Background——The previous studies mainly employed predictive research and qualitative research methods to analyze the impact of the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion on farmers’ income, and it remains unclear what impact the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion will have on farmers’ income. Methods——Based on the survey data of 831 farmland conversion farmers from 8 formerly poverty-stricken counties (districts) in Sichuan and Hebei Province in 2019,the PSM-DID model was used to estimate the net impact of farmland conversion subsidy expiration on the income and structure of farmland conversion farmers and conduct heterogeneity analysis. Meanwhile, the mediation effect model was used to analyze the impact mechanism. Results——The regression coefficient of the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion on farmers’ production and operating income was-0.899,indicating that it reduced farmers’ production and operating income in a certain extent. The regression coefficients of the wage income and transfer income of households were 0.808 and 0.734,indicating that the wage income and transfer income of households were increased in a certain extent. The regression coefficient of total income of farmers is 0.516,and is significantly positive at 1% level, indicating that the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion can optimize the income structure of farmers and improve the income level of farmers on the whole. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion on the income of different farmers is different, and the impact coefficient of the total income of farmers in the low, middle and high income groups is-0.103,0.652 and 0.127,respectively, indicating that the total income of farmers in the low income group will decrease. The estimated effect coefficients of the total income of households in the low, medium and high cropland area groups were 0.597,0.541 and 0.488,respectively, respectively, indicating that the promotion effect of the total income of households in the high cropland area group was weaker than that in the low cropland area group. The results of the mediation model show that agricultural labor time, off-farm labor time and off-farm labor rate significantly restrain the negative impact of the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion on the total income of farmers, and off-farm employment and labor time have a mediation effect on the relationship between the expiration of the subsidy for farmland conversion and the total income of farmers. Conclusions and Discussions——Although the expiry of the subsidy for returning farmland will reduce the total income of low-income farmers, although it is not conducive to the growth of farmers’ production and business income, it is conducive to the growth of farmers’ wage income and transfer income. Therefore, the following recommendations are made: First, efforts should be made to expand labor export channels in poor areas, perfect local labor service system, improve farmers’ non-agricultural employment ability, strengthen non-agricultural skill training, increase non-agricultural employment opportunities, so as to ensure the income level of farmers whose subsidies expire. Second, it is necessary to take into account the economic status quo of poverty-stricken areas, follow the principle of efficiency and equity, take full account of the differences of returned farmers, guide different farmers to establish diversified livelihood transformation strategies, and take multiple measures to narrow the income gap among farmers. Third, the government should understand the current situation and policy appeal of the returned farmers, promptly introduce and improve follow-up policies for forest rehabilitation from slope agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]