What Does It Mean to Be Tax-Exempt? Definition, How Tax Exemptions Work

Tax exemptions, exempt workers and tax-exempt status mean different things. They can also affect your tax bill.

Tina Orem
Assistant Assigning Editor | Taxes, small business, Social Security and estate planning, home services

Tina Orem is an editor at NerdWallet. Prior to becoming an editor, she covered small business and taxes at NerdWallet. She has been a financial writer and editor for over 15 years, and she has a degree in finance, as well as a master's degree in journalism and a Master of Business Administration. Previously, she was a financial analyst and director of finance for several public and private companies. Tina's work has appeared in a variety of local and national media outlets.

Lei Han
Professor of accounting

Lei Han, Ph.D., is an associate professor of accounting at Niagara University in Western New York and a New York state-licensed CPA. She obtained her Ph.D. in accounting with a minor in finance from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her teaching expertise is advanced accounting and governmental and nonprofit accounting. She is a member of the American Accounting Association and New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

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Being tax-exempt or having a tax exemption seems like a way to lower your tax bill, but it can get you in trouble if you don't understand the difference between tax exemptions, exempt workers and tax-exempt status. Here’s how those terms tend to appear in the wild and how you can make them work for you.

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What does tax-exempt mean?

Being tax-exempt means that some or all of a person's or business's income is free from federal, state or local tax. Tax-exempt organizations are typically charities or religious organizations recognized by the IRS [0]

. They’re exempt from federal taxation (that is, they have tax-exempt status), and donations to them are typically tax-deductible .

What qualifies you to be a tax-exempt individual?

For individuals, this term often has three meanings.

1. Are you exempt from withholding tax?

You may be able to elect to have federal income tax withheld from your paychecks by changing your W-4 at work. Social Security and Medicare taxes will still come out of your check, though.

Typically, you can be exempt from withholding tax only if two things are true:

2. Did you receive income that isn't taxable?

This is rare, because the Internal Revenue Code defines taxable income as gross income minus deductions. And gross income, federal law says, “means all income from whatever source derived [0]

That’s a lot of territory, covering earned income such as wages and unearned income from investments and other sources. However, there are some types of income that typically aren't subject to tax.

3. Are you exempt from minimum wage and overtime rules?

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that most workers get paid at least minimum wage and overtime. However, some people in executive, administrative, professional and outside sales jobs are exempt from those rules.

The Labor Department uses a few tests to determine whether an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime rules, which generally have to do with pay and job duties. You can visit the department's website for more information.

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What is a tax exemption?

A tax exemption is the right to exclude certain income or activities from taxation. Up until 2018, taxpayers were able to exclude up to $4,050 for each eligible individual off their income by claiming personal exemptions. Personal exemptions no longer exist [0]

The difference between tax exemptions, tax deductions and tax credits

Tax exemptions aren’t the same as tax deductions or tax credits.

Tax exemptions whittle down what counts as income in the first place; that is, exemptions usually come right off the top.

Tax deductions generally are expenses you’ve incurred that whittle down the amount of your income that's subject to tax.

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Tina Orem is an editor at NerdWallet. Before becoming an editor, she was NerdWallet's authority on taxes and small business. Her work has appeared in a variety of local and national outlets. See full bio.

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