PRETAX INCOME Definition

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PRETAX INCOME is a profitability measure that looks at a company's profits before the company has to pay income tax. This measure deducts all expenses from revenue including interest expenses and operating expenses, but it leaves out the payment of tax.

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ABOVE THE LINE, a. in accounting, denotes revenue and expense items that enter fully and directly into the calculation of periodic net income, in contrast to below the line items that affect capital accounts directly and net income only indirectly; and, b. for the individual, is a term derived from a solid bold line on Form 1040 and 1040A above the line for adjusted gross income. Items above the line prior to coming to adjusted gross income, for example, can include: IRA contributions, half of the self-employment tax, self-employed health insurance deduction, Keogh retirement plan and self-employed SEP deduction, penalty on early withdrawal of savings, and alimony paid. A taxpayer can take deductions above the line and still claim the standard deduction.

UNREALIZED INCOME (paper profit) is profit which has been made but not yet realized or collected through a transaction, such as a stock which has risen in value but is still being held. also called unrealized gain or unrealized profit or paper gain or book profit.

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