tax threshold

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   the amount of income at which a person or company must start paying tax, or starts paying a higher rate.

   Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one threshold or several thresholds.

   Patterns

   • the tax threshold for someone
   • below/above the tax threshold
   • raise/lower the tax threshold

   Earnings below the tax threshold are not taxed at all.

   The government raised the tax threshold so that low-paid workers pay nothing.

   Once her income passed the tax threshold, she had to file a return.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   the point at which a tax on something begins to apply, such as a tax on imported goods.

   Grammar: Often followed by for or on: the threshold for a luxury tax.

   Patterns

   • the tax threshold on something
   • cross/reach the tax threshold

   There is a tax threshold on gifts above a certain value.

   Sales crossed the tax threshold, so the shop had to register for VAT.

Word forms

Common combinations

raise the tax threshold

The budget raised the tax threshold by two thousand dollars.

below the tax threshold

Many part-time workers earn below the tax threshold.

above the tax threshold

Anyone above the tax threshold must file a return.

the personal tax threshold

The personal tax threshold applies to each individual, not each household.

hit the tax threshold

Her second job pushed her over the tax threshold.

Synonyms and how they differ

tax bracket

A tax bracket is a range of income taxed at one rate, while a threshold is the single point where tax starts.

allowance

An allowance is a sum you can earn tax-free; a threshold is the income level at which tax begins.

Word family

taxable adjective

able to be taxed

taxation noun

the system of charging taxes

Commonly confused: tax threshold or tax bracket?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “tax threshold”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words