U.S. Department of Commerce

Effect of Benefits and Taxes on Income and Poverty Table of Contents

These data come from the CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement, formerly called the March Supplement. The R and D series is based on research developed in the 1980s. For details about that series, see Measuring the Effect of Benefits and Taxes on Income and Poverty: 1992. [PDF] These tables focus on alternative definitions of income.

In an effort to expedite the release of alternative income and poverty estimates, capital gains and losses were not estimated for 2008 and 2009. This makes Definition #3 identical to Definition #2.

In the poverty tables, the same poverty thresholds were used across income definitions.

The tables labeled "RS" use a revised price index to adjust poverty thresholds for inflation. More about the CPI-U-RS.

For 2009, Economic Recovery Payments were assigned to all persons who received benefits from the Social Security Administration, disabled veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and those receiving benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board. For 2009, government nonmeans-tested income does not include Economic Recovery Payments. The impact of these payments can be seen by comparing the results in the final two columns (1b and 1c) of each table.

Source and Accuracy of the Estimates. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdf[PDF].

Additional alternative poverty data series are available. See Poverty – Experimental Measures. Tables in the series The Effects of Taxes and Transfers on Income and Poverty will no longer be released. Users can generate estimates using the public use file and variables [EXCEL] from that series or use CPS Table Creator II. For comments on this software, please email Charles T. Nelson.

(2009 Income)
Effect of Benefits and Taxes on Income and Poverty (R&D)

Table Number	Title
Table 1	Income Distribution Measures, by Definition of Income: 2009
Table 2	Percent of People in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009
Table 2	Percent of People in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009-RS
Table 3	Percent of Families in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009
Table 3	Percent of Families in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009-RS
Table 4	Percent of Unrelated Individuals in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009
Table 4	Percent of Unrelated Individuals in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009-RS
Table 5	Mean Income Deficit of Families in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009
Table 5	Mean Income Deficit of Families in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009-RS
Table 6	Mean Income Deficit of Unrelated Individuals in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009
Table 6	Mean Income Deficit of Unrelated Individuals in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2009-RS
Table 7	Income of Households from Specified Sources, by Poverty Status: 2009

Race Footnotes

Income Definition Footnotes

Contact the Demographic Call Center Staff at 301-763-2422 or 1-866-758-1060 (toll free) or visit ask.census.gov for further information.

Skip footer section