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

Raising money by mortgages and borrowing the money directly from financial institutions. The presence of debt financing provides financial leverage, which tends to magnify the effects of ...

The fee charged by a governmental jurisdiction to enter in the public record the deed and other documents affecting the title to property at the time of a transaction. ...

Individual: Adjusted gross income less itemized deductions and personal exemptions. After taxable income is computed, the tax to be paid can be determined by looking at the tax rate ...

Holding and controlling property. It includes not only custody but also having some legal right. An example is occupying real property and enjoying its benefits. ...

Cash flow before subtracting income taxes. ...

Direct line of descent as from father to son. An example of a lineal hereditament would be passing of the title of real property by virtue of a will to the first-born son. ...

Analysis of the risks and rewards to an individual in making a particular property investment. Investment analysis considers the cost of the original investment, the investment return over ...

Style of architecture originating at the German Bauhaus, or architectural institute, in the 1920's associated with the International School of architecture. The Bauhaus style emphasized ...

Tile placed on a wall as decoration, such as in a bathroom or kitchen. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions