Methodology

Every number here comes from a government source.

CliffCheck doesn’t guess. Behind every dollar on the chart is a published rule from a federal agency or your state. Here is each one, with the source, the citation, a link to the government page, and the date we last checked it. If a rule doesn’t trace to a government link yet, we say so plainly rather than paper over it.

37
programs modelled: 16
states covered: 34
live .gov links

Federal rules, the same in every state

These programs run on national rules, so the source is the same wherever you live. We list them once here instead of repeating them for all 16 states.

SNAP (food assistance)

Food benefits, once called food stamps. Most supported states use broad-based categorical eligibility, or BBCE, which raises the income limit above the federal default.

USDA FNS — SNAP eligibility (FY2026)

7 CFR §273.9 + USDA COLA notice FY2026

fns.usda.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Medicaid

Public health coverage. Whether a state expanded Medicaid changes who qualifies, so the expansion status is listed per state below.

CMS — Medicaid state overviews

medicaid.gov state Medicaid & CHIP profile

medicaid.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

ACA marketplace savings

Premium savings on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, measured against the second-lowest-cost Silver plan, the SLCSP, the benchmark the savings are calculated from.

IRS — Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit)

IRS Form 8962 instructions, applicable-figure table (§36B)

irs.gov

Checked Jul 4, 2026

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

A refundable tax credit for working households. It rises with earnings, then tapers, and is part of your effective take-home.

IRS — Earned Income Tax Credit tables

IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (TY2025 inflation adjustments)

irs.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

A federal tax credit of up to $2,000 per child. Part of it wipes out federal income tax you owe; up to $1,700 per child can come back as a refund even when you owe little tax.

IRS — Child Tax Credit (Schedule 8812)

IRC §24; IRS Schedule 8812 instructions ($2,000/child, $1,700 refundable cap, $2,500 earned-income floor — Rev. Proc. 2024-40)

irs.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

FICA (Social Security and Medicare tax)

The payroll tax on every paycheck: 6.2% for Social Security plus 1.45% for Medicare. We subtract it from your number, so what you see matches what a payslip shows.

SSA — Social Security & Medicare tax rates

SSA Contribution and Benefit Base (TY2025 wage base $176,100); OASDI 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%

ssa.gov

Checked Aug 2, 2026

Federal income tax

Federal tax on your wages after the standard deduction, using the current IRS brackets for your household type. Subtracted from your number, with the EITC and CTC counted against it so nothing is double counted.

IRS — Federal income tax rates and brackets

IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (TY2025) as amended by P.L. 119-21 (standard deduction $15,750/$31,500/$23,625)

irs.gov

Checked Aug 2, 2026

Federal poverty guidelines (FPL)

The federal poverty level, or FPL, is the yearly income figure most program limits are measured against. It scales every calculation on the site.

HHS/ASPE — Federal Poverty Guidelines

HHS Poverty Guidelines 2026 (Federal Register, 2026-01-15)

aspe.hhs.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Section 8 housing (Housing Choice Voucher)

Rental assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program, valued from HUD's local fair market rents.

HUD — Fair Market Rents (FY2026)

HUD FY2026 FMR + Income Limits datasets

huduser.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

What changes by state

Two things differ from state to state: the childcare subsidy and the state income tax. Whether the state expanded Medicaid is noted too, since it changes who qualifies. Everything else uses the federal rules above.

Arizona

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (DES Child Care Assistance)

Arizona DES — Child Care Assistance

AZ Dept. of Economic Security — Child Care Assistance

des.az.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

Arizona DOR — individual income tax

AZ DOR — 2.5% flat individual income tax (single rate from TY2023)

azdor.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

California

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (CalWORKs Child Care / Alternative Payment)

California CDSS/CDE — CalWORKs Child Care / Alternative Payment

CA Dept. of Social Services — Child Care & Development

cdss.ca.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

California FTB — individual income tax

CA Franchise Tax Board — 2026 MFJ progressive schedule (1%–9.3% within chart range)

ftb.ca.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

Florida

Medicaid: non-expansion

Childcare subsidy (School Readiness)

Florida DOE — School Readiness Program

Florida Office of Early Learning — School Readiness (fldoe.org/schools/early-learning/parents/school-readiness.stml)

No gov link yet

Florida publishes its School Readiness program on fldoe.org, the state education department’s site, which is not a .gov domain. We link only to official .gov sources, so this citation appears without a link rather than point to a page we cannot confirm as the primary record. The figure itself is disclosed above.

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Georgia

Medicaid: non-expansion

Childcare subsidy (CAPS)

Georgia DECAL — Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS)

Bright from the Start / DECAL — CAPS

decal.ga.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

State income tax

Georgia DOR — flat income tax (HB 1437, 2026)

Georgia Dept. of Revenue — important tax updates

dor.georgia.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Illinois

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Assistance Program)

Illinois DHS — Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)

IL DHS — Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) (dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30355)

No gov link yet

Illinois DHS publishes CCAP on dhs.state.il.us, a state .us host rather than a .gov domain. We link only to official .gov sources, so this citation appears without a link. The figures themselves are disclosed above.

