Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Adjusted basis is the cost of owning something, like a house or a car, after you make changes to it or have expenses related to it. This is important because when you sell the item, you need to know how much you paid for it and how much you spent on it to figure out how much money you made or lost. For example, if you bought a car for $10,000 and then spent $2,000 fixing it up, your adjusted basis would be $12,000. But if you got a tax credit for buying an electric car, that would lower your adjusted basis. Adjusted basis helps you figure out how much money you owe in taxes when you sell something.
Definition: Adjusted basis refers to the cost basis of an asset that has been adjusted for various events that occurred during its ownership. It is commonly used to calculate an owner's capital gain or loss for income tax purposes when the property is sold or to calculate an inheritor's tax basis when they receive property from a testator's estate.
When adjusting basis, expenses made to maintain or improve property are usually capitalized (or added) to the original basis (purchase price) of the property. Deductions taken for depreciation and casualty losses are subtracted from the basis because they effectively reduce the property owner's cost of ownership and the value of the property.
The following are examples of items that commonly increase the basis of property:
The following examples decrease the basis of property:
For example, if a property owner spends money to add a new room to their house, the cost of the addition would be added to the property's adjusted basis. On the other hand, if the property owner receives insurance reimbursement for a theft loss, the amount of the reimbursement would be subtracted from the property's adjusted basis.
adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) | adjusted gross income (AGI)