pretax

adjective

pre·​tax ˌprē-ˈtaks 

variants or pre-tax

: existing before provision for taxes : before taxes are deducted

pretax earnings/profits

The most common self-directed plans, 401(k) plans, leave it up to employees to voluntarily contribute part of their pretax salary.

—Ellen E. Schultz

Examples of pretax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On average, for-profit operators make around $2,100 more per patient in pretax profit and $49 more per patient-day than nonprofit hospice operators, according to one study. — Laurie Udesky, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Mellet said Humana expects changes to its 2027 Medicare Advantage plans to help improve profitability and put the company on track to reach a sustainable pretax margin of at least 3% by 2028. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 29 July 2026

Unitree has slashed the pretax price of its flagship G1 humanoid from $16,000 to $13,500 in just 18 months. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026

Lionsgate shares currently trade at roughly 26 times expected pretax profit, a premium to comparable studios, according to data from LSEG quoted by Reuters. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pretax

• attacks
• backpacks
• beeswax
• borax
• callbacks
• carfax
• climax
• cutbacks
• drawbacks
• feedbacks
• flashbacks
• greenbacks

Legal Definition

pretax

adjective

pre·​tax

ˌprē-ˈtaks

: existing or occurring before the assessment or deduction of taxes

pretax income

pretax contributions