California benefits cliff
How much can you earn before a raise costs you in California?
The short answer
In California, a $1,000 raise at $108,000 can cut a family of 4's real take-home by $24,079 a year, because benefits fall away faster than the raise. Take-home recovers past $141,000, the safe exit.
Your benefits cliff
California, household of 4. The filled line is your real take-home. The dashed line is wages alone.
What you can earn before each benefit drops
For a family of 4 in California. Each benefit falls away at a different income, and where several fall together is where the cliff bites.
Look at one benefit at a time
Every number comes from a government source
Each figure is drawn from the primary government source shown above. Two values are close approximations, not filing-grade quotes: the ACA benchmark (SLCSP) uses each state’s largest metro as a stand-in, and childcare help varies by county — both land within roughly 10%. See how CliffCheck knows the numbers
Questions people ask
- Can a raise really make you poorer in California?
- Yes. For a family of 4 in California, a $1,000 raise at $108,000 can cut real take-home by about $24,079 a year, because benefits fall away faster than the extra pay comes in.
- What is a benefits cliff?
- A benefits cliff is where a small raise triggers a large drop in benefits, so your total take-home goes down even though your pay went up. Several benefits can fall in the same narrow income band, which is what makes the drop so steep.
- What income clears the cliff in California?
- For a family of 4 in California, take-home passes its earlier level again at about $141,000 a year. That is the safe exit: earn past it and the raise pays off for good.
- Where do these California numbers come from?
- Every figure is calculated from published government rules, SNAP from the USDA, Medicaid and the marketplace, HUD housing limits, and California's own childcare and tax rules. Your inputs stay on your phone and are never sent anywhere.