55.04.020 Safe Harbor Programs

Programs that meet the following general criteria for safe harbor treatment, and provide qualifying safe harbor benefits, shall be treated as non-taxable Assistance under the General Welfare Exclusion without the applicant having to demonstrate individual need:

(a) General Criteria for Safe Harbor Treatment: Each Safe Harbor Program shall satisfy the following general criteria:

(1) The benefit is provided under a specific Approved Program of the Tribe;

(2) The Program has written guidelines specifying how individuals may qualify for the benefit;

(3) The benefit is available to any tribal member, Qualified Nonmember, or identified group of Tribal Members or Qualified Nonmembers who satisfy the Program guidelines, subject to budgetary restraints;

(4) The distribution of benefits from the Program does not discriminate in favor of the governing body of the Tribe;

(5) The benefit is not Compensation for services; and

(6) The benefit is not Lavish or Extravagant under the facts and circumstances.

(b) Qualifying Safe Harbor Benefits: The following benefits may be provided under a Safe Harbor Program. The benefits listed in the parenthetical language herein are illustrative only, rather than an exhaustive list. Thus, a benefit may qualify for exclusion from gross income as a Safe Harbor Program even though the benefit is not expressly described in the parenthetical language herein, provided that it meets all other requirements of Article VI and Revenue Procedure 2014-35 (as may be amended):

(1) Housing programs. Programs relating to principal residences and ancillary structures that are not used in any trade or business, or for investment purposes that:

(A) Pay mortgage payments, down payments, or rent payments (including but not limited to security deposits) for principal residences.

(B) Enhance habitability of housing, such as by remedying water, sewage, or sanitation service, safety issues (including but not limited to mold remediation), or heating or cooling issues.

(D) Pay utility bills and charges (including but not limited to water, electricity, gas, and basic communications services such as phone, internet, and cable). Pay property taxes or make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs).

(E) Educational programs. Programs that:

(i) Provide students (including but not limited to post-secondary students) transportation to and from school, tutors, and supplies (including but not limited to clothing, backpacks, laptop computers, musical instruments, and sports equipment) for use in school activities and extracurricular activities.

(ii) Provide tuition payments for students (including but not limited to allowances for room and board on or off campus for the student, spouse, domestic partner, and Dependents) to attend preschool, school, college or university, online school, educational seminars, vocational education, technical education, adult education, continuing education, or alternative education.

(iii) Provide for the care of children away from their homes to help their parents or other relatives responsible for their care to be gainfully employed or to pursue education.

(iv) Provide job counseling and programs for which the primary objective is job placement or training, including but not limited to allowances for expenses for interviewing or training away from home (including but not limited to travel, auto expenses, lodging, and food); tutoring; and appropriate clothing for a job interview or training (including but not limited to an interview suit or a uniform required during a period of training).

(F) Elder and disabled programs. Programs for individuals who have reached age 55 or are mentally or physically disabled (as defined under applicable law, including but not limited to tribal government disability codes or laws) that provide:

(i) Meals through home-delivered meal programs or at a community center or similar facility.

(ii) Home care such as assistance with preparing meals or doing chores, or day care outside the home.

(iii) Local transportation assistance.

(iv) Improvements to adapt housing to special needs (including but not limited to grab bars and ramps).

(G) Cultural and religious programs. Programs that:

(i) Pay expenses (including but not limited to admission fees, transportation, food, and lodging) to attend or participate in an Indian Tribe's cultural, social, religious, or community activities such as pow-wows, ceremonies, and traditional dances.

(ii) Pay expenses (including but not limited to admission fees, transportation, food, and lodging) to visit sites that are culturally or historically significant for the Tribe, including but not limited to other Indian reservations.

(iii) Pay the costs of receiving instruction about an Indian Tribe's culture, history, and traditions (including but not limited to traditional language, music, and dances).

(iv) Pay funeral and burial expenses and expenses of hosting or attending wakes, funerals, burials, other bereavement events, and subsequent honoring events.

(v) Pay transportation costs and admission fees to attend educational, social, or cultural programs offered or supported by the Tribe or anther Tribe.

(H) Other qualifying assistance programs. Programs that:

(i) Pay transportation costs such as rental cars, substantiated mileage, and fares for bus, taxi, and public transportation between an Indian reservation, service area, or service unit area and facilities that provide essential services to the public (such as medical facilities and grocery stores).

(ii) Pay for the cost of transportation, temporary meals, and lodging of a Tribal Member or Qualified Nonmember while the individual is receiving medical care away from home.

(iii) Provide assistance to individuals in exigent circumstances (including but not limited to victims of abuse), including but not limited to the costs of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, auto repair bills, and similar expenses.

(iv) Pay costs for temporary relocation and shelter for individuals displaced from their homes (including but not limited to situations in which a home is destroyed by a fire or natural disaster).

(v) Provide assistance for transportation emergencies (for example, when stranded away from home) in the form of transportation costs, a hotel room, and meals.

(vi) Pay the cost of nonprescription drugs (including but not limited to traditional Indian tribal medicines).

(c) Compensation Safe Harbor: For Safe Harbor Programs, and subject to amendments to Revenue Procedure 2014-35 hereafter, the Tribe will presume that individual need is met for religious leaders or spiritual officials or leaders (including but not limited to medicine men, medicine women, and shamans) receiving the following benefits, and that the benefits do not represent Compensation for services: benefits provided under an Indian tribal governmental Program that are items of cultural significance that are not lavish or extravagant under the facts and circumstances or nominal cash honoraria provided to religious or spiritual officials or leaders (including but not limited to medicine men, medicine women, and shamans) to recognize their participation in cultural, religious, and social events (including but not limited to pow-wows, rite of passage ceremonies, funerals, wakes, burials, other bereavement events, and subsequent honoring events).

(d) Safe Harbor Effective Dates: Safe harbor treatment shall be afforded to any Program or benefit that otherwise satisfies the safe harbor rule as of, or after, December 6, 2012, or for any earlier taxable period for which the period of limitation on refund or credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 6511 has not expired.

(e) Non-Safe Harbor Programs: Nothing in this title or the IRS safe harbor guidance shall limit the Tribe's right to provide Assistance outside of the safe harbor rules.