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Dane County Department of Human Services

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS


LANDLORD REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

  • IRS Form W9 (completed and signed) - this is a requirement of the IRS so that we may make payment
  • Current Signed Lease (in it's entirety) - these are needed to verify # of adults in household, unit address, eligible fees and monthly rent amount
  • Detailed Rent Ledger - this is required so that we can verify that no rental arrears accrued prior to 3.12.2020 are being processed for payment (ineligible per Federal regulations) as well as accurate application of tenant payments, etc. The ledger must demonstrate a detailed breakdown of monthly rent, tenant payment(s) per time period, late fees, other agreed upon fees per the lease. Looking for a sample rent ledger? Click here to use our Rent Ledger form.

TENANTS REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Below (far bottom of page) are examples and descriptions of the documents required under the Dane County CORE Rental Assistance Program. Please note that these documentation requirements come from either Federal Regulations or contract requirements from Dane County and the City of Madison. While we deeply understand that these requirements may create significant barriers for tenants and landlords alike, we aren't able to waive these requirements but are actively working to make the process easier for our community. Please stay tuned for a list of community locations where we'll be assisting with the pre-application process and the documentation requirements. You can also contact us at CORE@TenantResourceCenter.org with questions.

OPTIONS FOR HOUSEHOLD INCOME VERIFICATION

Federal regulations require that we verify income for ALL persons over 18 in the household who are lease signers. Income must be documented with the following:

Adjusted gross income as defined for purposes of reporting under Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 series for individual federal annual income tax purposes.

Allowable documents:

  • Current Paystubs = current meaning the most recent 2-3 paystubs from all places of employment for ALL adult lease signers in household
  • W-2s, 1099s or other wage statements from ALL places of employment for ALL adults who are lease signers
  • Confirmed, accepted tax filings (2020 IRS Form 1040 showing that it has been submitted to the IRS)
    • Can either send emailed confirmation if using an online service to submit your taxes OR
    • Go to the IRS website and use the IRS "Where's My Refund" Tool - print the status and submit it with your income documents
  • An attestation (letter) from an employer stating wages (hourly amount + standard hours scheduled)for each adult who is a lease signer

Income documents from  all persons 18+ who have signed the lease in the household are required

-OR-

The determination letter from the government agency that verified the applicant’s household income provided that the determination for such a program was made on or after January 1, 2020. 

⇒ This includes any income documentation letter from FoodShare, Badger CARE, Section 8, other subsidized housing, Free and Reduced Lunch program, etc

==> This must show all the names in the Household AND the monthly or annual income certification.


ZERO INCOME DOCUMENTATION:

Subsidized Unit OPTION 1): The tenant uploads the determination letter from the government agency that verified the applicant’s household income provided that the determination for such a program was made on or after January 1, 2020. ==> This must show all the names in the Household AND the monthly or annual income certification.

Subsidized Unit OPTION 2): The landlord uploads the income verification documents which qualified the tenant for subsidy on or after January 1, 2020.

Standard rental unit OPTION: An attestation from a caseworker or other professional with knowledge of a household’s circumstances to certify that an applicant’s household income qualifies for assistance. This letter must be signed by the service provider and include contact information including phone#, agency name, service provider title and preferably be on letterhead.


CASH INCOME DOCUMENTATION:

An attestation from a caseworker or other professional with knowledge of a household’s circumstances to certify that an applicant’s household income qualifies for assistance.This letter must be signed by the service provider and include contact information including phone#, agency name, service provider title and preferably be on letterhead.

INCOME VERIFICATION WHEN THE APPLICANT IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND NOT CONNECTED TO A SERVICE PROVIDER WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOUSEHOLD’S INCOME

The circumstances will be individually evaluated and a written attestation from the applicant regarding household income may be accepted*
*prior to this occurring all other options of income verification must be exhausted

REQUIRED LANDLORD DOCUMENTS

Federal regulations require that we document all of the following items for the rental unit:

  1. Signed IRS Form W9 (SECURE UPLOAD SYSTEM)
  2. Signed lease (the entire current lease)
  3. Rent ledger (either dating back to March 2020 or the last time there was a $0 OR Credit balance on the ledger).
  4. Landlord agreement
  5. For subsidized units only: Most recent income verification documents provided by the landlord that verified the applicant’s household income provided that the determination for such a program was made on or after January 1, 2020.
  6. Any court-ordered payment agreement and/OR eviction notice***
    ***There is no requirement of eviction notice for tenants to be eligible for these funds - TRC strongly encourages landlords NOT to issue eviction notices for non-payment of rent.***

EXAMPLES - INCOME DOCUMENTS

Below are a series of income documents that will provide a guide for what is eligible and what is required for income verification. We'll continue to update this page with other examples of acceptable or unallowable documents.

IRS FORM 1040

Ineligible 1040 example

Eligible 1040 example

  Eligible 1040 example

IRS Form 1040s require the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the name of the person(s);
  • Must be signed;
  • Must include documentation showing the 1040 was submitted to the IRS

Proof of submission to the IRS can include a cover letter from your tax preparer, the transmittal record from a tax service (such as TurboTax or HR Block), or other proof that the 1040 was submitted.

WAGE STATEMENTS & PAY STUBS

Intelligible Wage Statement example eligible wage statement example

Wage statements or pay stubs must include the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the name of the person;
  • Must include the gross wages prior to taxes or other deductions;
  • Must include the dates for the pay period of the payment.

In order to be successful, we recommend that applicants provide their most recent pay stubs for the past 2 months of pay periods. If you recently suffered a loss of income, you'll want to provide those pay stubs so that we can adjust the calculation of your annual household income accordingly.

W2S & 1099S

Blurry W2 Eligible W2

W2s must include the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the name of the person;
  • Must be for 2020.

If you recently suffered a loss of income, you'll want to provide additional documentation so that we can adjust the calculation of your annual household income accordingly.

Ineligible password example eligible 1099

1099s must include the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the name of the person;
  • Must be for 2020.

If you recently suffered a loss of income, you'll want to provide additional documentation so that we can adjust the calculation of your annual household income accordingly.

UNEMPLOYMENT DOCUMENTS

ineligible Unemployment example Eligible Unemployment example
  Eligible Unemployment example

Unemployment documents must include the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the name of the person;
  • Must clearly show the total eligible for employment benefits.

In order to be successful, we recommend including your unemployment determination letter and the 1099 you received for your unemployment payments in 2020. Screenshots of the individual payments typically are not acceptable as they don't include the full name of the person and typically omit the details for what type of benefits were included in the payment.

FOODSHARE DOCUMENTS

Ineligible FoodShare example Eligible FoodShare Example
  Eligible FoodShare Example

FoodShare documents must include the following items to be acceptable:

  • Must include the full name of the person;
  • Must be from January 1st, 2021 or later;

In order to be successful, we recommend downloading your determination letter directly from the Access website. This letter includes details that will expedite processing of your application and determining your annual household income. Screenshots of the individual payments to a FoodShare card, images of your card itself, or pictures of the first page of your determination letter are not acceptable as they omit the necessary information to verify household income.

 

How to get into food stamp eligibility page:

Go to https://access.wisconsin.gov/access/
click log in (if you already have an account)
-type in your username and password
- click login
-this will open your page to account home
- look down and click view my letters
-scroll down till you see information about eligibility
-click the magnifying glass
-This will open a new page and you can download this page or print the page from there.