# tax

> English word · Noun · IPA /tæks/ · frequency rank #758

## Definitions
1. Money or goods collected by a government (or an entity to whom the government has delegated this power, e.g. in tax farming) to fund itself and its services, for example by levying a charge on income, purchases (sales), property or harvest, other than that money which is collected by the government in exchange for specific goods (e.g. the purchase of surplus vehicles).
2. A charge (of money, food, labor, etc) collected by a person, organization, etc; something required (exacted) from someone who is (really or notionally) under the control of the taxer, such as a contribution or service.
3. A burdensome demand;

## Etymology
From Middle English taxe, from Middle French taxe, from Medieval Latin taxa, from Latin taxō (“to appraise, value, estimate; (medieval) to tax”). Doublet of task. Displaced native Old English gafol, which was also the word for “tribute” and “rent”.

## Easily confused with
- **to** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-to)
- **TV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tv)
- **te** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-te)
- **TL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tl)
- **TX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tx)
- **TD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-td)
- **ti** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-ti)
- **Tu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tu)
- **Ty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-ty)
- **TB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tb)
- **TN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tn)
- **TS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-ts)
- **TM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tm)
- **TT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tt)
- **TF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tf)
- **TC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tc)
- **TJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tj)
- **tp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tp)
- **TG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tg)
- **TK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tax-vs-tk)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tax