disposable income

American  

noun

1. the part of a person's income remaining after deducting personal income taxes.

2. (in national income accounting) the total disposable income of all consumers.

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disposable income British  

noun

1. the money a person has available to spend after paying taxes, pension contributions, etc

2. the total amount of money that the individuals in a community, country, etc, have available to buy consumer goods

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Etymology

Origin of disposable income

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

They aren’t necessarily high income, but they allocate a large portion of their disposable income to buying clothing, executives said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Energy Information Administration forecast that households will spend 2.1% of their disposable income on energy costs in the first quarter, compared with 1.2% at the end of last year, according to an early-March outlook.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026

For people with limited disposable income, radio offered an affordable form of entertainment, and the medium experienced its heyday in the 1930s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

Average disposable income - which measures the amount of money people have left to spend after they have paid tax – will give us an indication of households' spending power in the coming years.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

My parents never openly discussed their money struggles, but I knew we didn't have disposable income.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi