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

The new law also puts a new floor on corporate charitable donations at 1% of their pretax profits. —Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026

Corporate giving has until now hovered around 1% of pretax profits. —Jon Bergdoll, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2026

The growth in traditional pretax IRAs has largely been fueled by rollovers from employer retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, according to the findings. —Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2026

His simple idea — having employees contribute a portion of their pretax wages to company retirement plans and having their employers match those contributions with tax-deductible contributions — has exploded into a multitrillion-dollar industry. —Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 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