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

Illinois DOR — individual income tax

IL DOR — 4.95% flat rate (35 ILCS 5/201); $2,925/person exemption (IL-700-T, TY2026)

tax.illinois.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

Indiana

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (CCDF Voucher)

Indiana FSSA — CCDF Voucher

IN Family & Social Services Admin. — CCDF child care vouchers

in.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

Indiana DOR — individual income tax

IN DOR — 2.95% flat rate TY2026 (SB451 phase-down); county LIT excluded

in.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

Michigan

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (CDC)

Michigan MDHHS — Child Development and Care (CDC)

MDHHS Child Development and Care scholarship

michigan.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

State income tax

Michigan Dept. of Treasury — individual income tax

MI Treasury — 2026 flat rate 4.25%; ~$5,800/exemption (2025 est.)

michigan.gov

Checked Jul 7, 2026

Missouri

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Subsidy Program)

Missouri DESE — Child Care Subsidy Program

MO Dept. of Elementary & Secondary Education — Child Care Subsidy

dese.mo.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

Missouri DOR — individual income tax

MO DOR — 2026 graduated schedule, top marginal rate 4.7%

dor.mo.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

New York

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Assistance Program)

NY OCFS — Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)

NY OCFS — CCAP eligibility; 26-OCFS-INF-06 (2026 income levels, 85% SMI)

ocfs.ny.gov

Checked Jul 6, 2026

State income tax

NY Dept. of Taxation and Finance — income tax rates

NY DTF — 2026 MFJ progressive rate schedule (Tax Law §601: 4%/4.5%/5.25%/5.5% within the $0–$120k range; NYC city tax excluded)

tax.ny.gov

Checked Jul 7, 2026

North Carolina

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (SCCAP)

NC DHHS DCDEE — Subsidized Child Care Assistance (SCCAP)

NC DCDEE — financial assistance for families

ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

State income tax

NC Dept. of Revenue — individual income tax

NCDOR — 2026 flat rate 3.99%; $25,500 MFJ standard deduction

ncdor.gov

Checked Jul 7, 2026

Ohio

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (PFCC)

Ohio DCY — Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC)

Ohio Dept. of Children & Youth — PFCC provider resources

childrenandyouth.ohio.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

State income tax

Ohio flat income tax (HB 96, 2025)

Policy Matters Ohio "The Great Ohio Tax Shift, 2026"; Tax Foundation 2026 State Tax Changes

No gov link yet

These Ohio income-tax figures are transcribed from third-party policy analyses (Policy Matters Ohio and the Tax Foundation) rather than a primary state source, so this citation appears without an official .gov link. The figure itself is disclosed above.

Checked Apr 27, 2026

Pennsylvania

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Works)

Pennsylvania DHS — Child Care Works (CCW)

PA DHS — Child Care Works (via ELRCs)

pa.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

State income tax

Pennsylvania DOR — flat income tax (3.07%)

PA Dept. of Revenue (Schedule SP Tax Forgiveness)

revenue.pa.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Tennessee

Medicaid: non-expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Certificate Program)

Tennessee DHS — Child Care Certificate Program

TN Dept. of Human Services — Child Care Certificate Program

tn.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

Texas

Medicaid: non-expansion

Childcare subsidy (CCS)

Texas Workforce Commission — Child Care Services (CCS)

TWC Child Care Services program page

twc.texas.gov

Checked Apr 25, 2026

Virginia

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Child Care Subsidy Program)

Virginia DOE — Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP)

VA Dept. of Education — Child Care Subsidy Program

childcare.virginia.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

State income tax

Virginia Dept. of Taxation — individual income tax

VA Tax — 2%–5.75% progressive schedule (Va. Code §58.1-320)

tax.virginia.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

Washington

Medicaid: expansion

Childcare subsidy (Working Connections Child Care)

Washington DCYF — Working Connections Child Care (WCCC)

WA Dept. of Children, Youth & Families — WCCC

dcyf.wa.gov

Checked Jul 31, 2026

How we turn these rules into your number

Federal rules are uniform; two things are local.

SNAP, Medicaid coverage rules, ACA marketplace savings, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, FICA, federal income tax, the poverty guidelines, and Section 8 all run on national rules, so they read the same in every state. The childcare subsidy and the state income tax are set by each state, so those are the two we list per state. Whether a state expanded Medicaid also shifts who qualifies, so we track that alongside them.

Your number is after all taxes.

The take-home figure subtracts FICA (Social Security and Medicare), federal income tax, and state income tax before adding the benefits you qualify for. The EITC and Child Tax Credit are counted against federal tax the way the IRS applies them, so a credit never gets added on top of tax it already erased. What you see is what your household actually keeps: pay plus benefits, after every tax.

Benefits taper smoothly, not all at once.

A benefit rarely switches off the moment you cross a line. Most fall away gradually as income rises, so the chart models each one as a continuous slope rather than a single on/off step. That is what lets the cliff show up where the combined drop actually bites, instead of at one artificial line.

Where a government link doesn't exist yet, we show a note.

Two rules are transcribed from sources that aren’t on a government (.gov) site: Ohio’s flat income tax, which we read from independent policy analyses, and Florida’s childcare program, documented on a .org site rather than .gov. In both cases the number is still in the model and disclosed above, but we mark it “no gov link yet” rather than invent one. When a government page becomes available, it replaces the note.