deduct

American  

[dih-duhkt] / dɪˈdʌkt /

verb (used with object)

• deducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deducted,
  past participle,  past
• deducting
  present participle

1. to take away, as from a sum or amount.

   Once you deduct your expenses, there is nothing left.

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verb (used without object)

• deducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deducted,
  past participle,  past
• deducting
  present participle

1. detract; abate (usually followed byfrom ).

   The rocky soil deducts from the value of his property.

deduct British  

/ dɪˈdʌkt /

verb

1. (tr) to take away or subtract (a number, quantity, part, etc)

   income tax is deducted from one's wages

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Synonym Usage

See subtract.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prededuct
  verb (used with object)
• undeducted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deducting
  present
• deducted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deduct
  simple
• deducts
  simple
• have deducted
  perfect
• has deducted
  perfect
• am deducting
  progressive
• are deducting
  progressive
• is deducting
  progressive
• have been deducting
  perfect progressive
• has been deducting
  perfect progressive

Past

• deducted
  simple
• had deducted
  perfect
• was deducting
  progressive
• were deducting
  progressive
• had been deducting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deduct
  simple
• will have deducted
  perfect
• will be deducting
  progressive
• will have been deducting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deduct

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin dēductus “brought down, withdrawn,” past participle of dēdūcere; see deduce

Explanation

To deduct is to remove or take away some amount. If your boss deducts money from your paycheck because you're always late to work, she subtracts it. When taxes are withheld from your salary, your employer deducts them to pay your contribution. Each time you use a debit card, it deducts the amount you spend from your bank account. A different way to deduct is to come to a reasoned, thoughtful conclusion, or to deduce. The two words were once interchangeable, while now it's more common to use deduct to mean "remove a portion," and deduce to mean "infer logically."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deduct deducts deducted deducting

But unlike state sales taxes in America, under a VAT businesses can deduct or refund the VAT they’ve paid on their own purchases of raw materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Tax Court Judge Elizabeth Copeland said Sami wasn’t entitled to deduct those expenses from his taxable income.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Reports said the government would deduct a 12% royalty from the sale proceeds and the remaining money would be divided equally among the seven workers.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Once you deduct fees and taxes, someone earning 1% a year or less on bonds in real terms was probably not left with much, if any, actual profit.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

“I'm going to have to deduct the money for a glass beetle,” the burly redbeard announced as he let himself fall into his vast armchair.

From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

Typically, the company provides these bags, used to mail in items for potential sale, and deducts any fees from a user’s eventual payout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

Instead, it deducts it little by little over the projected useful life of the stuff being bought.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

The company says it doesn’t charge interest on the cash it extends to people between paychecks but deducts what it calls “voluntary tips” upon repayment, the records show.

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2025

For those who are in the year of their FRA, the Social Security Administration deducts $1 for every $3 for the months before the month of one’s FRA.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025

Under the English system, an industrial corporation, for instance, pays the income tax upon its gross earnings and then deducts it from the dividends, interest, salaries, and rents as these payments are made.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 21 The Recent Days (1910-1914) by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne

Their rates start at 260 percent annually, quadruple those of banks, with the payments deducted from the workers' earnings.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Households that receive welfare payments can buy essential goods on credit under a new program, with any unpaid debt deducted from future cash welfare payments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

I was shocked to learn that his monthly Social Security benefit will be only $700, and that’s before the Medicare premium is deducted.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Marshall said she doesn't pay much attention to the payment because it has always been deducted from her salary.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

I got out my check-book and deducted four checks drawn since the first of the month, and discovered I had a balance of $1832.60.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

After deducting administrative fees, proceeds from the Disney plates would go toward services provided by hospitals and clinics that are not covered by insurance or a patient.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

And this is before deducting other costs, such as advisory fees, fund management and trading fees, and taxes.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 3, 2025

Revisions to rules for deducting state and local taxes and charitable donations will affect millions of affluent Americans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025

Treasuries now yield less than JGBs after deducting the cost of hedging exchange-rate fluctuations.

From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025

Total or Original Manure-Value per Ton of Food consumed—that is, only deducting the Constituents in Fattening Increase or in Milk.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

Related Words

• reduce
• subtract
• withdraw
• write off