nothing is certain but death and taxes
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Nothing in life is guaranteed except death and paying taxes
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “nothing is certain but death and taxes” mean?
Nothing in life is guaranteed except death and paying taxes
Is “nothing is certain but death and taxes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.