3.9 Bills
- Step 1: Determine which housing and utility bills questions are asked
- Step 2: Provide housing bill information
- Step 3: Provide utility bill information
- Step 4: Determine which other bills questions are asked
- Step 5: Provide dependent care costs information
- Step 6: Provide tax deduction information
- Step 7: Answer questions about assistance with bills
- Step 8: Confirm information on the Summary page
Use these instructions to help people answer questions about their bills. This section is only included if the application includes FoodShare, W-2, JAL, or health care. Once completed, the applicant can review the sections for accuracy before going to the next section.
Step 1: Determine which housing and utility bills questions are asked
These pages ask which household members pay housing or utility bills. ACCESS will show a details page to ask questions about each selection.
The “_____’s housing and utility bills” page asks who from the household pays housing or utilities bills.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| Does anyone in your household have housing bills? |
Select Yes or No. |
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Who in your household has housing bills?
|
Select the member or members who pay housing bills. |
| Does anyone in your household have utility bills? |
Select Yes or No. |
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Who in your household has utility bills?
|
Select the member or members who pay utility bills. |
If more than one person in the household has housing or utility bills, the “Your household’s housing and utility bills” page displays. This page asks the applicant to select which member of the household’s housing and utility bills information to enter first. They will return to this page after completing the housing or utility bills information for each person until all are done.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| Choose who you’d like to tell us about first. |
Select Start next to someone’s name to begin asking questions for that person. |
The next page the applicant sees depends on if the household member has housing or utility bills.
| If the household member... | Continue to... |
| Has housing or utility bills | Step 2: Provide housing bill information |
| Has only utility bills | Step 3: Provide utility bill information |
| Doesn’t have housing or utility bills | Step 4: Determine which other bills questions are asked |
Step 2: Provide housing bill information
The “_____’s housing bills” page asks about the types of housing bills the household member pays.
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| Questions | How to answer |
|
What housing bills does _____ have? |
Select one or more options. |
If they select at least one type of housing bill, a details page displays to ask about the housing bill. It repeats for each type of housing bill selected. If they have more than one type of the same type of housing bill, answer about one at a time.
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| Questions | How to answer |
|
How much is _____’s [housing bill] each month? (Optional) |
Enter the bill amount. |
| Does _____ have another [housing bill – alternate name]? (Optional) |
Select Yes or No. |
The next page the applicant sees depends on if the household member has utility bills.
| If the household member has... | Continue to... |
| Utility bills | Step 3: Provide utility bill information |
| No more housing or utility bills | Step 4: Determine which other bills questions are asked |
Step 3: Provide utility bill information
The “_____’s utility bills” page asks about the types of utility bills the household member pays.
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| Questions | How to answer |
|
What utility bills does _____ have? Check all that apply. |
Select one or more options. |
If the applicant selects at least one type of utility bill, a details page displays to ask about the utility bill. It repeats for each type of utility bill selected. If they have more than one type of the same utility bill, answer about one at a time.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| How much is _____’s [utility bill] payment each month? (Optional) |
Enter the bill amount. |
|
Does _____ get a bill for [utility bill]? (Optional) |
Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. |
| Is [utility bill] used to heat your home? (Optional) |
This question displays if the page is asking about electricity, liquid propane gas, wood, natural gas, fuel oil/kerosene, or coal. |
| Does _____ have more [utility bill] payments? (Optional) |
Select Yes or No. |
Step 4: Determine which other bills questions are asked
The “Your household’s other bills” page asks about other bills the household members pay. ACCESS will display a details page to ask questions about each selection.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| Does anyone in your household have dependent care bills? (Optional) |
Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. |
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Who has dependent care costs? (Optional)
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Select the member or members who pay dependent care costs. |
| Does anyone in your household pay support payments? (Optional) | Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. If the applicant selects yes, the next question displays. |
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Who pays these?
