disposable income

noun

: income that is left after paying taxes and for things that are essential, such as food and housing

I don't have enough disposable income to buy such luxuries.

Examples of disposable income in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Debtors keep enough of their wages to cover necessary living expenses, but all other disposable income goes to creditors. — Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026

Once confined to biotech labs and the disposable income of Silicon Valley billionaires, longevity is no longer a tech bro hobby and has become a consumer aspiration in its own right. — Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2026

Drake noted that the company’s traditional customer makes less than $100,000 a year — a cohort that has had less wiggle room in their wallets lately as the rising cost of living eats away at their disposable income. — Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026

Against this backdrop, there's less disposable income than usual to help cover medical bills and expenses that Medicare doesn't pay for. — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for disposable income

• abomasum
• become
• checksum
• humdrum
• outcome
• pisum
• succumb
• therefrom
• wherefrom
• bum
• chum
• come

Legal Definition

disposable income

noun

dis·​pos·​able income

: income available for disposal: as

a

: the income remaining to an individual after deduction of taxes

b

: the income of a debtor in bankruptcy that is not necessary to support the debtor or the debtor's dependents