Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Definition
What Is Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)?
Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is your adjusted gross income (AGI) after taking into account certain allowable deductions and any tax penalties. For many taxpayers, the numbers are the same.
In any case, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is one of the most important numbers that you enter on your federal income tax return. Among other things, your MAGI:
- Reduces your taxable income to account for your retirement account contributions.
- Factors in your eligibility for benefits like the student loan interest deduction and the child tax credit.
- Establishes your eligibility for income-based Medicaid coverage or a health insurance subsidy.
Key Takeaways
- Modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, adjusts the AGI for certain tax deductions and credits.
- You’ll have to crunch some numbers to find your MAGI, but tax prep software makes this work easy.
- MAGI can change your eligibility for certain programs like qualified retirement account contributions.
Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)
Understanding Modified Adjusted Gross Income
MAGI can be defined as your household’s adjusted gross income after any tax-exempt interest income and certain deductions are factored in.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses MAGI to establish whether you qualify for certain tax benefits. Most notably, MAGI determines:
- Whether your income does not exceed the level that qualifies you to contribute to a Roth IRA.
- Whether you can deduct your traditional IRA contributions if you and/or your spouse have retirement plans at work.
- Whether you’re eligible for the premium tax credit which lowers your health insurance costs if you buy a plan through a state or federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
For example, you can contribute to a traditional IRA no matter how much money you earn. However, you can’t deduct those contributions when you file your tax return if your MAGI exceeds limits set by the IRS and you and/or your spouse have a retirement plan at work.
How Modified Adjusted Gross Income Works
Determining your MAGI is a three-step process:
- Figure out your gross income for the year
- Calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI)
- Add back certain deductions to calculate your MAGI
Figure out your gross income
Your gross income includes everything you earned during the year from:
- Alimony
- Business income
- Capital gains
- Dividends
- Interest
- Farm income
- Rental and royalty income
- Retirement income
- Tips
- Wages
There are two scenarios in which alimony payments are not considered gross income. The first is if your divorce agreement was executed after 2018. The second is if your divorce agreement was executed before 2019 but later modified to expressly state that such payments are not deductible for the payer.
Your gross income appears on line 9 of Form 1040.
Calculate your AGI (or find it on your tax return)
Your adjusted gross income (AGI) is important because it’s the total taxable income calculated before itemized or standard deductions, exemptions, and credits are taken into account. It dictates how you can use various tax credits and exemptions. For example, AGI affects the amount of money you can claim for the child tax credit.
Your adjusted gross income is equal to your gross income, less certain tax-deductible expenses, including:
- Certain business expenses for performing artists, reservists, and fee-basis government officials
- Educator expenses
- Half of any self-employment taxes
- Health insurance premiums (if you’re self-employed)
- Health savings account (HSA) contributions
- Moving expenses for members of the armed forces moving due to active duty
- Penalties on early withdrawal of savings
- Retirement plan contributions (including IRAs and self-employed retirement plan contributions)
- Student loan interest
- Tuition and fees
You can do the math to figure out your AGI, or you can find it on line 11 of Form 1040.
Add back certain deductions
To find your MAGI, take your AGI and add back:
- Any deductions you took for IRA contributions and taxable Social Security payments
- Excluded foreign income
- Interest from EE savings bonds used to pay for higher education expenses
- Losses from a partnership
- Passive income or loss
- Rental losses
- The exclusion for adoption expenses
Many of these deductions are not commonly used, so your MAGI and AGI could be similar or even identical.
Special Considerations for MAGI
Roth IRAs
To contribute to a Roth IRA, your MAGI must be below the limits specified by the IRS. If you’re within the income threshold, the actual amount you can contribute is also determined by your MAGI. If your MAGI exceeds the allowed limits, your contributions are phased out.
