Benefit Cliff Calculator
A raise or extra hours can push your income just past a program's cutoff — and cost you the whole benefit at once, not a portion of it. See where those cliffs are for your household.
Your income cliffs
Based on what you entered, here's the monthly income at which you'd cross the cutoff for each program you currently look eligible for, soonest first. These use federal poverty level thresholds as a national estimate — some states and programs set different limits, so verify with the program before turning down a raise or extra hours.
Want the full picture?
This tool only checks income cutoffs for programs you look eligible for. Run the full screener to check age, work, housing, and dozens of other factors across 120+ programs.
Check my benefits →Common questions
Why does a small raise sometimes cost me more than I gain?
Most benefit programs use a hard income cutoff rather than phasing out gradually. Crossing it by even a dollar can mean losing the entire monthly value of that program — this is often called a "benefit cliff."
Are these cutoffs exact?
They're based on federal poverty level percentages used nationally by each program. Some states set higher limits, and some programs phase out gradually instead of a hard cutoff (income is only one of several factors) — always confirm with the specific program before making a decision based on this alone.