The Subtraction Property of Equality states that subtracting the same number from each side of an equation yields an equivalent equation.

This is one of the Properties of Equality that can be used when solving equations.

To isolate the variable, the addition of $2$ can be eliminated by subtracting $2$ from both sides of the equation, since subtraction is the inverse operation of addition.

The Subtraction Property of Equality also holds true if $a,$ $b,$ and $c$ are complex numbers.