Each State considers a household's total income. Decisions about what will be counted as income under the State's LIHEAP program, as well as the time period used for counting that income, are left to the State.

States generally count household income in one of  the following ways:

o Net income (household income after taking out certain deductions) may be used. Deductions could include such things as certain types of income, (such as disability income), or certain costs (such as high shelter or medical costs).

o Gross household income (household income without taking out any deductions) may be used.