The Urban Institute launched a innovative online tool to calculate the net impact of wages and benefits on a family’s income.  The Net Income Change Calculator measures the financial impact of benefits lost as wages increase – the “cliff effect” of families moving from public assistance to employment.

 

About the Net Income Change Calculator

The Net Income Change Calculator (NICC) allows a user to specify a scenario to test and then shows the results for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

 

NICC calculates a family’s income at different earnings levels considering the effects of payroll taxes, income taxes, tax credits, child care expenses, and cash and in-kind benefits.

 

Safety-net programs incorporated into the calculations include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program), housing vouchers, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and child care subsidies through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

 

Net Income Change Calculator In The News

The Huffington Post recently published a piece on the calculator and the implications of the “cliff effect.”