Gross Income
Also called: gross pay, gross earnings, pre-tax income
Gross income is what you earn before anything is taken out — tax, pension contributions, insurance, student loan. It's the number in the job advert and on the top line of your pay stub, and it's the number lenders and landlords ask for. It is not the number that arrives in your account: between gross and net sits a wedge of 20–40% in most developed countries. Budget from net pay and treat gross as a headline figure, or you will consistently plan to spend money that was never yours.
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