unearned income

American  

noun

1. income received from property, as interest, dividends, or the like.

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unearned income British  

noun

1. income from property, investment, etc, comprising rent, interest, and dividends

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unearned income

Both Social Security retirement and disability benefits are considered unearned income for SSI purposes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Yet Mr. Corinth and Ms. Mayhew did find that the larger and more credible studies—such as the one Mr. Altman backed—showed that unearned income has a negative impact on a person’s willingness to work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

That means any earnings from a Trump account will be included in the child’s total unearned income and taxed for the year if withdrawn before he or she turns age 59 ½.

From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025

That’s important because unearned income tends to represent a greater share of total income for the wealthy compared with the rank-and-file.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025

There will be no starvation wages, no inflated salaries, no "rent" of educational advantages, no unearned income and no monopoly prices, but automatically adjustable prices and wages will continue.

From Socialism As It Is A Survey of The World-Wide Revolutionary Movement by William English Walling