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I'd have to say that if one has a "zero" in the "wages, tips, salary, and other compensation" line on form 1040, and still manages to pull in $92K, then they are truly rich. Or, the have one heck of a good pension...

No, if you are self-employed then you report your income on line 12 (and schedule C).

$92K AGI isn't chicken feed but depending on where you live, it won't necessarily be the same as "truly rich."

$92K probably feels richer in the heartland than it does in the big city.

As another poster has already mentioned, the term "rich" is inexorably linked to geographic location.

I left work about 7 years ago to raise the kids. My husband is a policeman here on Long Island. He makes a nice salary (over the $92K mark) and knows it.

HOWEVER, the average house price has skyrocketed here, and I dare you to find a house -- even a teeny tiny one -- in a decent neighborhood for less than $250K (that's a VERY conservative estimate; it's more like $325K). Add to that the extraordinary taxes (we pay just shy of $10K/year in PROPERTY TAXES ALONE for a 4 BR Cape on 1/3 acre) and WHAMMO! that $92K is whittled down to approximately $50K for a family of four. Not exactly rollin' in the dough. In our case, we are paying an extra hit for Catholic school tuition, because we refuse to subject our children to the nonsense in the (very expensive) public schools.

All that being said, the SECOND my husband can retire in about 7 years, we will leave NY for good. People are absolutely insane trying to retire on Long Island. It just ain't worth the $$$.

Regards,