What Is AGI? Adjusted Gross Income Explained

Your adjusted gross income (AGI) is your total taxable income minus certain items the tax code calls adjustments. It is one of the most-used numbers on a federal return, and many credits, deductions, and filing benefits look at it. IRS: Adjusted gross income

Where AGI is on your return

Your AGI is on line 11 of Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. If you filed a return before, the same number is on that return. If you do not have it, you can find it in your IRS online account, or request a free tax return transcript by mail.

How AGI is figured

The IRS describes three steps:

Add all of your taxable income. Put the total on line 9 of Form 1040.
Add up the adjustments to income from line 26 of Schedule 1. Put that total on line 10 of Form 1040.
Subtract line 10 from line 9. The result goes on line 11. This is your AGI.

The IRS gives this example. Total income is $71,000, from wages, rental income, part-time wages, and bond interest. Adjustments are $250 for educator expenses and $2,500 for student loan interest, for a total of $2,750. AGI is $71,000 minus $2,750, which is $68,250.

What counts as an adjustment

Adjustments are subtracted from your total income before you take the standard or itemized deduction. The IRS lists examples such as:

Educator expenses.
Deductible contributions to a traditional IRA.
Deductible contributions to a health savings account (HSA).
The deductible part of self-employment tax.
Student loan interest.
Certain retirement contributions.
Certain penalties on an early withdrawal of savings.

The full list is in Part II of Schedule 1. IRS: Schedule 1 (Form 1040), PDF

Why AGI matters

The IRS says you may need your AGI to file federal and state returns, and to qualify for certain filing options, credits, and other tax benefits. Some benefits use a related number called modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI. MAGI starts with AGI and adds back certain items, but only for the specific benefit being checked. The same taxpayer can have different MAGI figures for different benefits, so check the rule for each one. IRS: Modified adjusted gross income

Two common mix-ups

AGI is not your taxable income. AGI comes before the deduction. Your taxable income is what remains after you subtract your standard or itemized deduction from AGI.
Gross income is not AGI. Gross income is the total before adjustments are subtracted.

Where MAGI shows up

The IRS says MAGI is used to decide several things:

Whether you qualify for certain government programs or tax benefits, including credits, deductions, and exclusions.
How much you may contribute to certain accounts, including retirement, investment, and health savings accounts, and how much of those contributions you can deduct.
Whether you owe certain taxes, such as the net investment income tax.

Because each benefit can use its own version of MAGI, the same return can produce more than one MAGI figure. That is why a number that works for one credit may not work for another.

A quick check on your numbers

Two checks catch many errors. First, make sure line 9 holds all of your taxable income, including wages, interest, and any other income reported to you. Second, make sure line 10 holds only adjustments you can support. An adjustment you cannot support changes your AGI, and every benefit that uses AGI can change with it.

What to do next

Gather the forms that report your income, such as Forms W-2 and 1099. List any adjustments that apply to you, and keep last year's return or transcript. If your number does not match what you expected, check lines 9 and 10 first. For the next step after AGI, read Standard Deduction or Itemizing?

This page is general information, not advice for your return. If you want to learn more, see how it works.

Sources: IRS: Adjusted gross income (https://www.irs.gov/filing/adjusted-gross-income); IRS: Schedule 1 (Form 1040), PDF (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s1.pdf); IRS: Modified adjusted gross income (https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/modified-adjusted-gross-income) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.

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