Calculate Your Annual Household Income: A Simple Guide

If you want to determine your eligibility for certain government programs, you need to know your annual household income. The federal government has several definitions of annual household income. For the purposes of health insurance, CHIP, Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government defines annual household income as the modified adjusted gross income of all household members that file a tax return. Modified adjusted gross income is income from certain sources minus allowable deductions.

Calculating Annual Household Income

Income

Sum the total income you received during the year from the following sources:

• Federal taxable wages (wages from a job)
  
• Self-employment and contractor income
• Tips
• Unemployment compensation
• Social security payments
• Social security disability income (SSDI)
• Retirement or pension payments
• Alimony
• Investment income, including capital gains
• Rent and royalty income
• Foreign income

You don't need to include some types of income in your calculation. Exclude the following:

• Child support
  
• Gifts
• Supplemental Security income (SSI)
• Veteran disability payments
• Worker's compensation
• Loan proceeds

Deductions

You are allowed to deduct the cost of some expenses to lower your annual household income. Deduct the annual cost or amount that you paid for the following items:

• Student loan interest
  
• Alimony paid
• Moving expenses
• IRA contributions (if you don't have a retirement account through your work)
• Tuition expenses
• Educator expenses if you're a teacher

Determining Annual Household Income

To figure your annual household income, sum the modified adjusted gross income for all eligible household members. An eligible household member is anyone who needs to file a tax return. For example, say that you have $20,000 in eligible income, your husband has $40,000 and your household has $5,000 in eligible deductions. Your annual household income is $20,000 plus $40,000 minus $5,000 for a total of $55,000.