income

An income is an amount of money that a person makes from one or more jobs or sources of revenue.

• Steve makes a good income.
• His income is high.
• He has a high income.
• His income is over $120,000 a year.
• Steve also owns some rental property that provides an additional income.
• Vanessa is not happy with her income.
• Her income is low.
• Her yearly income is just $20,000 a year.
• What’s your income?
• What’s your household income? (household income = the amount of money made by everyone in the household, husband, wife, children, etc.)

The word "income" is often hyphenated with an adjective to describe a person or a place.

• This is a low-income neighborhood. (It sounds much better to say "low-income" compared to "poor.")
• High-income housing is going up all over our city.
• Middle-income earners aren’t happy with their salaries these days.
• High-income salaries on the east coast of the United States are very common.

If you live in the United States, you might have to pay an income tax on your earnings.

• Sarah’s income taxes are very high.
• Last year she paid too much in income taxes, so she received a refund.
• Only people who overpay on their income taxes receive a refund.
• A person who underpays income taxes will have to write a check to the I.R.S.
• A person who fails to pay income taxes that are owed to the government will have to pay penalties.

He brings home a good income.

Note: The word "income" is NOT the opposite of the word "outcome."

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This page was published on June 9, 2017.