If a family member is living with you and is earning some money from employment, do you have to charge them for room and board in order to bring their income down enough to make SSI worthwhile? If so, how is this documented? Do you just keep a spreadsheet?
Bear with me here I have a broken arm. If I had not charged my son rent he would have received less money . originally he received less because we didn’t have a mortgage on our house - to SS that meant there was no rent expense for him to share
When we built the apartment his SS went up to the max as long as we charged him rent
When my son started working he earned about 200. That amount was low enough to not change the amount of ssi or ssdi he received but it did lower his snap
Keep records of everything
I don’t have a mortgage either, but property taxes and utilities would have to count. And food also.
How did you break your arm Hope?
Hope is correct. Keep all receipts and keep track of everything. Check for fair market value for rent. Keep his money separate and transfer the funds you are charging for rent. DO NOT COMINGLE funds. You can be charged with elder abuse if you do. Don’t ask me why I know. No good deed goes unpunished.
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i never thought about making the point of property taxes (and insurance?)
My daily walk that gives me a break from caregiving went poorly - I slipped and fell hard on concrete. I was hurrying when I slipped, hopefully I have learned from this experience. 
@Lilsis Did you see that the “covid” supplement for SNAP is ending in March? There was an article that said discussion was under way to allow SNAP recipients to accept meals without having to report it and have their next month’s amount reduced.
My doctor said the bone ends have not moved so I am supposed to have the arm out of the sling a couple of times a day for exercises and straightening. So glad to be able to type again!
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My 21 year old son lives with us and was just approved for SSI. He applied with his case manager and I wasn’t very involved. So I was surprised that when he was approved, it was with the caveat that I be his rep payee.
SOOO many questions? How do I document rent? send him a paper invoice each month? What about expenses for food? Also invoice this?
It is so easy to transfer funds digitally, but we purposefully set up his account with paper checks and I am writing checks to give him money to manage for food and clothing, and checks to myself for rent. Will that be enough having a paper trail with the purpose of each check be noted on the memo line?
This will be helpful for him and for us I think in the long run, but it has added another layer of stress for all the things I now have to be responsible for, in addition to his medical, appts, meds, etc.
There are also hard discussions about what this money is for and what he can spend it on. He does work about 15 hours a week and so we are talking to him about his work income being his source of “fun” money.
I try to be positive and have to say that he is doing well on meds, and he is respectful and listens to his dad and me, so I am grateful that he is not expressing resentment to me about my role in this.
Any practical tips and advice would be helpful.
Hi @Wantthebest -
That is so great that your son was granted SSI and even better that you didn’t have to handle it yourself! We are currently appealing my son’s application which was denied. The book keeping does seem like it could be challenging. I came across some very useful videos on this subject on the website for “the Dale law firm”. I hope you find something of value to you there.