to low-income infants (before their first birthday), young children (ages 1-4), pregnant women, and postpartum and breastfeeding mothers. The primary eligibility rule—established nationally—is that family income must be less than 185 percent of the poverty guideline for the family’s size. The threshold does not vary explicitly by marital status or cohabitation. Eligibility may also be gained through “adjunctive” eligibility, whereby an infant, child, pregnant woman, or postpartum or breastfeeding mother who is receiving benefits from Medicaid, TANF, or the Food Stamp Program is automatically eligible for WIC. Thus, there is some possibility that rules in those programs that vary by marital status or cohabitation have indirect effects on WIC eligibility. However, in practice, most adjunctive eligibility is through Medicaid eligibility, and the Medicaid program has no eligibility rules for mothers or children that vary explicitly by marital status or cohabitation.

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Subsidized Housing Through public and subsidized housing programs, low-income households are able to pay rental amounts calculated based on their income, rather than at market rates. Eligibility depends on income in relation to median income; income thresholds do not explicitly vary by marital status or cohabitation. In both public and subsidized housing, rent is based on household income less certain deductions; neither rent formulas nor deductions vary by marital status or cohabitation. The value of the subsidy can be calculated as the monthly market-value rent for the apartment in which the household lives minus the amount of rent that the household must pay.

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