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

Per capita disposable income in Malipo was $2,300 a year last year, compared with about $69 a year in 1992. —Eric Baculinao, NBC news, 17 May 2025

Those chains typically cater to lower and middle-income families looking for a sit-down meal, but diners are abandoning these companies as their disposable income shrinks because of inflation. —Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 16 May 2025

According to one estimate from the Budget Lab research center at Yale, price rises caused by Trump’s tariffs could will reduce the disposable income of the average household by at least $1,600 and as much as $2,000. —Josie Cox, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

The greater disposable income among men has also been a supporting factor. —Rhiannon Frater, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025

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