An accredited investor is anyone who:
- Has earned income that exceeded $200,000 ($300,000 with spouse) in each of the prior two years and reasonably expects the same level of income for the current year.
- Has a net worth of over $1 million, either alone or together with a spouse (excluding the value of the person’s primary residence.
The investor must satisfy the thresholds for the three years consistently, either alone or with a spouse; and cannot, for example satisfy one year based on individual income and the next two years based on joint income with a spouse. The only exception would be a person who is married within this period, in which case the person may satisfy the threshold on the basis of joint income for the years during which the person was married and on the basis of individual income for other years.