Gifting Income (unemployment, calculating, deposits)

[lvngnyc]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to the housing lottery and wanted some advice on my situation. Like many others I lost my job due to the pandemic in 2020 and received unemployment until April 2021 when it ended. During 2021 up until January 2022 my parents were kind enough to gift me 500 a month to help with my expenses while I applied to jobs. Fortunately I was employed full-time and started in November 1st, my first paycheck coming last day of that month. Even though I'm now employed my parents still gave me the 500 until January because of Christmas and "Kings Day" (a Mexican holiday). I applied to housing lotteries with the income of my current full time job as I mentioned will not longer be receiving the extra 500. I'm worried how to go about it when HPD reviews my bank statements. Should I write a statement explaining the situation? I have read on multiple threads I will be required to explain deposits other than paychecks, so I'm just wanting to prepare regarding that. I dont know if it's worth mentioning but even if HPD were to count the extra 500 as income I wouldn't fall out of the AMI I applied for in several lotteries. Any help/advice appreciated, thank you!

[pink snake]

They will almost definitely ask you about the recurring $500. Just explain it to them and follow their instructions. They may require a written statement from you or from your parents. They did ask me about my non-paycheck deposits. Down to $20 Zelle payments from friends.

[WildAboutHarry]

Page 43 of the handbook might be informative. The statement you or your parents make about payment, they might ask that these are notarized. It’s not hard to do.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/down...g-handbook.pdf

[queenspilled]

On p.52 of the handbook, it says this about "sporadic or non-recurring income":

"Certain forms of income that are sporadic and non-recurring are not considered when calculating maximum household income as they are considered temporary in nature. Examples of sporadic or non-recurring income include one-time gifts or lump-sum inheritance payments. All sources of income must be disclosed, but such non-recurring income may be excluded from the income calculation."

You said the $500 was recurring, but it's also clear it was meant to be temporary and was more in the nature of a gift. If they ask (maybe they won't), I think you just explain it honestly as you did here and they might still decide that it doesn't count as income for these purposes.

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/down...g-handbook.pdf