Georgia TANF Child-Only Income Rules: Does Grandparent Income Count?

The most common question grandparents raising grandchildren in Georgia ask about TANF: will my retirement income, Social Security, or pension disqualify the child? The short answer is no. Georgia's child-only TANF rules completely exclude the caregiver's income from the calculation.

How Non-Needy Caretaker Rules Work

When you apply for TANF as a relative caregiver, DFCS classifies your case as a "non-needy caretaker relative" grant. This is the standard route for grandparents and other relatives raising a child who isn't their biological or adopted child.

In a non-needy caretaker case, the assistance unit includes only the child — not you. That means:

• Your Social Security retirement or disability benefits: not counted
• Your pension or annuity: not counted
• Your earned income from a job: not counted
• Your spouse's income: not counted
• Your savings, home equity, or vehicle value: not counted

You act purely as a payee — the person who receives and manages the TANF funds on the child's behalf. DFCS evaluates only the child's own financial situation.

What Income Counts Against the Child

Even though your income is excluded, the child may have income that DFCS does count:

Child support received: If the absent parent pays court-ordered child support, that money counts as income to the child. Georgia applies a $50 monthly child support disregard — the first $50 is ignored, and only the amount above $50 reduces the TANF grant dollar-for-dollar.

Social Security benefits paid to the child: If the child receives Social Security Survivor benefits or Dependent benefits under a parent's record, those payments count as the child's income.

The child's own earnings: If a teenager has a part-time job, those earnings are counted (with standard earned income deductions applied).

SSI exclusion: If the child receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in their own right, the child is excluded from the TANF assistance unit entirely. Federal rules prevent SSI and TANF from being counted together, so an SSI-receiving child cannot also receive child-only TANF.

Income Limits by Family Size

Georgia's TANF grant amounts and income limits for child-only cases are based on the number of children in the assistance unit:

If the child has zero countable income — no child support, no Social Security benefits, no earnings — they receive the maximum grant for the unit size.

A Practical Example

A grandmother in Cobb County earns $2,800 per month from Social Security retirement and a small pension. She is raising two grandchildren, ages 4 and 7, with no court order (informal care). Neither child receives child support, Social Security, or SSI.

DFCS calculates the assistance unit as two children. The grandmother's $2,800 monthly income is completely excluded because she is a non-needy caretaker relative. The children's countable income is $0. The household qualifies for the maximum two-child grant of $235 per month.

If one parent later begins paying $150 per month in child support, DFCS applies the $50 disregard and counts $100 as child income. The TANF grant drops from $235 to $135.

What Happens in an Adult-Inclusive Grant

Some relative caregivers apply as part of the assistance unit themselves — this is an adult-inclusive grant. In that case, your income and assets do count, you're subject to 30-hour-per-week work requirements, and the 48-month lifetime limit applies. For most grandparents and relatives, especially those on retirement income, the non-needy caretaker (child-only) route is far more practical.

Getting It Right on the Application

When you apply through Georgia Gateway, make sure your application identifies you as a non-needy caretaker relative, not as a member of the assistance unit. If the application is coded incorrectly, your income could be counted against the grant — and the application denied for a reason that doesn't actually apply.

Our Georgia kinship financial help guide includes a step-by-step Gateway application walkthrough and an income calculation worksheet so you can verify exactly what DFCS should be counting before your case interview.

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