Iowa FIP Application and Income Limits for Relative Caregivers

Two Filing Paths with Very Different Income Rules

Iowa's Family Investment Program has two distinct applications for relative caregivers, and the income rules are not the same.

Household FIP includes the caregiver in the benefit unit. The entire household — your wages, pension, Social Security, savings, and the child — is subject to Iowa's income and asset tests. You face a $2,000 resource limit, mandatory participation in PROMISE JOBS (Iowa's work and training program), and the federal 60-month TANF lifetime limit.

Child-only FIP treats you as a non-needy caretaker. Your income is completely excluded. The eligibility calculation looks only at the child's own unearned income — things like child support or Social Security survivor benefits paid directly to the child. No asset test on your personal finances. No work requirement. No 60-month adult TANF limit.

For most grandparents and relatives on fixed incomes, child-only is the right filing path. The payment is lower ($183/month for one child vs. a potentially larger household grant), but it protects your financial privacy and avoids adult work-participation requirements and the adult lifetime limit.

The 185% Gross Income Test

For child-only applicants, the first eligibility hurdle is the 185% gross income test — applied only to the child's countable gross income, not yours.

If the child's countable gross income exceeds 185% of the Schedule of Living Costs, the application is denied at the first step. For most children in kinship care — who have little or no income of their own — this test is easily met.

How the Payment Is Calculated

After passing the gross test, Iowa HHS applies a three-step calculation:

1. 185% gross income test — is the child's gross income below the threshold?
2. Standard of need test — is the child's net income below the state standard?
3. Payment standard calculation — the payment standard minus the child's countable net income equals the monthly grant, rounded down to the next whole dollar.

If the child receives $50/month in child support passed through by Iowa HHS Child Support Services, the grant for one child is $183 minus $50 = $133/month. Child support is deducted dollar-for-dollar. No check is issued if the result falls below $10.

These payment rates have not changed since July 1, 1990. The amounts are low relative to actual child-rearing costs, but a child-only grant may continue while the child remains eligible, generally until age 18 (or 19 if completing secondary school full-time).

How to Apply

Three options:

• Online: Iowa HHS Benefits Portal (benefits.stateofiowahhs.org)
• In person: your county Iowa HHS office
• By mail: HHS Benefits Processing, 2309 Euclid Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310-5703

The combined application covers FIP, SNAP, Medicaid, and Child Care Assistance. When you reach the household composition section, specify that you are a non-needy caretaker requesting child-only assistance.

Processing takes up to 30 calendar days. Bring the child's birth certificate and Social Security number, proof of Iowa residency, and documentation of the child's living arrangement.

When Household FIP Makes Sense

If your own income is very low — below the FIP income limits — and you need cash assistance for yourself along with the child, a household application produces a larger combined grant. But it triggers the $2,000 asset limit, PROMISE JOBS participation, and the 60-month clock.

A grandparent receiving $1,800/month in Social Security will almost certainly be over the household income threshold, making child-only the only viable path. A younger aunt working part-time at $1,200/month might qualify for household FIP and receive a larger benefit — but must weigh the work program requirements.

The Iowa Kinship Financial Help Guide includes a side-by-side decision chart comparing child-only and household FIP, with the income thresholds, asset rules, and compliance requirements laid out so you can see which path fits your situation before you sit down with the application.

See more Iowa guides →