Here are the Roth IRA income limits for 2019:
| Roth IRA Income Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| If your filing status is… | And your modified AGI is… | You can contribute… |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) | Less than $193,000 | Up to the limit |
| More than $193,000 but less than $203,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $203,000 or more | Zero | |
| Single, head of household, or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $122,000 | Up to the limit |
| More than $122,000 but less than $137,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $137,000 or more | Zero | |
| Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $10,000 | A reduced amount |
| $10,000 or more | Zero | |
Here’s a rundown of Roth IRA income limits for 2020:
| Roth IRA Income Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| If your filing status is… | And your modified AGI is… | You can contribute… |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) | Less than $196,000 | Up to the limit |
| More than $196,000 but less than $206,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $206,000 or more | Zero | |
| Single, head of household, or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $124,000 | Up to the limit |
| More than $124,000 but less than $139,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $139,000 or more | Zero | |
| Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $10,000 | A reduced amount |
| $10,000 or more | Zero | |
Note that if you contribute more than you’re allowed, you have to remove the excess contributions. Otherwise, you’ll face a tax penalty. Excess contributions are taxed at a rate of 6% per year for as long as the excess amount remains in your IRA.
Traditional IRAs
Your MAGI and whether you and your spouse have retirement plans at work determine whether you can deduct traditional IRA contributions. If neither spouse is covered by a plan at work, you can take the full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit. However, if either spouse has a plan at work, your deduction could be limited.
Here’s a rundown of traditional IRA income limits for 2019:
| Traditional IRA Income Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| If your filing status is… | And your modified AGI is… | Then you can take… |
| Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), married filing jointly or separately and neither spouse is covered by a plan at work | Any amount | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) and you’re covered by a plan at work | $103,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $103,000 but less than $123,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $123,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing jointly and your spouse is covered by a plan at work | $193,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $193,000 but less than $203,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $203,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Single or head of household and you’re covered by a plan at work | $64,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $64,000 but less than $74,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $74,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing separately and either spouse is covered by a plan at work | Less than $10,000 | A partial deduction |
| $10,000 or more | No deduction | |
Here’s a rundown of traditional IRA income limits for 2020:
| Traditional IRA Income Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| If your filing status is… | And your modified AGI is… | Then you can take… |
| Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), married filing jointly or separately and neither spouse is covered by a plan at work | Any amount | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) and you’re covered by a plan at work | $104,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $104,000 but less than $124,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $124,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing jointly and your spouse is covered by a plan at work | $196,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $196,000 but less than $206,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $206,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Single or head of household and you’re covered by a plan at work | $65,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $65,000 but less than $75,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $75,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing separately and either spouse is covered by a plan at work | Less than $10,000 | A partial deduction |
| $10,000 or more | No deduction | |
Tax laws are complicated and do change periodically. If you need help figuring out your MAGI, or if you have any questions about IRA contribution and income limits, contact a trusted tax professional.
How Do I Calculate My Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)?
Calculating your MAGI is relatively straightforward. To do so, first calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI) and then add back any of the deductions specified by the IRS that apply to your situation. Examples of these deductions include income from foreign sources, interest from certain savings bonds, and expenses related to adopting a child. Because MAGI involves adding back these deductions, MAGI will always be greater than or equal to AGI.
To calculate your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), first add up your gross income from all sources.
Then check the list of « adjustments » to your gross income and add those that you qualify for to your gross income. The list is on the 1040 form. You’ll also find it here.
That number is your adjusted gross income (AGI).
Now add back any deductions you qualify for. Some common deductions are student loan interest and IRA contributions.
That’s your MAGI. It’s not unusual for it to be the same as your AGI.
What purpose does MAGI serve?
The IRS uses MAGI to determine whether you qualify for certain tax programs and benefits. For instance, it helps determine the size of your Roth IRA contributions. Knowing your MAGI can also help avoid facing tax penalties because over-contributing to these programs and others like them can trigger interest payments and fines. Your MAGI can also determine eligibility for certain government programs, such as the subsidized insurance plans available on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Can MAGI and AGI be the same?
Yes, MAGI and AGI can be the same. For many people, the list of deductions that need to be added back to AGI in order to calculate MAGI will not be relevant. For instance, those who did not earn any foreign income would have no reason to use that deduction and would not add back those earnings to their AGI. For them, AGI and MAGI would therefore be the same number.
