Budget for a Working Poor Ohio Family—2005 Mother and 2 Children
The following chart illustrates the dollars and cents of life for Ohio’s working poor. It assumes that families receive Food Stamps and child care assistance and are enrolled in Healthy Families, Healthy Start. (Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar, except hourly wage.)
	Minimum Wage: 67% of poverty	100% of Poverty	150% of Poverty	200% of Poverty
Income from Wages
Hourly Wage	$5.15	$7.74	$11.60	$15.47
Monthly Earned Income	$893	$1,341	$2,011	$2,682
Annual Earned Income	$10,712	$16,090	$24,135	$32,180
Annual Taxes/Tax Credits
Federal Income Taxes	$0	$0	$768	$1,849
State Income Taxes (net)	$0	$0	$246	$625
City Income Taxes	$214	$320	$480	$640
Tax Liability before Credits	$214	$320	$1,494	$3,114
Child Tax Credit	$0	$801	$1,832	$2,000
Federal Earned Income Tax Credit	$4,290	$3,871	$2,176	$481
Net Annual Tax Liability/Refund	$4,076	$4,352	$2,514	-$633
Net Income
Annual	$14,788	$20,442	$26,649	$31,547
Per Month	$1,232	$1,704	$2,221	$2,629
Additional Monthly Resources
Food Stamps	$393	$328	$0	$0
Net Monthly Resources	$1,625	$2,032	$2,221	$2,629
Monthly Expenses
Housing	$621	$714	$819	$938
Food	$416	$416	$416	$416
Transportation	$187	$277	$343	$434
Necessities	$150	$207	$260	$397
Out-of-Pocket Health Care	$72	$81	$191	$205
Child Care	$89	$134	$201	$1,069
Total Monthly Expenses	$1,535	$1,829	$2,229	$3,459
Monthly Resources after Expenses	$90	$202	-$8	-$831
What’s Not Included? Computer and internet connection, driver’s license or state I.D. license fees, holiday and birthday gifts, entertainment, pets, books, school supplies, sports supplies, sports registration, school trip money, summer school money, camp money, vacation expenses, college application and test fees, music and dancing lessons.

Notes

Wage and Annual Income: Information from the 2005 Federal Poverty Guidelines (Source: Federal Register. February 18, 2005 in Volume 70, Number 33 pages 8373-8375). The hourly wage assumes working 52 weeks per year at 40 hours per week. Calculations by Ohio United Way. More information on the federal poverty level can be found at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml

Federal and State Income Taxes calculated by using the FreeTaxUSA e-filing tool. The tool is endorsed by the IRS and can be found at http://freetaxusa.com/ .

City Income Taxes: Calculations by Ohio United Way based on a city income tax of 2 percent. City tax rate information is from the Municipal Income Tax Rates Listing on the Ohio Municipal League web site http://www.columbustax.net/munilist.htm .

Child Tax Credit: Calculated using the FreeTaxUSA e-filing tool. For more information on the Child Tax Credit visit, http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=106182,00.html .

Federal Earned Income Tax Credit: Calculated by using the FreeTaxUSA e-filing tool and verified using the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Internal Revenue Services’ EITC calculators. For more information about the Federal EITC visit the CBPP http://www.cbpp.org/eic2005/  and IRS http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96456,00.html websites.

Net Income: Calculated by subtracting Net Annual Tax Liability from Annual Earned Income. Refunds were added to Annual Earned Income.

Food Stamps: Families above 130 percent of the poverty guideline are not eligible to receive food stamps. Calculated by using the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service’s Food Stamp Calculator http://209.48.219.49/fns/.

Housing: Expenses from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm,  2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey,Table 2, http://www.bls.gov/cex/2003/Standard/income.pdf . Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics. Housing (Shelter; Utilities, fuels, and public services; Household operations; housekeeping supplies; Household furnishings and equipment). National averages adjusted for inflation. Individual circumstances will vary.

Food: Expenses from the 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics. Food (Food at home and Food away from home). National averages adjusted for inflation. Individual circumstances will vary.

Transportation: Expenses from the 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics. Transportation (Cars and trucks, used; Gasoline and motor oil; Other vehicle expenses, including insurance). National averages adjusted for inflation. Individual circumstances will vary.

Necessities: Expenses from the 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics. Apparel and services; Personal care products and services; and Personal insurance and pensions. National averages adjusted for inflation. Individual circumstances will vary.

Out-of-Pocket Health Care: Healthy Families/Healthy Start provides Medicaid health insurance coverage for parents to 100 percent of the federal poverty level, and for children up to 200 percent.  Expenses from the 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 2. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics. Health Care (Health insurance; Medication; Medical supplies; Medical services like doctor and hospital costs not covered by health insurance). National averages adjusted for inflation. Individual circumstances will vary. The Medical Care Price Index (MCPI) was used to adjust for inflation.

Child Care: Expenses from Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Fiscal Year 2004 Market Rate Survey Results. At 67 percent, 100 percent, and 150 percent of poverty, a family is eligible for child care assistance. Families with incomes at 200 percent of poverty are not eligible for child care assistance. Eligible families pay a co-payment, which is determined by family size, monthly income, and number of children. Ohio caps the co-payment amount at 10 percent of income. The child care expense for a family at 200 percent is the private pay amount for a toddler and a preschooler. The statewide full-time weekly average rate for a toddler is $130.50. The state wide full-time weekly average rate for a preschooler is $116.37. [Note: Per ODJFS 75th percentile of market rate analysis, one could spend as little as $50.56 per week for a toddler in Highland County in a certified home or as much as $191.55 per week for a Toddler in Franklin County in a licensed center.]

Consumer Price Index and Medical Consumer Price Index. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI increased 3.3 percent for all of 2004.  For medical care, the increase was 4.2 percent.