Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

Definition of "Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)"

Dale Tomalewski  real estate agent

Written by

Dale Tomalewski elite badge icon

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services Inc.

We all know what income is or what gross income means, but what is adjusted gross income? When a company calculates its income to determine their taxable income, they take the gross income to measure their adjusted gross income (AGI). The AGI is where the calculations begin for a taxpayer’s tax bill and the baseline for most deductions and credits. When a taxpayer files their taxes online, the software will calculate their AGI for them. 

The adjusted gross income measure of calculation is used to calculate a filer’s tax liability. In active participation, an AGI can make an active participant investor in real estate eligible or not for deductions and influences the claims for deductions and credits.

What does Adjusted Gross Income Mean?

To simplify it, an adjusted gross income is the gross income modified in the tax code. While gross income is the money earned during a year (salary, capital gains, dividends, interest income, alimony, rental income, royalties, and retirement distributions), the AGI considers allowed deductions from the gross income to determine the figure the income tax liability is calculated.

For tax activities, the most useful measure of calculation is the AGI, as deductions are taken out of the gross income. Those deductions are known as adjustments to an individual’s income.

How to calculate Adjusted Gross Income?

The start of the adjusted gross income calculation starts with adding all sources of income from that year. Here we’ll have salaries, profit from a property sale, pensions, unemployment compensations, Social Security payments, or other income types that weren’t reported in the tax returns. From this, the taxpayer subtracts allowed deductions and payments. That leaves a taxpayer with their adjusted gross income.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

The definition of property acquisition cost in real estate is the total recorded cost of a piece of real estate after reductions in price, incentives, closing costs and any other ...

Listing of property that is open, meaning there is no one real estate agent who has the sole right to sell the property. ...

Threat of violence to obtain a contract. ...

If you are a real estate investor and you come across this term, you might wind up wondering … What is the operating expense ratio? The operating expense ratio (OER) is a way for ...

Registered real estate broker who charge a flat fee, rather than a commission, for real estate purchase and sale transactions regardless of the property's sale price. No fee is charge if ...

An easement granted to a public utility. ...

Governmentally held records of public transactions giving constructive notice that documentation exists confirming the transaction. ...

The result of combining two or more parcels of land so that the one large parcel has more value than the sum of the individual parcels. ...

Buyer who is acting in good faith, is not aware of any outstanding claims or rights of others to the property, and has given valuable consideration as part of the business transaction. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions