2025 Form 1040, Line 11 · IRC §62
AGI: The Gatekeeper Number on Your 1040
Adjusted Gross Income — 2025 Form 1040, Line 11 — is total income minus specific adjustments: the gatekeeper number that dozens of credits, phaseouts, and thresholds key off. Above-the-line deductions like HSA contributions and half your self-employment tax reduce it directly.
How AGI is built
Start with total income (Line 9), subtract the Schedule 1 adjustments — educator expenses, HSA, half of self-employment tax, deductible IRA contributions, student loan interest. The result lands on Line 11 and everything downstream keys off it.
Why it matters more than your refund
Credit eligibility, phaseout thresholds, premium tax credits, student loan payments, and next year's safe harbors all read AGI. Two returns with the same refund can have very different AGIs — and very different next years.
AGI vs MAGI
Modified AGI adds certain items back — foreign exclusion, student loan interest, half of SE tax in some versions — defined differently per benefit. When a phaseout surprises you, it is usually running on MAGI, not the Line 11 number.
Questions, answered
- AGI vs MAGI — what's the difference?
- MAGI adds certain items back to AGI, defined differently per benefit. Most phaseouts run on MAGI, not raw AGI.
- What lowers AGI?
- Above-the-line deductions: HSA, deductible IRA, half of SE tax, student loan interest, educator expenses. Below-the-line deductions don't touch it.
- Why does my AGI matter if my refund is set?
- Next year's estimates, credit eligibility, premium credits, and student loan payments all key off it. AGI echoes.
Keep reading: Standard Deduction · Refund or Owed · Filed But Can't Pay