Federal Poverty Level

Federal Poverty Level - FPL
The set minimum amount of income that a family needs for food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other necessities. In the U.S., this level is determined by the Department of Health and Human Services. FPL varies according to family size. The number is adjusted for inflation and reported annually in the form of poverty guidelines. Public assistance programs such as Medicaid in the U.S. define eligibility income limits as some percentage of FPL.
The poverty guidelines are typically issued each February, and they correspond to the year in which they are issued. For example, the guidelines issued in Feb 2004 are designated as the 2004 poverty guidelines. (In 2004 the FPLs were $15,670, $18,850 and $22,030 for families of three, four and five respectively.) However, when determining an individual's or family's eligibility for receiving benefits, some government agencies compare before-tax income to the poverty guidelines while others compare after-tax income. Likewise, eligibility limits may be based on gross income, net income or some other measure of income.
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