Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe on a single date, so deciding what to include in net worth comes down to a simple test: can you sell it, withdraw it, or borrow against it today? Everything that passes that test goes on the asset side at its current value. Every debt you’re legally obligated to repay goes on the liability side at its payoff balance. Future money, sentimental items with no real market, and anything you don’t actually own stay off the list.
Assets That Belong on the List
Start with cash and anything close to it. Physical cash, checking balances, savings balances, and money market accounts are worth exactly what the statement shows. Certificates of deposit count too, even with the money locked up; CD terms typically run from three months to five years or longer, and the principal holds its value regardless of market conditions.1FDIC. Shopping for a Certificate of Deposit An early withdrawal penalty doesn’t change the fact that the face value is yours.
Real Estate
Real estate is usually the biggest line on the asset side. Include your primary home, any vacation or rental properties, and undeveloped land, all at fair market value rather than what you originally paid. The IRS defines fair market value as the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on, with neither forced to act and both having reasonable knowledge of the facts.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property Recent comparable sales in your neighborhood give you a workable estimate. A professional appraisal gives you a more defensible number, which matters when a lender is reading the statement.
Vehicles, Jewelry, and Collectibles
Cars, motorcycles, and boats go on at current resale value, not purchase price. Vehicles depreciate quickly, so a resource like Kelley Blue Book or a dealer quote keeps the number honest. High-value jewelry, fine art, and rare collectibles also count, listed at what a buyer would actually pay today. The insured value of a piece of jewelry often differs significantly from its resale price; use the resale figure.
For collectibles and art you believe are worth more than $5,000, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal if you ever donate them and claim a charitable deduction.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property Outside the donation context, a professional opinion still keeps high-value items grounded in reality.
Everyday household goods are a different story. Furniture, electronics, and clothing have negligible resale value, and including them inflates the number without reflecting money you could actually access. Most financial professionals leave them off unless a specific item is genuinely valuable on its own.
Investment and Retirement Accounts
Brokerage accounts holding stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds are valued at closing market price on the date you run the calculation. Balances move daily, so pick a consistent date each time you update.
Employer-sponsored plans like 401(k) and 403(b) accounts get included based on your most recent statement, with one adjustment: only the portion you actually own counts. Your own contributions are always 100% vested from day one, but employer contributions may follow a cliff or graded vesting schedule, and unvested amounts aren’t yours yet.3Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Vesting Traditional and Roth IRAs go on at their current balance. Pension plans count only to the extent they’re vested; if your employer provides a lump-sum value on an annual statement, use that figure.
HSAs, 529 Plans, and Life Insurance Cash Value
Health Savings Account balances roll over indefinitely and can be invested in securities, and the money is yours for life. For 2026, the annual HSA contribution limit is $4,400 for individual coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.4Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2026-05 – HSA Inflation Adjusted Items Whatever has accumulated belongs on your asset list at its current value.
529 education savings plans count the same way. If you own a 529 for a child or grandchild, the account balance is your asset for net worth purposes even though the funds carry restrictions on non-educational withdrawals. List it at the current market value on your statement.
Permanent life insurance (whole life or universal life) accumulates a cash surrender value you can access by surrendering or borrowing against the policy, so it counts. Term life insurance has no cash value and doesn’t appear on the statement.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital tokens belong on your net worth statement. The IRS treats digital assets as property rather than currency, and they must be valued in U.S. dollars at fair market value.5Internal Revenue Service. Digital Assets Use the market price on the date you’re calculating. Prices swing hard, so the number you record one month can look very different the next; that volatility doesn’t change the fact that the asset has a measurable value on a given date.
Private Business Interests
If you own all or part of a private business, that interest is an asset. Valuing it is the hardest part of the exercise because there’s no stock ticker. Common approaches include an asset-based valuation (business assets minus business debts), an earnings multiple applied to annual net profit, and a revenue multiplier applied to gross revenue. For a small business where personal and company finances overlap, the asset-based approach is often cleanest. For a larger or more profitable operation, an earnings multiple better reflects what a buyer would pay. If a lender will see the statement, document how you arrived at the number.
Debts That Belong on the List
Every dollar you owe goes on the liability side at the current payoff balance, not the original loan amount. The main categories:
- Mortgage balances, including primary home mortgages and any home equity loans or lines of credit.
- Vehicle loans on cars, trucks, motorcycles, or boats.
- Student loans, federal and private.
- Credit card balances, in full on every card.
- Personal loans from banks, credit unions, family, or online lenders.
- Medical debt owed to providers or collection agencies.
Interest rate is irrelevant for this purpose. A 0% promotional credit card balance counts the same as a 24% balance; both are money you’re legally obligated to repay.
Unpaid taxes are easy to forget. Back taxes owed to the IRS or a state, along with estimated payments coming due, are real liabilities, and lenders reviewing your finances expect to see them listed.
Contingent liabilities sit in a gray area. If you co-signed someone else’s loan, you’re legally responsible if the primary borrower defaults. Pending lawsuits and legal judgments against you also represent potential obligations. Most personal net worth calculations leave contingent liabilities out of the bottom-line number unless the obligation is likely to come due, but disclose them separately on any statement you give a bank.
What to Leave Off
These items tempt people but shouldn’t appear in the calculation:
- Future income and earning potential. Your salary, expected bonuses, and career trajectory are not assets. Net worth is a snapshot of today.
- Expected inheritances. Money someone else hasn’t given you yet isn’t yours.
- Social Security benefits. Future benefits are too uncertain and contingent to include unless you’re already drawing payments and want to estimate the present value of the stream.
- Everyday household goods. Furniture, appliances, and clothing have almost no resale value, and including them creates a false sense of wealth.
- Leased vehicles or rented property. If you don’t own it, it doesn’t count. A leased car is someone else’s property.
The working rule: if you can’t sell it, withdraw it, or use it to pay a debt today, it probably doesn’t belong on the list.
Adjusting for Taxes You’ll Owe Later
The balance in a traditional 401(k) or IRA isn’t entirely yours. When you withdraw the money, you’ll owe income tax on every dollar. A $500,000 traditional IRA might be worth closer to $380,000 after federal and state taxes, depending on your bracket. Roth accounts have already been taxed and come out tax-free in retirement, so the stated balance is the real number.
Stocks in a taxable brokerage account with large unrealized gains carry a similar hidden cost. Selling would trigger capital gains tax, and long-term federal rates for 2026 are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your taxable income. Whether to apply a discount depends on what the number is for. A quick personal check works fine with raw balances. A serious retirement projection is more honest with a reasonable tax adjustment.
Doing the Math
Once the lists are complete, total assets minus total liabilities equals net worth. A positive number means you own more than you owe. A negative number is more common than people assume, especially among younger adults carrying student loans and recent homebuyers who put little down. It isn’t a permanent condition; it’s just where you are on a particular date. The point of running the calculation is tracking the direction over time as debts shrink and assets grow, which tells you whether your financial decisions are actually working.