The Circuit Breaker and Abatement tax relief programs have maximum income requirements in order to qualify for the program. We are required by law to consider the gross income amount when calculating your annual income. This means that your income level for tax relief purposes may be higher than what the IRS considered to be your “taxable income.”

The following information outlines what “household income” includes and excludes:

Household Income Includes:

• All taxable and non-taxable income
• Wages & salary
• Bonuses & awards
• Severance pay
• Interest & dividends (including nontaxable from any source)
• Trust income
• Alimony & support payments
• Disability payments
• Loss carry-forwards & depreciation (added back in from tax return deductions)
• Retirement income & pension (gross amount)
• Voluntary contributions to a tax-deferred retirement plan
• Annuities (gross amount)
• Capital gains
• Workers’ compensation, state unemployment, & nontaxable strike benefits
• "Loss of time" insurance payments (gross amount)
• Social Security & Medicare
• Cash public assistance or relief. (Includes welfare payments and other cash relief that can be applied to any purchase.)
• Military service payments

Household Income Does Not Include:

• Federal income tax refunds (See *NOTE below)
• Federal childcare credits (See *NOTE below)
• Federal earned income credits (See *NOTE below)
• Reverse mortgage payments
• Senior program volunteer payments
• Gifts
• Bequests (inheritance)
• Relief in kind from a tax-exempt source (non-government)
• Relief in kind from a public or private agency
• Social Security Disability Income payments received under the Social Security Act
• Surplus food
• Food stamps
• Insurance payments (Though not specifically mentioned in code, insurance payments are typically compensation for a loss, not income.)

*NOTE: If a tax “refund” exceeds the amount of taxes due, it is in the nature of “cash public assistance or relief,” and is thus included in “income” under Section 59-2-1202(8).