# Gross Income

Gross income is the total amount you earn before any deductions — taxes, insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and other withholdings. It's the "headline" number on your job offer.

## Why it matters

Gross income is the starting point for almost every financial calculation: tax brackets, DTI ratios, retirement contribution limits, and loan qualification. But it's also misleading if you use it for budgeting — your actual spending power is net income, which can be 25-40% less than gross.

Example

A salary of $85,000/year is your gross income. After federal tax, state tax, Social Security, Medicare, and health insurance, your net might be $58,000-$63,000.

## How Ray helps

Ray can identify your gross income from paycheck deposits and separate pre-tax deductions. Run to see your total earnings aggregated from all income sources.

Terminal

`$ ray "what is my gross income this year?"`

## Related terms

[Net Income](/content/learn/net-income/index.html)  
Net income is your take-home pay after all deductions — federal and state taxes, Social Security, Medicare, health insurance premiums, and retirement contributions.  
[Tax Bracket](/content/learn/tax-bracket/index.html)  
A tax bracket is a range of income taxed at a specific rate in the U.S.  
[Debt-to-Income Ratio](/content/learn/debt-to-income-ratio/index.html)  
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares your total monthly debt payments to your gross monthly income, expressed as a percentage.  
[Savings Rate](/content/learn/savings-rate/index.html)  
Your savings rate is the percentage of your income that you save or invest rather than spend.  
[Budget](/content/learn/budget/index.html)  
A budget is a plan for how you'll allocate your income across spending categories, savings, and debt payments over a set period — usually monthly.

## Try Ray free

Open source, local-first, and takes five minutes to set up.

`$npm install -g ray-finance`  
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/cdinnison/ray-finance)