Successful TRACS Reporting

Helpful Hints

The following is intended to provide helpful information regarding processing 50059s, creating Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Vouchers (HUD-52670 and HUD-52670A), and sending the appropriate TRACS files to EPS. We want you to be successful every month!! If ever you have questions, we encourage you to contact the Data Analyst who will review your information. Please note, we change analysts for portfolios every three months for quality control purposes, but you can always reach your last analyst by looking at your previous Close out Memo.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A critical processing step to help ensure a match each month is for the property to verify that the TRACS file(s) that were created, but not yet sent to EPS match the changes appearing on your HAP Voucher. All the changes on the HAP Voucher (AR’s, IR’s, MI’s, MO’s, etc.) should be included in the TRACS file(s) that were created. The Voucher dates for the changes must match the HAP Voucher month. If there is information missing, remake or create another TRACS file to include whatever information was missing. Once the TRACS files include all the correct information, send the TRACS file(s) to EPS through iMAX.

EPS also has the option of submitting a corrected/revised Voucher for payment. We will make every effort to match Vouchers before determining if it’s necessary to submit a corrected Voucher. Corrected Vouchers are usually submitted when it is found that adjustments on the Voucher sent to us are either incorrect or missing entirely, or if we were unable to get any missing certifications. When a corrected HAP Voucher is created, our data analyst will include any discrepancies in our Close Out Memo to give you time to work on fixing any issues before next month’s required submission. A copy of the Voucher will be sent electronically to the property through iMAX. Please work with your software vendor to be able to print off a viewable copy of the revised voucher for your records. The close out memo will include the reason(s) why a corrected Voucher was submitted, as well as any actions which may need to be taken the following month to resolve any issues. It is very important to address the issues, or they may affect next month’s HAP Voucher as well.

In order to recommend payment for your HAP Vouchers in a timely manner, we kindly ask that you please respond to a Data Analyst’s request for information within two business days.

All necessary TRACS files should be received at EPS no later than the 10th of each month to ensure timely processing and recommendation of payment. By getting the required information to EPS by the 10th of each month, it gives us time to work with you to resolve any missing files and recommend your HAP Voucher payment in a timely manner. We can also accept files prior to the first! Once we send you a close out memo stating the current Voucher has been submitted for payment, we are ready to accept the information for your next month’s Voucher.

It is important to inform EPS of any changes in management, personnel, contact information, telephone numbers related to HAP Voucher processing. We want to make sure we are contacting the right people to request information or discuss any HAP Voucher issues.

Also, when you are submitting auxiliary documents like Repayment Agreements, Special Claims, etc., please include a copy of your contract number at the top of the document. This assists us with our document storage system, and ensures that the information gets to the analyst working on your property.

When calling EPS, please be sure to let us know the name of the property you are calling about as well as the state where the property is located.

It is important to process the correct type of certification (50059) for tenant households. The following are guidelines based on the current version of the HUD Handbook 4350.3:

Move-in (MI): Processed when a Section 8 tenant is moving into the property.

Initial (IC): Processed when a tenant who has been living at the property is being put on Section 8 subsidy. This is also the 50059 to process when a tenant’s assistance is terminated, and there is a lapse in assistance before bringing them back on at a later date. If a tenant’s assistance is terminated because they are late in recertifying, they can be brought back onto assistance with an effective date that is later than the scheduled AR effective date with an IC, but must be a Market Renter for at least one month, and if subsidy is available, can have an IC the first of the month following all required signatures. The tenant’s Annual Recertification date will now be 12 months from the effective date of the Initial. For example, if the original AR was in July, but tenant did not come in until 9/9 to sign their 50059, then the 10/1 IC will have a Next AR effective date of 10/1/XX.

Annual (AR): Processed on a yearly basis for tenant households receiving Section 8 subsidy. Normally, the scheduled effective date of the Annual Recertification is the month the tenant moved into the property. (e.g.: Tenant household moves in on November 21. Each subsequent November 1 is when the Annual Recertification is due.) Note: Any Annual Recertifications which are sent with an effective date that is different than the scheduled effective date will be denied and information requested as to the date change discrepancy.

Interim (IR): Processed to certify any change in a tenant’s household composition or financial status that must be reported in accordance with HUD 4350.3. Normally, an Interim 50059 is effective on the first of a month.

Gross Rent (GR) change: Processed to report changes in tenant’s contract rent and/or utility allowance. Note: If a tenant has an Annual or Interim with the same effective date as the Gross Rent Change, create and send the Annual or Interim with the new contract rent and/or utility allowance. Please do not send Gross Rent Changes for those tenants. The updated information will be included in the Annual or Interim. If you must process a retroactive Gross Rent change, please make sure you recalculate any certifications with an effective date after the effective date of the Gross Rent change. Recalculating these certifications will provide EPS with the information that we require to prove the accuracy of the adjustments.

