Glossary
Gross income
Total income before taxes and deductions — the starting point for most benefit eligibility tests.
Gross income is everything a household earns or receives before any taxes or deductions are taken out: wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security, SSI, unemployment compensation, pensions, and child support received.
Most benefit programs — SNAP, WIC, school meals, Medicare Savings Programs — test gross income against a limit tied to household size. Entering take-home pay instead of gross pay is the single most common screening mistake.