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

Some restaurant chains that cater to lower- and middle-income families have been struggling over the past few years because diners are abandoning them as their disposable income shrinks because of inflation. —Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026

Over a thousand people responded with tales of that one auntie who had time, disposable income, and dropped game on everything from business to love. —Ashley Simpo, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026

In other words, people with the most disposable income are by far the most likely to put enough money into an HSA to ensure that a health catastrophe doesn’t also lead to a financial one. —Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026

When asked last week about measures to boost disposable income, senior economic planning officials still had no specific measures to share. —Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for disposable income

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

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