99999 = N.I.U. (Not in Universe)
99997 = Top Code (1985, 1986). For other years, see Topcodes Tables link below.

See User Note for an explanation of these codes, and the Topcodes Tables page for documentation on income component topcodes over time.

Description

For 1968-1987, INCALOTH is a residual category for sources of pre-tax income. The variable includes income from the following sources: private pensions or annuities; military retirement; federal government employee pensions; alimony; child support; regular contributions from persons not living in the same household; royalties; hobbies; and other financial sources not previously reported in the interview.

Amounts are expressed as they were reported to the interviewer; users must adjust for inflation using Consumer Price Index adjustment factors.

Comparability

Along with shifts in the variable universe and the effects of inflation, INCALOTH changed due to modifications in the number of income variables included. When the INCRETIR variable became available beginning in 1976, sources of retirement income were removed from INCALOTH.

Some of the specific sources of income mentioned above in the general description of INCALOTH are components of more specific variables as well. For example, income from royalties is part of INCIDR (income from income, dividends, and rents), and government employee pensions are supposed to be incorporated in INCGOV. This repetition occurs because INCALOTH is intended to capture all income not previously reported and included in another variable. As the survey questionnaire notes, "Sometimes people forget about small amounts of income, or income received for only part of the year." Prompts for income sources technically already covered in other variables during the collection of data for INCALOTH are designed to minimize underreporting of total income.

Beginning in 1988, several sources of income included in INCALOTH were reported in the separate variables. These include alimony (INCALIM), child support (INCCHILD), and contributions from persons outside the household (INCASIST). The residual variable INCOTHER takes the place of INCALOTH in IPUMS-CPS beginning in 1988.

For 1962-1967, income sources included in INCALOTH are subsumed in the INCUNERN variable, which encompasses all income from sources other than wages and salaries (INCWAGE) and self-employment income from non-farm businesses (INCBUS) and farms (INCFARM).

Comparability with IPUMS-USA

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables

• UH_INCALC_A1
• UH_INCALC_A2
• UH_INCALC_A3
• UH_INCOTH_A1