As a result of passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, there are two major changes for counties: 1) federal tax credits and refunds received on or after January 1, 2013, are permanently excluded
as income when determining eligibility and benefit amount in the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs; and 2) these tax credits and refunds are also disregarded as a resource for 12 months from the date of receipt. [Download]