Are Food Stamps considered Income for Maaser?

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 12:35 pm

We get food stamps. Do we have to pay Maaser on them? (lets say $300/month- so $30 to Tzeddaka)

Now if you say no...(here it gets complicated), my parents also get food stamps. However, due to a mess up in the system they were not approved this month. my father is fighting it, but until that gets taken care of they are very low on funds. Yesterday they went shopping to Sam's club and we asked them to pick up a few things for us and gave them our food stamps card. now we have lots of extra $ on our card. we dont use the full amount every month- but its able to be saved so its not a problem. we had over $600 on our card (recently got refilled). Once my father was at the store he asked us tif he could use our card for his purchases and he would pay us back with cash once he gets his next paycheck. we said sure.

but now we have a question. do we pay maaser on the cash he gives us? even if he is just paying us back for food stamps? usually we let him use our card and we use there card for small purchases without paying back. but this was a big order and we cant give up all the money... (we have given them 100-150 a few times before...)

my husband is going to ask his rav but I wanted to know what imamothers have to say... TIA

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 12:48 pm

I think so... thats why usually we pay back with food stamps... but for now he doesnt have... he doesnt have the money yet either... but will soon enough imy"h.

I guess technically we could really wait for them to get approved again (which they will since nothing much has changed.. aside from a messed up automated telephone interview) unless they used up more then $400...

amother

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 12:57 pm

Illegal or not illegal, if you had left over that you didn't use why wouldn't you help your parents? Don't even take money from them if you can really do without it. Maaser or no maaser, Kibud av v eim!

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 12:57 pm

ok but then we still have the question do you pay maaser on food stamps aside from the money. we are getting a certain amount on the first of every month. do we give ten percent of that amount? can we buy food and donate it to a chesed org or do we have to pay the maaser from other cash?

happy chick

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:00 pm

saw50st8, it seems to me like the original poster is not asking whether what she is doing is legal or not. the original question was whether maaser has to be given on food stamps as if it were income? this is a questions of halacha, not what is legal.

saw50st8

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:10 pm

happy chick wrote:

And I clarified her question - are you required to give maaser on illegally gotten money?

BusyDev seems like a person really interested in following halacha. I can't imagine she would want to sin because she thought about the wrong question.

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:11 pm

amother wrote:

yes but we will need it once we are off- while its not happening tomorrow imy"h I will soon find a job in my field (I am looking) and get more. and any leftover money stays on the food stamps card for 6 months after its stopped.

as I said we have given them before. a few times they borrowed it and told us they would pay back and it was any where between $100-200 and we just never said anything (let them keep it). we could manage if we give them a specific amount, but if they used more then we would have to ask for remaining amount and once we ask for some its not as simple as just letting them keep it and not saying anything.

saw50st8

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:13 pm

BTW, you should ask your Rav about maaser in general.

If you need social assistance to get by, you may not be required to give maaser. I know some people who have been told this.

Good luck getting your job!

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:22 pm

saw50st8 wrote:

happy chick wrote:

yes I would like to keep halacha and yes I amended taht part of my question. but the first part of the post still stands- forget about my father and cash. Do I have to give maaser on food stamps that I get (and use) on a food stamp card. and then, if yes, can I pay maaser with food stamps (lets say I get 300 a month then can I buy $30 worth of food and give it to a chesed organization) or do I have to give $30 in cash to tzeddakah?

jeliela

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:22 pm

busydev wrote:

amother wrote:

oh okay understood, hatzlacha rabah.

busydev

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 1:45 pm

amother wrote:

First question would be if your rav holds maaser is needed, second would be does he say someone on food stamps still has to.

do you mean is maaser needed across the board... or is maaser needed if you dont have much money...
last year we got a heter not to give maaser since we were really making little. this year we are making more (still little enough to qualify for foodstamps) and our rav said we should try so we are and thats why we have this question now that its a new year.

amother

Thu, Oct 07 2010, 6:35 pm

We pay maaser on our government benefits money.
But your benefit is in food not cash. I think buying the amount of food that is 10% and giving it to the poor would be good.
giving maaser out of seperate cash would not make sense, since maaser is given from the actual income, not from lets say your savings.
BTW the food you give to maaser can be given to your parents. Or rather let them use 10% of your card every month.
Tzedaka begins at home, and who can be more worthwhile to give to than your own needy parents.

amother

Fri, Oct 08 2010, 9:47 am

well here is what we were told:

according to dh's rav we dont have to pay maaser on govt funded programs and we would have to pay on cash my father gives us.
His entire purchase was just under $200- that we can handle and so we wont go asking for money back. if they give us then we will consider it as a gift (as per the rav) and therefore pay maaser.

and we have given my parents well over 10% so far... LOL