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

More than 87% of low-income Coloradans spend more than one-third of their pretax income on housing — a common benchmark for housing affordability. —Jennifer C. Greenfield, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025

Kathrin Ziegler | Digitalvision | Getty Images Roth individual retirement account conversions are a popular strategy to reduce pretax balances and kickstart tax-free growth. —Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2025

The previous projection was for $160 million in pretax charges. —Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 13 Nov. 2025

OxyChem represents almost 20% of Oxy’s total pretax income, bringing in more than $1 billion annually. —Jordan Blum, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025

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