Your net worth is the dollar amount of all of your assets minus your debts. If your assets exceed your liabilities, you have a positive net worth. Conversely, if your liabilities are greater than your assets, you have a negative net worth.
Tangible net worth represents your actual net worth without any estimations or assumptions, removing the value of intangible assets such as copyrights, patents, or intellectual property (IP).
Key Takeaways
- Tangible net worth is the total of tangible assets minus total debts.
- Companies use tangible net worth to determine how much the company is worth.
- Lenders may ask individual consumers for their tangible net worth before deciding to advance credit.
What Is Tangible Net Worth?
Your tangible net worth is similar to your net worth in that it calculates your assets and liabilities, but subtracts the value of any intangible assets, including goodwill, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property.
This figure is important for corporations because it helps determine their actual net worth using physical assets. Businesses calculate their tangible net worth to determine their liquidation value if they were to cease operations or sell.
It is also important for individuals who apply for personal or small business loans with lenders who require a "real" net worth figure before making a decision. Your tangible net worth provides a more accurate view of your finances and how much the lender could recoup if it had to liquidate your assets if you default on their loan.
Tangible net worth helps quantify how you are doing financially or evaluate your financial progress over time.
Tangible vs. Intangible Assets
Your tangible assets are everything you can hold. Investments are regarded as financial assets, not tangible ones, but because they can be converted to cash, they're often included in the tangible category for calculation. Assets may include cash, investments, real property such as land and houses, and personal property such as cars, furniture, and jewelry.
Intangible assets are assets you cannot hold. Goodwill, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and intellectual property are all considered intangible assets. If you want to sell your small business, you may be able to argue that these intangible assets add value to the business. The bank may only consider assets that are tangible because they are more easily liquidated when it comes to determining tangible net worth as part of the loan process.
Tangible Net Worth Formula
Calculating your net worth is a multi-step process and can determine your net worth individually or jointly with a partner or spouse. Individuals should gather all their financial statements in one place with documents like bank and credit card statements.
Maintaining organized records is extremely helpful and helps speed up the process. Create a separate file for your net worth in a filing cabinet or on your computer where you can keep all your statements for comparison. The formula for calculating your tangible net worth is:
TangibleNetWorth=TA−Liabilities−IAwhere:TA=TotalassetsIA=Intangibleassets
Total Assets | Total Liabilities | Value of Intangible Assets |
---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents | Secured liabilities, including auto loans, mortgages, and home equity loans | Goodwill |
Investments | Unsecured liabilities, including credit cards, medical, student, and personal loans | Patents |
Real property | Deferred tax liabilities on retirement accounts, etc. | Trademarks |
Personal property | Intellectual property and other IP |
Calculating Assets
Determine the value of your assets, beginning with the most liquid ones, the amount you have in cash and cash equivalents, including:
- Certificates of deposit (CDs)
- Checking and savings accounts
- Money market accounts
- Physical cash
- Treasury bills
Next, determine and include the current market value of investments such as:
- Annuities
- Bonds
- Life insurance cash value
- Mutual funds
- Pensions
- Retirement plans, such as IRA, 401(k), 403(b)
- Stocks
- Other investments
Next, obtain the values for real and personal property. Remember, real property includes land and anything that’s permanently attached to it, such as a house. Personal property is everything else including:
- Collectibles like antiques, art, and coins
- Household furnishings
- Home Technology
- Jewelry
- A primary or principal residence
- Rental Properties
- Vacation or second home
- Vehicles: cars, boats, motorcycles
Calculating Liabilities
Your liabilities represent all of your outstanding debts. Start with the amount you owe in secured debts, including:
- Car loan(s)
- Home equity loan
- Margin loans
- Mortgage
- Rental real estate mortgage
- Second mortgage
- Vacation or second home mortgage
Then move on to include the amount you owe in unsecured debts, including:
- Credit card debt
- Medical bills
- Personal loans
- Student loans
- Other debt and outstanding bills
Always err on the side of caution and assign your assets the most conservative values.
Net Worth Spreadsheet
Once you determine the value of all your assets and the size of all your liabilities, you can use the formula (Tangible Net Worth = Total Assets - Total Liabilities - Intangible Assets) to determine your tangible net worth.
Assets | Current Value | Liabilities | Amount |
Cash and Cash Equivalents | Secured Liabilities | ||
Certificates of deposit | Auto loans | ||
Checking account | Home equity line | ||
Money market account | Margin loans | ||
Physical cash | Mortgage | ||
Savings account | Rental mortgage | ||
Treasury bills | Second home mortgage | ||
Investments | Unsecured Liabilities | ||
Annuities | Credit card debt | ||
Bonds | Medical bills | ||
Life insurance cash value | Personal loans | ||
Mutual funds | Student loans | ||
Pensions | Other debt and bills | ||
Retirement plans | |||
Stocks | |||
Total Liabilities | |||
Real Property | |||
Primary home | |||
Second home | Intangible Assets | ||
Rental properties | Copyrights | ||
Boats | Goodwill | ||
Intellectual Property | |||
Personal Property | Patents | ||
Collectibles | Trademarks | ||
Household furnishings | |||
Jewelry | Total Intangible Assets | ||
Vehicles | |||
Total Assets | |||
Total Assets | |||
- Total Liabilities | |||
- Total Intangible Assets | |||
Tangible Net Worth |
What Is the Difference Between Tangible Net Worth and Net Worth?
The difference between tangible net worth and net worth is that tangible net worth includes only assets that you can physically touch and convert into cash while net worth also adds in assets that cannot be physically held, such as copyrights or patents.
Why Is a Net Worth Calculation Important?
Net worth can be an indicator of an individual or family's financial health and shows what is left over after all liabilities are paid.
What Is Considered Intellectual Property?
Many assets, including trademarks, patents, and copyrights are considered intellectual property and are owned and legally protected by a person or company from outside use or implementation without consent.
The Bottom Line
Your tangible net worth is equal to the value of all of your assets, minus any liabilities and any intangible assets including copyrights, goodwill, intellectual property, patents, and trademarks. While a standard net worth calculation of assets minus liabilities suffices for most individuals, those who hold intangible assets may be required to calculate their tangible net worth to satisfy a lender's requirements for a personal or small business loan.