Unit Transfer (UT): Processed to report a tenant household’s transfer to a different unit with no changes in their financial information. This does not change the effective date of the next scheduled Annual Recertification.

Interim/Xfer or Annual/Xfer: Processed to report a tenant household’s transfer to a different unit, and it coincides with new financial information, family composition or the scheduled effective date of the tenant’s Annual Recertification.

Correction 50059: Processed to correct information on a 50059 that has already been reported to TRACS. Please remember that a Correction 50059 must have the same effective date and action type (AR, IR, etc.) as the 50059 you originally submitted to TRACS. Make sure you recalculate any other 50059s that are affected by the new information listed on the Correction 50059.

REMINDER: Make sure the correct Anticipated Voucher dates are assigned to 50059s and 50059-A’s as they are processed. If you know which Voucher the 50059 is intended to be reported on, make every effort to assign the correct Voucher date either automatically or manually in your software.

Move-ins and Move-outs should be processed and reported on a HAP Voucher once they have actually happened, not ahead of time, as they may change their mind. Also, please don’t report the changes with a future voucher month, as it could impact your compliance percentage and prevent payment.

Check contract rents for each unit size periodically, verifying compliance with the form HUD-92458. EPS cannot cannot approve a Gross Rent change on your HAP Voucher unless we have a signed copy of the 92458, and an approval letter from your state Contract Administrator.

If possible, report Gross Rent Changes on the HAP Voucher which coincides with the date the change takes place. This negates the need for any retroactive adjustments, and the chance for incorrect adjustments. For instance, a Gross Rent change effective 11/01/XX, but reported on the December HAP Voucher will require an adjustment for each affected tenant for the month of November. Reporting the 11/01/XX Gross Rent change on the November HAP Voucher would not generate any Gross Rent adjustments, just changes to the Assistance Payment for the tenant’s households.

When a retroactive Gross Rent Change is done, and there are certifications already reported to HUD that are effective AFTER the effective date of the Gross Rent Change, you will need to process corrected 50059s for those certifications. Your software should make you aware that there may be some 50059s that require corrections to be made so the accurate Assistance Payment is reflected on the HAP Voucher.

Print the Gross Rent Change certifications for each tenant and keep them on file. (Unless the Total Tenant Payment or Tenant Rent changes, no tenant signature is required)

Please do not arbitrarily change unit numbers without contacting EPS first. It could create a TRACS nightmare.

Please do not send printed 50059s!

If a Revised HAP Voucher was submitted by EPS for the previous month, keep a copy of the revised HAP Voucher and Close Out Memo on hand when preparing the next month’s HAP Voucher. Refer to it closely to make sure changes which were already reported aren’t being reported again. Also make sure that any certifications which couldn’t be included on a previous revised Voucher (we didn’t receive the TRACS file, etc.) are given the correct Anticipated Voucher Date and show up on the next HAP Voucher.

Thoroughly review the Voucher to make sure it includes everything which needs to be reported. If anything is incorrect or missing, contact your software’s tech support, if necessary, to get the errors corrected before submitting your Voucher to EPS. Submitting Vouchers with errors will cause delays in your HAP payments.

Once your monthly HAP Voucher has been submitted to EPS, please do not send a revised Voucher unless one is specifically requested by one of our Data Analysts.

The Total Number of Units on the HAP Voucher (Item 6A, HUD Form 52670) needs to match the number of units in the Section 8 contract, but should never include nonrevenue producing units.

For a property that is entirely Section 8, Items 6B+6C+6D+6E need to equal Item 6A on the HUD Form 52670.

When submitting Special Claims that are not approved by EPS on a HAP Voucher, please send to Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/request/Sm5ibNd0L0hYwsLL9jcq, and we ask kindly that your contract number be clearly visible at the top. Each set of Special Claims should be accompanied by an approval letter from your state Contract Administrator, and an approved form HUD 52670-A Part 2. We do not need the rest of the documentation.

Each month, EPS requires the following information to begin the review of your HAP Voucher. We need to receive your electronic MAT 30 HAP Voucher, along with any applicable Tenant Data TRACS files through iMAX. If there were no tenant changes in a particular month, there would be no Tenant Data TRACS file required.

EPS will create a HAP Voucher TRACS file, based on the information we have received from you. Therefore, it is especially important that every change being reported on the MAT 30. This should avoid the necessity for EPS to create and submit a revised Voucher.

All tenant certifications should be sent through the TRACS iMAX system.

All iMAX messages will be sent to you for your review. It is your responsibility to peruse all error messages and submit corrections accordingly.

We are hopeful that some of these suggestions will ensure our collaborative success each month. Remember…

Our number one priority each month is to ensure that you are being paid the correct amount, and that HUD is paying the correct amount on a monthly basis.

Revised Date: 8/30/2023