Income Eligibility
To be eligible, your total family/household income must be below 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, as shown in the following table:
2024 Federal Poverty Guidelines
Number of persons in family/ household |
400% (except Alaska and Hawaii) |
400% for Alaska |
400% for Hawaii |
1 |
$60,240 |
$75,240 |
$69,240 |
2 |
$81,760 |
$102,160 |
$94,000 |
3 |
$103,280 |
$129,080 |
$118,760 |
4 |
$124,800 |
$156,000 |
$143,520 |
5 |
$146,320 |
$182,920 |
$168,280 |
6 |
$167,840 |
$209,840 |
$193,040 |
7 |
$189,360 |
$236,760 |
$217,800 |
8 |
$210,880 |
$263,680 |
$242,560 |
For each additional person, add |
$21,520 |
$26,920 |
$24,760 |
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
For purposes of determining income eligibility for the NDBEDP, the FCC defines “income” and “household” as follows:
“Income” is all income actually received by all members of a household. This includes salary before deductions for taxes, public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, unemployment compensation, veteran's benefits, inheritances, alimony, child support payments, worker's compensation benefits, gifts, lottery winnings, and the like. The only exceptions are student financial aid, military housing and cost-of-living allowances, irregular income from occasional small jobs such as baby-sitting or lawn mowing, and the like.
A “household” is any individual or group of individuals who are living together at the same address as one economic unit. A household may include related and unrelated persons. An “economic unit” consists of all adult individuals contributing to and sharing in the income and expenses of a household. An adult is any person eighteen years or older. If an adult has no or minimal income, and lives with someone who provides financial support to him/her, both people shall be considered part of the same household. Children under the age of eighteen living with their parents or guardians are considered to be part of the same household as their parents or guardians.