The return, usually measured in money, from one’s business, labor, or capital income. As one example of the complexity of defining income in operational terms the I.R.S. 1040 should be considered as a specific definition of income. Welfare programs attempt to distinguish earned income (wages or net earnings from employment) and unearned income (support or maintenance furnished in kind or cash; annuities, pensions, retirements or disability’ benefits; prizes, gifts, and awards; proceeds from insurance policies, support and alimony payments; inheritances; and rents, dividends, interest and royalties). Note that fringe benefits of employment (such as the employer’s contribution to the cost of health insurance) are often not considered as income for tax purposes thus enhancing their real value (and creating, for example, an indirect Federal subsidy of group health insurance).
Money earned during an accounting period, in contrast with revenue, which is the increase in assets or the decrease in liabilities during the accounting period.