Are gross income and adjusted gross income the same?
Isabella Turner
Updated on December 30, 2025
Your adjusted gross income (AGI) is equal to your gross income minus any eligible adjustments that you may qualify for. These adjustments to your gross income are specific expenses the IRS allows you to take that reduce your gross income to arrive at your AGI.
How is adjusted gross income different?
Gross income refers to the salary or hourly wages set by an employer before deductions. Annual gross income is the money earned during the year before subtracting deductions. Unlike gross income, adjusted gross income is the total taxable income after deductions and other adjustments.
Why is AGI lower than gross income?
Your AGI will almost always be lower than your gross income. The reason for this is as follows: the IRS provides ample opportunities to deduct income from your AGI which will ensure that your lifestyle and financial status is accurately reflected in the income data reported to them.
What does adjusted gross income include?
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is defined as gross income minus adjustments to income. Gross income includes your wages, dividends, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions as well as other income. Your AGI will never be more than your Gross Total Income on you return and in some cases may be lower.
How do I calculate my AGI 2020?
Here’s how you work out your AGI:
- Start with your gross income. Income is on lines 7-22 of Form 1040.
- Add these together to arrive at your total income.
- Subtract your adjustments from your total income (also called “above-the-line deductions”)
- You have your AGI.
How is AGI calculated 2020?
How to calculate Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)? The AGI calculation is relatively straightforward. Using income tax calculator, simply add all forms of income together, and subtract any tax deductions from that amount. Depending on your tax situation, your AGI can even be zero or negative.
What is included in AGI income?
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is defined as gross income minus adjustments to income. Gross income includes your wages, dividends, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions as well as other income.
What is included in adjusted gross income?
What is included in AGI?
Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your gross income — which includes wages, dividends, alimony, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions and other income — minus certain payments you’ve made during the year, such as student loan interest or contributions to a traditional individual retirement account or a …
Where is your AGI on your w2?
You won’t find your AGI on your W-2 or 1099 form, because those forms don’t take into account over a dozen above-the-line deductions that go into calculating your AGI.
How do I find my adjusted gross income for 2019?
On your 2019 tax return, your AGI is on line 8b of the Form 1040. If you used a paid preparer last year, you might obtain a copy of last year’s tax return from that preparer.
What does AGI include?
What was my 2019 AGI?
On your 2019 tax return, your AGI is on line 8b of the Form 1040. If you’re not using the same tax preparation software as last year, you may be able to access your prior-year software and view an electronic copy of your prior-year return. If you are a first-time filer over the age of 16 enter zero as your AGI.
What is deducted from adjusted gross income?
Adjusted gross income is gross income less deductions from a business or rental activity and 21 other specific items. Several deductions (e.g. medical expenses and miscellaneous itemized deductions) are limited based on a percentage of AGI.
