Assessable

Assessable is an adjective meaning capable of being assessed, evaluated, or estimated. It is commonly used in legal, financial, and administrative contexts to indicate that something can be reviewed or measured by an authority or process. The term is formed from the verb assess plus the suffix -able.

In taxation and finance, assessable describes the portion of income, property, or base that is subject to taxation or assessment by a government authority. Assessable income or assessable property refers to what remains liable to tax after applying deductions, exemptions, or reliefs. Different jurisdictions define assessable amounts in specific ways, but the general idea is that not all income or value is taxed; only what is deemed assessable under statute.

Beyond taxes, assessable can apply to assets or liabilities that may be valued, appraised, or priced in a formal process, such as property assessments for local taxes or insurance risk assessments. It is distinct from the act of assessment (the process itself) and from non-assessable items, which are exempt or excluded from the relevant assessment.

Common usage notes include that assessable and assessed describe different stages of the process: assessable refers to eligibility for assessment, while assessed refers to the value determined by the assessment. The term is especially prevalent in Commonwealth legal and tax language, where it helps distinguish what is within the scope of a given assessment framework.