MAGI is the income figure health programs use. It starts from your adjusted gross income on your tax return and adds back a few items — tax-exempt interest, untaxed foreign income, and the non-taxable portion of Social Security benefits.
Why the definition matters more than it sounds. MAGI is not take-home pay and not gross wages. Pre-tax deductions that reduce adjusted gross income — retirement contributions, health savings account contributions, deductible self-employment expenses — reduce the number that programs measure. That is the legitimate mechanism by which a household lands under a threshold it appeared to be over.
What counts: wages, self-employment income, unemployment benefits, taxable retirement income, rental and investment income, and the untaxed Social Security portion.
What doesn’t: SNAP, most child support, Supplemental Security Income, workers’ compensation, veterans’ disability benefits, gifts and inheritances.
Whose income: generally the tax household — you, a spouse you file with, and dependents you claim. Not roommates, and not a partner you don’t file with.
Which year: the year coverage is for, projected. Not last year’s return, if this year looks different. Report changes as they happen — that’s routine, and not reporting them creates a reconciliation problem at tax time.
Also called: modified adjusted gross income. Reference: MAGI (modified adjusted gross income) on Wikipedia — general definition, not New York specifics.
More in Glossary of health coverage and billing terms
- Special enrollment period — A window outside open enrollment when a life event lets you sign up for a marketplace plan.
- Premium — What you pay monthly to have coverage, separate from what you pay when you use it.
- Metal tiers (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) — How marketplace plans are labeled by what share of costs the plan carries, not by quality of care.
This page explains how the system works. It is not medical advice. More.