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Select the member or members who pay support payments or obligations. |
| Does anyone in your household have medical bills from the last four months or unpaid medical bills? (Optional) | Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. If the applicant selects yes, the next question displays. |
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Who has recent or unpaid medical bills? (Optional)
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Select the member or members who have recent or unpaid medical bills. |
| Does anyone in your household have tax deductions? (Optional) |
Select Yes or No. |
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Who has tax deductions? (Optional)
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Select the member or members who have tax deductions. |
The next page the applicant sees depends on their selection of other bills.
| If the household member has... | Continue to... |
| Dependent care costs | Step 5: Provide dependent care costs information |
| Only tax deductions | Step 6: Provide tax deduction information |
| No dependent care costs or tax deductions | Step 7: Answer questions about assistance with bills |
Step 5: Provide dependent care costs information
The “_____’s dependent care costs” page asks about the household member’s dependent care costs. If the household member has more than one dependent care cost, answer about one at a time.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| Who does _____ pay this dependent care cost for? (Optional) |
Select the member or members the individual pays the dependent care cost for. |
| Does _____ get child care assistance? (Optional) | Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. |
| How much is this dependent care cost each month? (Optional) |
Enter the monthly dependent care cost. |
| Who does _____ pay this cost to? (Optional) |
Select one option. |
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Who in the household is paid? (Optional)
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This question displays if they answered “Someone in the household.” |
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Who outside of the household is paid? (Optional)
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This question displays if they answered “Someone outside of the household.” |
|
Agency name
|
This question displays if they answered “An agency.” |
| Does _____ pay other dependent care costs for people in their household? (Optional) |
Select Yes or No. |
Step 6: Provide tax deduction information
These pages gather information about common and uncommon tax deductions. If the household member is filing jointly, this page only displays for one of the filers. There are three pages of possible tax deductions.
The “_____’s tax deductions” page asks which common tax deductions the household member has.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| What tax deductions does _____ have? |
Select one or more options. |
The “_____’s less common tax deduction” page asks which less common tax deductions the household member has.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| What tax deductions does _____ have? |
Select one or more options. |
The “_____’s other tax deductions” page asks about the household member’s other allowable write-in deductions.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| What other tax deductions does _____ have? |
Select one or more options. |
There are several pages that may display based on the types of tax deductions selected on the previous pages. These pages repeat for each type of tax deduction until all information is entered.
The “More about _____’s [tax deduction]” page asks about the ongoing tax deductions that the household member or joint filing couple has. It repeats for each type of ongoing tax deduction selected. If they have more than one type of the same ongoing tax deduction, answer about one at a time.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| How often do you have this expense? (Optional) | Select the frequency from the dropdown menu. |
| How much is the expense each time you have it? | Enter the deduction amount. |
| Does _____ have another [tax deduction – alternate name]? (Optional) | Select Yes or No. |
The “More about _____’s [out-of-pocket costs for a military-ordered permanent change of station/penalty for early withdrawal of savings]” page asks about the household member’s or joint filing couple’s calendar year tax deductions. This page displays if the applicant selects out-of-pocket costs for a military-ordered permanent change of station or penalties for early withdrawal of savings tax deductions on the last page. It repeats for each type of ongoing tax deduction selected. If they have more than one type of the same calendar year tax deduction, answer about one at a time.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| When did _____ pay this expense? |
Select the month from the dropdown menu and enter the year the expense started. |
| How much was this expense? | Enter the expense amount. |
| Does _____ have another deduction for [out-of-pocket costs for a military-ordered permanent change of station/penalty for early withdrawal of savings]? (Optional) | Select Yes or No. If the applicant selects yes, this page will repeat. |
The next page the applicant sees depends on the programs they are applying for.
| If the application includes... | Continue to... |
| FoodShare, W-2 or JAL | Step 7: Answer questions about assistance with bills |
| Any other programs | Step 8: Confirm information on the Summary page |
Step 7: Answer questions about assistance with bills
The “Help with bills” page asks more questions about the household’s housing bills.
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| Questions | How to answer |
| Is anyone in your household a boarder? |
Select Yes or No. |
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Who is a boarder?
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Select the household member or members who are boarders. |
| Has your household gotten help from the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP) in the past 12 months? (Optional) | Select Yes, No, or I don’t know. |
| Does your household live in public housing or get rent assistance? | Select Yes – public housing, Yes – rent assistance, or No. |
Step 8: Confirm information on the Summary page
Once completed, a summary page displays. Here, the applicant can review the sections for accuracy before going to the next section.
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This page last updated in Release Number: 24-01
Release Date: 02/24/2024
Effective Date: 02/24/2024