Form 1040
Form 1040
U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Every line is explained below in plain English — click any line to see what it means, who needs to fill it in, and what people commonly overlook.
Income
- 1a W-2 Wages, Salaries, Tips The total amount of wages, salaries, and tips reported to you on all your W-2 forms for the year.
- 1b Household Employee Wages Wages you earned as a household employee -- nanny, housekeeper, private nurse, or personal caretaker -- that were not reported on a W-2.
- 1c Tip Income Tip income you received that was not already included on your W-2. Most tips reported to your employer show up in W-2 Box 1 and go on line 1a.
- 1d Medicaid Waiver Payments Medicaid waiver payments you received for caring for someone in your home that you are electing to exclude from income.
- 1e Taxable Dependent Care Benefits The taxable portion of dependent care benefits your employer provided -- typically through a Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA).
- 1f Employer-Provided Adoption Benefits The taxable portion of adoption benefits your employer paid or reimbursed.
- 1g Form 8919 Wages Wages from an employer who treated you as an independent contractor when you should have been classified as an employee.
- 1h Other Earned Income Earned income that does not fit on any other line 1 sub-line.
- 1i Nontaxable Combat Pay Election Nontaxable combat zone pay that you are electing to include as earned income for purposes of the Earned Income Credit.
- 1z Total Wages The sum of all your wage-related income from lines 1a through 1h.
- 2a Tax-Exempt Interest Interest income that is exempt from federal income tax -- primarily from municipal bonds and municipal bond funds.
- 2b Taxable Interest Any interest paid to you during the year that the IRS considers income.
- 3a Qualified Dividends Dividends that qualify for the lower long-term capital gains tax rate instead of your ordinary income tax rate.
- 3b Ordinary Dividends The total of all dividends you received during the year, including both qualified dividends (line 3a) and non-qualified dividends.
- 4a IRA Distributions The total gross amount of all distributions you received from traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs during the year.
- 4b IRA Distributions Taxable Amount The taxable portion of your IRA distributions.
- 5a Pensions and Annuities The total gross amount of pension, annuity, and retirement plan distributions you received during the year.
- 5b Pensions and Annuities Taxable Amount The taxable portion of your pension and annuity distributions from line 5a.
- 6a Social Security Benefits The total gross Social Security benefits you received during the year, as shown on Form SSA-1099 Box 5.
- 6b Social Security Benefits Taxable Amount The taxable portion of your Social Security benefits.
- 7a Capital Gain or Loss Your net capital gain or loss from the sale of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, and other capital assets.
- 8 Additional Income from Schedule 1 The total of all additional income reported on Schedule 1, Part I. This is a catch-all line for income types that do not have their own line on page 1 of...
- 9 Total Income The sum of all your income from lines 1z through 8. This is your gross income before any adjustments, deductions, or credits.
Adjusted Gross Income
Deductions & Taxable Income
- 11b AGI Carried Forward Your adjusted gross income carried forward from line 11a on page 1 to page 2 of the 1040.
- 12e Standard or Itemized Deduction The larger of your standard deduction or your itemized deductions from Schedule A. For 2025, the standard deduction is $15,750 (single), $31,500 (married...
- 13a Qualified Business Income Deduction The Section 199A deduction for qualified business income -- up to 20% of your net business income from a pass-through entity (sole proprietorship,...
- 13b Additional Deductions Other deductions not included in the standard/itemized deduction on line 12e or the QBI deduction on line 13a.
- 14 Total Deductions The sum of your standard or itemized deduction (line 12e), qualified business income deduction (line 13a), and any additional deductions (line 13b).
- 15 Taxable Income Your adjusted gross income minus your total deductions -- the final income figure that determines your federal income tax.
Tax & Credits
- 16 Tax Your federal income tax calculated from your taxable income on line 15.
- 17 Additional Tax from Schedule 2 Additional taxes from Schedule 2, Part I that are added to your regular income tax on line 16.
- 18 Total Tax Before Credits The sum of your regular tax (line 16) and any additional taxes from Schedule 2 (line 17). This is your total tax before any credits are applied.
- 19 Child Tax Credit The nonrefundable portion of the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents.
- 20 Schedule 3 Credits Nonrefundable credits from Schedule 3, Part I. These include the foreign tax credit, education credits (Lifetime Learning Credit), retirement savings...
- 21 Total Credits The sum of your Child Tax Credit (line 19) and Schedule 3 nonrefundable credits (line 20).
- 22 Tax After Credits Your total tax before credits (line 18) minus your total nonrefundable credits (line 21).
- 23 Other Taxes from Schedule 2 Additional taxes from Schedule 2, Part II that are added to your tax after credits.
- 24 Total Tax Your complete federal tax liability for the year -- the sum of your income tax after credits (line 22) and other taxes (line 23).
Payments & Refund
- 25a W-2 Federal Tax Withholding Federal income tax your employer withheld from your paychecks during the year, as shown in Box 2 of your W-2.
- 25b 1099 Federal Tax Withholding Federal income tax withheld and reported on 1099 forms -- including 1099-R (retirement distributions), 1099-INT (interest), 1099-DIV (dividends), 1099-G...
- 25c Other Federal Tax Withholding Other forms of federal income tax withholding not captured on lines 25a or 25b.
- 25d Total Federal Income Tax Withheld The sum of all federal income tax withheld from all sources -- W-2 withholding (25a), 1099 withholding (25b), and other withholding (25c).
- 26 Estimated Tax Payments The total of quarterly estimated tax payments you made during the year using Form 1040-ES, plus any amount you applied from your prior year's refund.
- 27a Earned Income Credit The Earned Income Credit (EIC) -- a refundable tax credit for low-to-moderate income workers. "Refundable" means it pays you even if you owe zero tax.
- 28 Additional Child Tax Credit The refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit.
- 29 American Opportunity Credit The refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) -- an education credit worth up to $2,500 per student for the first four years of college.
- 30 Refundable Adoption Credit The refundable portion of the adoption credit from Form 8839. The adoption credit covers qualified adoption expenses up to $17,280 per child (2025).
- 31 Schedule 3 Other Payments and Refundable Credits Other payments and refundable credits from Schedule 3, Part II.
- 32 Total Other Payments and Refundable Credits The sum of all refundable credits and other payments from lines 27a through 31.
- 33 Total Payments The sum of all payments you have made toward your tax liability -- federal withholding (line 25d), estimated tax payments (line 26), and all refundable...
- 34 Overpayment The amount by which your total payments (line 33) exceed your total tax (line 24).
- 35a Refund Amount The portion of your overpayment that you want refunded to you.
- 36 Amount Applied to Next Year's Estimated Tax The portion of your overpayment that you want applied to next year's estimated tax instead of receiving as a refund.
- 37 Amount You Owe The amount of tax you still owe after subtracting all payments (withholding, estimated payments, and refundable credits) from your total tax.
- 38 Estimated Tax Penalty A penalty for not paying enough tax during the year through withholding and estimated payments.