The Texas Health and Human Services Commission exempts cafeteria plan benefits as defined in and based on §125 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), except that:(1) cash received under a cafeteria plan in lieu of benefits is not exempt, but is counted as earned income; and(2) payroll deductions used to purchase cafeteria plan benefits in addition to or instead of those purchased under a salary reduction agreement are not exempt, but are part of the employee's wages and are counted as earned income.