— Tax, VAT & Sales
Taxable Income Calculator
Work from gross income to taxable income. Subtract pre-tax contributions, above-the-line adjustments, and the standard or itemized deduction to see AGI, taxable income, each subtraction, and which deduction gives the larger benefit.
Taxable income
$60,000
- Total subtractions
- $15,000
- Adjusted gross income (AGI)
- $75,000
- Standard deduction
- $15,000
— Gross to taxable income
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross income | $75,000 |
| Adjusted gross income (AGI) | $75,000 |
| Less: standard deduction | $15,000 |
| Taxable income | $60,000 |
— How it works
AGI = gross income − above-the-line adjustments (401(k), HSA, deductible IRA, etc.). Taxable income = AGI − the larger of the standard deduction or your itemized deductions.
Gross, AGI, taxable — three different numbers
People talk about “income” as one figure, but tax uses three. Gross income is everything you earned. Adjusted gross income (AGI) is gross minus “above-the-line” adjustments — traditional 401(k) and HSA contributions, a deductible IRA, student-loan interest — and it is the number a surprising amount of the tax code keys off, from IRA limits to credit phase-outs. Taxable income is AGI minus your deduction (standard or itemized), and it is the figure the tax brackets are finally applied to. The breakdown table walks down all three so you can see exactly where each dollar drops out.
Worked example — $75,000 gross, single, 2025, standard deduction, no adjustments: AGI = $75,000 (nothing above the line). Taxable = $75,000 − $15,000 standard deduction = $60,000 — the figure your brackets act on.
Standard or itemized — take the bigger
Everyone gets to subtract a deduction; the only question is which. The standard deduction is a flat amount — \$15,000 single or \$30,000 married filing jointly for 2025 — that needs no receipts. Itemizing means adding up specific deductible expenses: mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped at \$10,000), charitable donations and a few others. You take whichever is larger, and since the 2018 standard-deduction increase, the large majority of filers come out ahead with the standard. Enter your itemized total and the calculator tells you which wins, so you do not leave money on the table.
Adjustments are worth more than they look
Above-the-line adjustments lower your AGI, and because so many other tax figures depend on AGI, they pull double duty: a traditional 401(k) contribution cuts your taxable income now and can also keep you under thresholds for credits, the higher Medicare premium tiers, and the taxation of Social Security. That is why maxing pre-tax retirement and HSA contributions is the most reliable way to cut a tax bill. Note that federal personal and dependent exemptions are \$0 for 2018–2025 — dependents now help through credits (handled in the income-tax calculator), not by reducing taxable income, so they do not appear as a subtraction here.
— Reader questions
How do I calculate taxable income?
Start with gross income, subtract above-the-line adjustments (like 401(k) and HSA contributions) to get AGI, then subtract the larger of the standard deduction or your itemized deductions. On $75,000 gross with the $15,000 standard deduction, taxable income is $60,000.
What is the difference between gross income, AGI and taxable income?
Gross income is everything you earned. AGI is gross minus above-the-line adjustments. Taxable income is AGI minus your deduction — and it is the figure the tax brackets are applied to. Each is smaller than the last.
Should I take the standard or itemized deduction?
Whichever is larger. The standard deduction ($15,000 single / $30,000 joint for 2025) requires no records; itemize only if your deductible expenses exceed it. Enter your itemized total and the calculator shows which one wins.
What is adjusted gross income (AGI)?
AGI is gross income minus specific “above-the-line” adjustments — traditional retirement and HSA contributions, student-loan interest, and similar. It matters beyond this calculation because eligibility for many credits and limits is based on AGI (or modified AGI).
Do dependents reduce my taxable income?
Not federally for 2018–2025 — personal and dependent exemptions are currently $0. Dependents instead provide tax credits (like the Child Tax Credit), which reduce the tax itself rather than taxable income. Use the income-tax calculator for those.