Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)

AGI with certain amounts added back. MAGI definitions differ by credit or program (Roth IRA eligibility, Premium Tax Credit, IRMAA, and others).

How Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) fits 2026 planning

Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) sits inside income reporting and filing-status choices that feed every later deduction, credit, and bracket calculation. For tax year 2026, US Tax Tools treats year-scoped constants (brackets, contribution limits, wage bases, credit schedules) as separate datasets — so explanations of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) should be read with the same year selected in any linked calculator.

Category focus: Income & filing. Readers usually land on this page while comparing a paycheck estimate, a credit phaseout, or a retirement contribution room figure that depends on understanding Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) first.

Worked example

For Roth IRA contribution limits, MAGI often starts with AGI and adds back items such as the foreign earned income exclusion when those apply.

Treat the example as a teaching sketch, not a filing position. Change filing status, state residency, or mid-year events and the same definition of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) can produce a different cash outcome even when the glossary text stays the same.

What to watch for

Definitions of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) can differ slightly across IRS publications, SSA rules, Marketplace subsidy worksheets, and state agencies. When two programs both say “income,” confirm which modification rules apply — MAGI for one credit is not always MAGI for another.

Legislation and inflation adjustments can move the dollar thresholds around Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) without renaming the concept. Prefer the effective date on the primary source (Rev. Proc., SSA notice, USDA table, or state DOR bulletin) over any blog summary — including this one if a later notice supersedes it.

Confirm how Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) appears on your forms by reading the IRS instructions for the schedules that match your facts. Educational definitions here cannot capture every exception or state overlay.

You may also see this concept labeled as MAGI. Search engines and payroll portals sometimes use those aliases interchangeably with “Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).”

Next step

When you are ready to model numbers, open the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) related calculator on US Tax Tools. Engines keep tax-year datasets separate so a 2025 habit does not silently reuse a 2026 constant.

Related reading: Tax insights for longer 2026 explainers, Methodology for how engines store cents and traces, and Disclaimer for educational-use limits.