Income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it.

Some examples of passive income are:

  • Earnings from a business that does not require direct involvement from the owner or merchant.
  • Rent from a property.
  • Royalties from publishing a book or from licensing a patent or other form of intellectual property, software, etc .
  • Earnings from internet ads.
  • Dividend and interest income from owning securities, such as stocks and bonds, is usually referred to as portfolio income.
  • Pensions, retirement payments.