taxable

taxable — adjective

1. describing money, goods, or services that the government requires you to pay a p

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing money, goods, or services that the government requires you to pay a percentage of as tax

Example

The year-end bonus Tunde received from his employer is fully taxable.

adverb collocation: fully taxable

Interest earned on a regular savings account is usually treated as taxable income.

collocation: taxable income

Common collocations
  • taxable income
  • taxable profits
  • taxable goods
  • taxable amount
  • taxable event
  • taxable value
  • taxable earnings
  • taxable benefits
Synonyms
  • assessable

    assessable means something can be valued for tax purposes, but it may not actually be taxable under current law; taxable specifically means the law imposes a tax on it

  • dutiable

    dutiable is used specifically for imported goods that are subject to customs duty, a narrower meaning than taxable

Antonyms
  • tax-free

    describes income or goods that the law exempts from tax entirely

  • non-taxable

    a direct opposite; not subject to tax

  • tax-exempt

    formally exempted from taxation, often used for organisations or bonds

Grammar Patterns

be + taxable

taxable + noun

Usage Note

Commonly used with income, profits, goods, and benefits. The opposite concept is tax-free or non-taxable. Not every payment you receive is taxable — some gifts, scholarships, or insurance payouts may be exempt by law.

Common Mistakes

The bonus is tax.
The bonus is taxable.
tax is a noun; taxable is the adjective form describing what is subject to tax.
This income is tax-free taxable.
This income is not taxable.' or 'This income is tax-free.
taxable and tax-free are opposites and cannot be used together.

Word family

  • tax
    nounB1
  • tax
    verbB2
  • taxation
    nounB2
  • taxpayer
    nounB1
  • tax-free
    adjectiveB2
  • tax-exempt
    adjectiveC1
  • untaxed
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Taxable, assessable, and dutiable all relate to government-imposed charges, but they differ in scope and context. Taxable is the broadest term — it describes any income, goods, or services that the law requires you to pay a percentage of as tax. Assessable has a narrower technical meaning: something can be valued or measured for tax purposes but may not actually be taxed (e.g. 'assessable income' includes all earnings that could potentially be taxed). Dutiable is the most restricted, applying only to imported goods subject to customs duty at the border. For everyday use, taxable is the word you need; assessable appears mostly in professional accounting contexts, and dutiable is limited to international trade. For example: 'Her salary is taxable income.' 'The tax office determines your assessable income first, then applies deductions.' 'The wine bottles were dutiable when brought into the country.'

taxable ↗assessabledutiable

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • fully taxable
  • partially taxable
  • directly taxable
  • immediately taxable
  • potentially taxable

Phrases

  • taxable to the recipient
  • treated as taxable for tax purposes

Prepositions

  • taxable at [a rate of]
  • taxable under [the law / these rules]
  • taxable by [the government / the state]

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Taxable comes from the Latin word taxare, meaning 'to assess, estimate, or charge'. It passed through Old French taxer into Middle English. The suffix -able, meaning 'able to be', was added to form the adjective, giving the sense 'able to be taxed'.