Revision 13-3; Effective July 1, 2013

TANF and SNAP

Expungement is a process in which HHSC removes unused TANF or SNAP benefits from an EBT account and returns them to the state or federal government.

B—371 Expungement Policy

Revision 23-1; Effective Jan. 1, 2023

TANF

HHSC expunges TANF benefits if:

  • the household does not access its cash account for one year; or
  • benefits remain in an account past their availability period.

Note: If the TANF household does not access its cash account for one year, HHSC removes the entire balance.

SNAP

HHSC expunges:

  • SNAP benefits remaining from a particular month's issuance when the:
    • household does not access the account for nine months; and
    • benefit was issued more than nine months before the expungement file is processed; or
  • the entire food account when HHSC denies an entire household because of death.

HHSC mails Form H0599, Notice of Expungement, to households 30 days before the expungement of unused benefits. Form H0599 informs the household that unused SNAP benefits will be removed from their EBT account if they do not make a purchase using their Lone Star Card before the date listed on the notice.

B—372 Advisor Procedures for Expunged Benefits

Revision 20-4; Effective October 1, 2020

TANF and SNAP

Explain expungement policy to people who inquire about these benefits.

Except for death denials, inform people who dispute the expungement or believe it was in error that their dispute will be routed to the Regional EBT Coordinator for review. Within two business days of receiving the dispute, the Regional EBT Coordinator will inform the person of the outcome.

SNAP

Staff is responsible for expungements resulting from death denials.  

If the expungement resulted from an erroneously processed denial, restore benefits within one business day of discovering the error. Using a manual issuance in TIERS:

  • round the benefits down to the nearest dollar if the balance includes 49 cents or less; or
  • round up if it includes 50 cents or more.

Related Policy

Expungement Policy, B-371