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

From 2019 to 2022, Solomon led an aggressive expansion of the bank’s consumer-lending business, which ultimately faltered and resulted in billions of pretax losses. — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

An increase in income might come from selling assets, converting a pretax individual retirement account to a Roth IRA or getting a bonus, for example. — Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026

In Pennsylvania, a single adult needs an annual, pretax income of $97,011 to live comfortably, according to SmartAsset. — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026

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

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